Is premium athletic apparel entering its flop era?Despite the booming success of industry darlings like HOKA and On Cloud — two sneaker brands with a cult-like consumer following — top contenders in the activewear market are faltering in sales.Some are even shuttering.Lululemon’s Q4 report revealed stalling sales in the Americas, only growing 9% — significantly less than the year prior despite its steady success throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and related supply-chain hiccups. Shares in the apparel giant, ...

Ford Motor said Thursday it had delayed the planned launches of three-row EVs in Canada and its next-generation electric pickup truck in Tennessee as the slowdown in EV demand globally forces automakers to revise production plans.Ford said separately it was boosting hybrid electric vehicle offerings and by 2030 expects to offer hybrid powertrains across its lineup of gas-powered vehicles.“We are committed to scaling a profitable EV business, using capital wisely, and bringing to market the right gas, hybrid ...

Apple has reportedly launched a hush-hush project to develop a personal robot as the iPhone maker seeks to find “the next big thing” after its failed foray into manufacturing an autonomous electric car.The mobile robot would be able to follow people around the home, according to Bloomberg News.The Cupertino, Calif.-based tech giant is also working on a new table-top home device that uses robotics to move a display around as the company faces pressure to produce a revenue-generating product along the lines o ...

Google is reportedly weighing the possibility of charging subscription fees for its controversial AI-powered online search features.A subscription plan would mark the first time in Google’s history that it has charged for use of its search engine. Google risk additional scrutiny from regulators, including the Justice Department, which is in the midst of a landmark antitrust lawsuit targeting the Big Tech firm’s alleged monopoly over the online search market.The unspecified AI search features could be added ...

Walt Disney’s streaming service will start cracking down on password-sharing from June, Chief Executive Bob Iger said Thursday, as the entertainment conglomerate looks to boost subscriber growth and profitability at the business.Iger also said there was a need for some consolidation in the streaming industry and Disney was eventually looking at double-digit margins in streaming, in a wide-ranging interview with CNBC.CEO Bob Iger said there was a need for some consolidation in the streaming industry. AFP via ...

McDonald’s has jacked up its menu prices by more than 100% over the course of the last decade — more than three times the rate of US inflation, according to a research report.The Chicago-based burger giant has been slammed with customer complaints over eye-popping prices, including $18 for a Big Mac meal in Connecticut as well as $7.29 for an Egg McMuffin and $5.69 for a side of hash browns.Now, a Quarter Pounder with Cheese meal goes for $11.99 — more than double the $5.39 it cost in 2014, according to a s ...

Disney chief Bob Iger prevailed in a bitter proxy battle with activist investors over the company’s board members Wednesday.The Mouse House garnered a “substantial margin” of support at its annual shareholders’ meeting, keeping its board of directors from relinquishing a board seat to Nelson Peltz, head of Trian management, and former Disney chief financial officer Jay Rasulo.Blackwells Capital, another hedge fund that nominated three board director candidates, was also unsuccessful in its attempt. Bob Iger ...

Taiwan’s biggest earthquake since 1999 is likely to cause some disruption across Asia’s semiconductor supply chain, analysts said, after chipmakers from TSMC to UMC halted some operations to inspect facilities and relocate employees.The powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck Taiwan’s eastern coast near Hualien County on Wednesday morning, killing nine people and injuring 800.The island plays an outsized role in the global chip supply chain as it is home to the world’s largest chipmaker Taiwan Semiconducto ...

A multimillion-dollar, mud-slinging battle over Walt Disney’s future will officially end on Wednesday when the company is expected to announce that shareholders rejected two hedge fund bids to shake up the entertainment giant’s board.On Tuesday, Disney secured enough shareholder votes to defeat a challenge from billionaire investor Nelson Peltz and Blackwells Capital, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The sources cautioned that there was a possibility that some shareholders may change their vot ...

Elon Musk endorsed Nelson Peltz’s bid for a spot on the board of directors of The Walt Disney Company as the Tesla mogul continued his beef with Mouse House boss Bob Iger.Musk, who famously told Iger and other CEOs who stopped advertising on his social media platform X to “go f–k yourself,” said that he would buy shares in Disney if Peltz got his way and shareholders voted to put him and another ally on the company’s board.“Nelson Peltz should definitely be on the Disney board!” Musk wrote on X before dawn ...