Consumers Change Shopping Habits Amid Inflationary Prices

Consumers are pushing back against inflationary prices by changing the way they shop. Fed up with prices that remain about 19% higher-on average-than where they were before the pandemic, consumers are fighting back. In grocery stores, they’re shifting away from name brands to store-brand items, switching to discount stores or simply buying fewer items like snacks or gourmet foods. The trend has been most visible with food and everyday consumer goods like napkins and paper towels. More Americans are opting for used cars as well, forcing some dealers to provide incentives for new car buyers.

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UBS reports pretax loss in 4Q, plans share buybacks

UBS has reported a fourth-quarter pretax loss of more than $750 million. The loss comes as the Swiss banking giant continues to integrate its longtime rival Credit Suisse after a government-orchestrated merger. The Zurich-based lender reported losses before taxes of $751 million in the quarter. That included losses of more than a half-billion dollars linked to an investment in SIX Group, which operates Switzerland’s main stock market.

BP earned $3 billion at end of 2023, but annual profit fell sharply

Oil and natural gas giant BP has beat expectations with earnings of $3 billion in the last three months of 2023. London-based BP reports its underlying replacement cost profit is down from $3.3 billion in the previous quarter. It brought in $13.8 billion for all of last year, halving the $27.7 billion it earned in 2022, when Russia’s war in Ukraine sent oil and natural gas prices surging. Those prices drove inflation and contributed to a cost-of-living crisis.

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Apple Vision Pro Headset Hits Store Shelves

That means you’re probably going to start to see more people wearing the futuristic googles that are supposed to usher in the age of “spatial computing.” It’s an esoteric mode of technology that Apple executives and their marketing gurus are trying to thrust into the mainstream. This while avoiding other more widely used terms such as “augmented reality” and “virtual reality” to describe the transformative powers of a product that’s being touted as a tipping point that could become as monumental as the changes wrought after the iPhone came out in 2007.

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