For many retailers, business has never been better. The future? Uncertain.

Jan 13, 2022
Millions of Americans are still shopping like crazy. But retailers worry their voracious appetite won't last much longer.
Americans have been eager to shop in recent months but haven't been able to find everything they want. Fresh retail sales data will come out Friday.
Raul Ratje/AFP via Getty Images

A supply chain improvement industry is rising from the pandemic

Jan 11, 2022
From new startups valued in the billions to old legacy companies, the business of supply chain visibility is booming.
"The future of supply chains really is this visibility, it's being able to know where your goods are at all times, what your suppliers are planning," says Eric Oak, a senior trade analyst with S&P Global Market Intelligence. Above, an aerial view of shipping containers.
Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

As a microbusiness, surviving the pandemic means taking it one day at a time

Jan 11, 2022
On top of pandemic disruptions, supply chain issues make running a business — including a small cheese shop — even more challenging.
Lydia Clarke owns DTLA Cheese in downtown Los Angeles. Nothing is easy for the business right now, she says. “It's a constant pivot.”
Photo courtesy Lydia Clarke

Vaccine mandates could put brakes on truckers crossing U.S., Canada border

Jan 11, 2022
Truckers help move $1.5 billion worth of goods across the U.S.-Canada border.
A new vaccine requirement for drivers to cross the U.S.-Canada border could compound labor shortages among long-haul truckers and worsen other supply chain issues.
George Frey via Getty Images

What might Canada's vaccine border mandate mean for the economy?

Jan 10, 2022
Some in the trucking industry say the mandate may exacerbate its current worker shortage.
A new vaccine requirement for drivers to cross the U.S.-Canada border could compound labor shortages among long-haul truckers and worsen other supply chain issues.
George Frey via Getty Images

Omicron is straining medical supply chains and this small practice

Jan 5, 2022
A rural family physician discusses shortages of medications, hospital staff and beds for COVID-19 patients.
Dr. Scott Anazalone at his independent medical practice in Logan, Ohio, in 2019. As the only independent family doctor in the area, he says demand for his services outstrips supply.
Cassidy Brauner

The U.S. economy tries to find its happy place

Jan 5, 2022
IHS Markit's Purchasing Managers' Indexes for services and manufacturing are a mixed bag.
Observers have attributed freight trains' service shortfalls to both pandemic-related stresses and cost-cutting to please investors.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty images

For public good, not for profit.

Forecasting the biggest challenges facing companies in 2022

Jan 5, 2022
Corporations will have to navigate an increasingly polarized world — and economy.
Corporations will have to navigate an increasingly polarized world — and economy.
Chris Hondros/Getty Images

New York Fed index looks at pandemic's effect on the global supply chain

Jan 4, 2022
The global supply chain pressure index shows that recent disruptions are extreme. But the labor situation is not represented.
The new global supply chain pressure index shows extreme disruption, according to one of its creators. Above, shipping containers at a British port.
Christopher Furlong via Getty Images

Holiday sales boosted by fear of empty shelves

Dec 27, 2021
An early picture of the all-important selling season looks decent.
With shoppers hunting for presents earlier, retailers enjoyed the strongest holiday sales growth in nearly two decades, according to the Mastercard SpendingPulse report.
Brandon Bell via Getty Images