The thronged Bryant Park area will soon be even more thronged.Salesforce, the powerhouse software company that’s the largest tenant at 1095 Sixth Ave. at West 42nd Street, is poised to bring most of its employees back to their offices.An internal Salesforce memo advised staff that most employees must return to their desks by Oct. 1, according to online news site San Francisco Standard.The directive appeared to apply to Salesforce staff everywhere, not only in its San Francisco headquarters. 3 Salesforce i ...

Activist investor Elliott Investment Management has reportedly built a sizable position in Starbucks — sending the coffee chain’s stock soaring late in Friday’s trading day.Elliott has reportedly been pushing Starbucks – which has faced criticism over long wait times – to find new ways to boost its stock price, according to the the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the Elliott’s stake. The Seattle-based coffee giant’s stock jumped nearly 7%, to $79.27, on the news. But the company’s shares are down ...

Netflix said Thursday it added more than 8 million subscribers in its second quarter as the streaming service benefited from a password-sharing crackdown and such titles as “Bridgerton,” “Baby Reindeer” and “The Roast of Tom Brady.”The subscriber gains topped analyst predictions that Netflix would add about 5 million new customers from April through June. The new sign-ups brought the total number of global Netflix subscribers to more than 277 million. 3 Netflix added more than 8 million subscribers in its ...

US shoppers shelled out a record $14.2 billion across online retailers during the two-day Amazon Prime Day sale, which is up 11% from last year and in line with forecasts, according to Adobe Analytics research. The 2024 event marks Amazon’s biggest Prime Day sale yet, the e-commerce giant said on Thursday.The average household spent about $152 on Amazon during the Prime Day sale, according to market research firm Numerator. 3 Prime Day 2024 was Amazon’s biggest Prime Day event yet, according to the CEO of ...

Major computer chip manufacturers like Nvidia and TSMC continued to slump Thursday as warnings from both President Biden and Republican nominee Donald Trump fueled renewed geopolitical concerns among investors.The selloff occurred after the Biden administration threatened severe restrictions on exports by foreign chipmakers to China, while former President Donald Trump rattled the market by suggesting Taiwan should pay the US to defend against China’s aggression.Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company sh ...

Microsoft has reportedly laid off a team devoted to diversity, equity and inclusion after pouring millions of dollars into the initiative — becoming the latest major company to ditch the “woke” policy.The Big Tech giant disbanded the DEI team at the beginning of the month due to “changing business needs,” according to a July 1 email obtained by Business Insider. It is unclear how many employees were affected.The decision was a further sign that companies are pulling back on diversity-based initiatives that ...

Core Insights - Fast-food and casual dining chains are successfully attracting customers with affordable meal deals amid ongoing inflation pressures [1][4] - McDonald's, Starbucks, Chili's, and Buffalo Wild Wings have reported increased foot traffic following the introduction of value-oriented promotions [1][2][3] McDonald's - McDonald's launched a $5 Meal Deal on June 25, which includes a McDouble or McChicken, a four-piece nugget, a small fry, and a small beverage, resulting in an 8% increase in visits compared to the year-to-date Tuesday average [1] - The deal contributed to an average of at least 5% more visits throughout the launch week [1] - Additionally, McDonald's introduced Free Fries Friday, offering a free medium fry with a $1 minimum purchase for app users, valid through the end of the year [1] Starbucks - Starbucks experienced a significant increase in foot traffic with its half-off iced drinks promotion on Fridays, which began on May 10, leading to a 20% spike in visits compared to the year-to-date average [1][2] - Prior to the promotion, visits on May 3 were 1.1% below the year-to-date average [1] Chili's - Chili's revamped its "3 for Me" value menu in April, introducing new options like the Big Smasher burger, with meals starting at $10.99 [2] - The week before the update saw a 4.7% increase in visits compared to 2023, while the week of the update experienced a 17.3% increase over the 2023 average [3] Buffalo Wild Wings - Buffalo Wild Wings introduced an unlimited boneless wings deal for $19.99 on Mondays and Wednesdays, which led to an 8% increase in foot traffic immediately after the launch [3] - Visits on Mondays and Wednesdays spiked by 45.6% and 49.3% respectively, and remained above average for seven weeks following the deal's introduction [3] Industry Context - The restaurant industry is responding to long-lasting inflation, which has seen food prices rise by 25% from 2019 to 2023, with grocery and fast-food prices sharply increasing since the pandemic [4] - The average price of a McDonald's Big Mac has risen to $5.29, reflecting a 21% increase since 2019 [4] - Despite inflation easing to around 2.6%, restaurants are focusing on affordable meal deals to attract cash-strapped customers [4]

Tesla is reportedly seeking to hire around 800 new employees – just a few months after CEO Elon Musk reportedly slashed thousands of jobs in the company’s biggest-ever round of layoffs.Hundreds of new roles have appeared on the Tesla website over the past few weeks, especially AI specialist and service roles, according to a Bloomberg analysis. Musk posted on X that both Tesla and xAI, his latest AI startup company, “are looking to hire networking engineers & technicians.” 6 Tesla is reportedly seeking to ...

Data from Walt Disney’s internal Slack workplace collaboration system have been leaked online, including those related to ad campaigns, studio technology and interview candidates, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.Hacking group NullBulge published data from thousands of Slack channels at the entertainment giant including computer code and details about unreleased projects, the report said, citing the group’s blog post.The hacker group said in a post on Friday that it had released over 1 terabyte of da ...

Shoppers are likely to spend a record $14 billion during Amazon’s Prime Day two-day online extravaganza this week, data analytics firm Adobe said on Monday.The spending frenzy, which kicks off Tuesday, is expected to increase by about 10.5% from last year and acts as a vital barometer for the all-important back-to-school shopping season. 3 The annual Amazon Prime Day promotion will take place July 16-17. Shutterstock / Mikel DabbahWhile Amazon spearheaded the event 10 years ago, dozens of retailers, inclu ...