Sabri Ben-Achour

Correspondent & Host

Latest Stories (604)

Junk bonds offer insight into the economy

Mar 6, 2024
Right now, the junk bond market suggests the economy is fairly strong.
Junk bonds come from companies that have a higher debt, giving them a less than stellar credit rating.
David Dee Delgado/Getty Images

Household debt is up sharply, but don't worry ... yet.

Mar 5, 2024
The amount we are paying in interest on this debt — as a percentage of our income — has been climbing.
Anchiy/Getty Images

The Biden administration is worried about Chinese cars — and the electronics that come with them

Feb 29, 2024
The administration says the electronics could transmit sensitive information about U.S citizens and infrastructure. But it's also worried about the impact of Chinese EVs on U.S. automakers.
BYD electric cars waiting to be loaded onto a cargo ship in China's Shandog province. The U.S. currently imposes a 27.5% tariff on Chinese-made vehicles.
STR/AFP via Getty Images

Steady GDP growth sets US apart from peer countries

Feb 28, 2024
The U.S. economy has been growing at a steady clip while many others are faltering.
Despite interest rate hikes to combat inflation, the U.S. economy has grown for six quarters in a row.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

The fees war between retailers and credit card companies is heating up

Feb 26, 2024
Merchants paid $126 billion in credit card fees in 2022, up 20% from the year before. The pushback is playing out in lobbying campaigns and Congress.
Merchants from gas stations to ice cream shops to Amazon have complained about credit card fees and contracts, and many are lobbying for credit card regulation.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

How worried should we be about regional banks and commercial real estate?

A report from Moody’s Analytics finds there's trouble ahead, but it's more nuanced than a banking collapse due to empty offices.
New York Community Bancorp is only the latest regional bank to raise concerns about ties to commercial real estate.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

No, I'm not saying "Bye." I'm saying "Buy."

The Amazon One system enables purchases via hand waving. Christopher Mims of the WSJ discusses business prospects for biometric data.
Amazon's Amazon One system enables consumers to make purchases just by waving their hand.
Courtesy Amazon

Why Microsoft is switching up its Xbox strategy

Feb 16, 2024
Microsoft sees the change in strategy as a revenue opportunity, explains Tom Warren, senior editor at The Verge.
Why might Xbox want to bring Xbox-exclusive games to rival consoles? For "the revenue opportunity," said The Verge's Tom Warren.
Matt Cardy/Getty Images

Why fake robocalls are sounding more and more real — and what's being done about it

How can consumers protect themselves from malicious AI? We'll dig in.
During New Hampshire's primary, some voters received phone calls that imitated President Joe Biden's voice and discouraged people from heading to the polls.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

Diamondback and Endeavor merger continues the trend of bigger, fewer oil companies

Feb 12, 2024
Publicly held Diamondback Energy is buying privately held oil driller Endeavor Energy Resources, creating a company worth $50 billion.
 There were more than $100 billion worth of oil and gas mergers and acquisitions in the Permian Basin in 2023.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images