How Millennials Can Handle a Midlife Crisis
As millennials approach middle age, this 1970s bestseller may be the book they need, explains Bloomberg Opinion columnist Stephen Mihm. (Source: Bloomberg)
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CNET
9 minutes ago
- CNET
These Fast Food Restaurants Hiked Their Prices the Most Last Year
The days of "fast food" being "cheap food" are long gone, and prices seem to always be increasing. We can blame that phenomenon on rising inflation, and while a trip to a McDonald's drive-thru is still cheaper than settling in for a meal at your favorite steakhouse, it's far from inexpensive. In fact, prices soared in 2024 as some of the most well-known fast food chains hiked prices to make our favorite treats more costly than ever. Not all fast food is created equal, and one restaurant has increased its prices more than others. In fact, it doubled its menu item prices in the last decade. According to a survey conducted by Lending Tree, which surveyed 2,000 Americans, 78% of participants say they now view fast food as a luxury rather than a way to get a quick and cheap bite to eat while on the go. The question is, will those fast food prices continue to rise into 2025? Here's everything to know about fast food inflation, including which chains hiked their prices up the most last year and what may be on the horizon. Fast food price increases undefined Fast Food Chain Item McDonald's Quarter Pounder with Cheese Meal Four-piece McNugget Happy Meal Popeye's 4-piece Chicken Dinner Popeye's Popcorn Shrimp Combo Taco Bell's Beefy 5-Layer Burrito Taco Bell's Gordita Crunch Price increase between 2014 and 2024 122% increase 67% increase 97% increase 94% increase 132% increase 100% increase Source: FinanceBuzz What fast food chains have increased their prices the most in the past decade? In the last decade, McDonald's has increased its prices by a whopping 100% in the US, making it the most increased fast food chain in the country, according to information gathered by FinanceBuzz. But their menu prices aren't only increasing in the states. According to Spine Genie, McDonald's has increased their prices in Canada by nearly 140%. In the US, a quarter pounder with cheese meal cost $5.39 in 2014 and in 2024, it cost $12, FinanceBuzz reports. The second and third restaurants with the most inflated prices were Popeyes and Taco Bell in the US and Panera and Wendy's in Canada. At Popeyes in 2014, you could snag the four-piece chicken dinner for $7. By 2024, that price rose 97% and now costs $13.79. Taco Bell is one chain restaurant that inflated their prices the most in the past decade. Taco Bell These results slightly differ from 2022 when Wendy's and Chick-fil-a had the highest inflation rate and Burger King's chicken fries were the number one inflated menu item across all chains. According to LendingTree's new survey, 46% of participants said they now believe that prices at their local fast food restaurants are now in line with sit-down restaurants. Even more surprising is that 22% of those participants believe fast food was actually now higher priced in comparison. What causes fast food inflation? Inflation at fast food restaurants is a "multilayered phenomenon," Valerie Kilders, assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University, told CNET. Kilders cited increased minimum wages for low-wage workers and the "increase of general food prices" as two large factors contributing to rising fast food prices. "Post pandemic, we saw that lowest wage workers, which include those that are typically working in fast food restaurants, saw the fastest growth in wages," Kilders explained, further adding that from January 2024 to January 2025 "cattle prices increased 20.6% and wholesale beef [increased] around 15%. Eggs are even up 183%, so we're seeing these big increases in just those two categories." "The increased prices for the operators are passed on to the consumers," she added. As egg prices continue to soar, economists point to bird flu as a contributor to the sky-high prices of eggs that we're seeing at grocery stores and on restaurant menus. This week, major US tariffs against Canada and Mexico went into effect under the Trump administration, and with them could come even more price hikes at the grocery store and beyond. Although President Donald Trump has stated that the country that imports the goods will pay the implemented tariffs, or the tax on the items, economists have disagreed. According to the Tax Foundation, when the US imposes tariffs, US businesses pay the tariff tax to the US government. Similarly to fast food chains, when the company does not pay the increased prices they are facing, those prices get passed on to the consumer. The 25% tariffs against Mexico and Canada began on March 4, and a previous 10% tariff on China has now doubled to 20%, according to the Associated Press. According to the US Department of Agriculture, in 2023, 72.5% of US agricultural imports came from Mexico. This included 25% of beverages, including beer and tequila, 14% of fruit, 13% of vegetables, 6% of avocados and more. USDA And 63.8% of the US's agricultural imports came from Canada, including 19% of animal products and 12% of fruit and vegetables. USDA According to EconoFact, the Trump administration's 2018 tariffs, which were then kept in place by the Biden administration, did not lower prices for Americans. Will prices continue to rise at fast food restaurants? "The short answer is, it's too soon to tell," Kilders said. However, she does say that it's not just fast food chains increasing their prices. It's happening everywhere. "If we look just generally at the increase [in the Consumer Price Index] for food away from home, that increase was about 3.4% over the last year, and there's not much of a difference between both full-service restaurants and limited-service restaurants," Kilder explained. Paul Weaver/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images While it may seem that McDonald's is hiking its prices more than the Olive Garden or Chili's, that's not necessarily the case. Rather, when a notoriously cheap fast food restaurant raises prices, it's always going to be more apparent to the consumer. As far as the future outlook on food prices, there are various factors that have to be taken into account. "How are labor costs going to develop? Are we going to see additional increases in food input prices? Are we going to see any kind of interventions on the policy level that might influence all those factors that play a big role in how demand is going to develop," Kilders said, "and then, consequently, how supply and prices are going to develop." According to the USDA's food price outlook, cited by Kilders, it is believed that consumption of food at home will increase around 3.3% over the next year, meaning that moreAmericans will opt to skip the drive through or sit-down restaurants and cook at home in an effort to save a few bucks Ways to save in 2025
Forbes
9 minutes ago
- Forbes
Louis Vuitton Opens Cruise Ship Style Store The Louis In Shanghai
The newly-opened Louis Vuitton store shaped like a cruise ship in Shanghai, China. Photographer: ... More Raul Ariano/Bloomberg Luxury retail group Louis Vuitton has really pushed the boat out this time. The French company has unveiled a huge cruise ship installation, called The Louis, at Taikoo Hui in Shanghai's Nanjing West Road business district in its latest bid to make a splash. Standing nearly 100 feet tall, the ship-inspired structure has been designed to pay homage to the luxury brand's 19th-century heritage of crafting hard-sided travel trunks, with the installation's exterior featuring a cabin constructed from classic Louis Vuitton cases, while the hull has been adorned with the brand's iconic monogram. Spanning three levels and over 17,000-square-feet, The Louis combines retail, exhibition and hospitality spaces. The interior comprises three floors, the first two dedicated to an exhibition that showcases the brand's culture and history, with a cafe sitting at the top. Interactive features include live demonstrations by artisans in the 'workshop and testing' areas. Meantime, on the top floor the Le Café Louis Vuitton offers a 'curated menu that blends local Shanghai flavours with Western culinary influences'. The Louis Vuitton Extraordinary Journey exhibition explores the maison's connection to maritime culture, featuring a Perfume Room with vintage toiletry kits, a Book Room showcasing works by Gaston-Louis Vuitton, and a Sports Room displaying merchandise used for events such as Formula 1 and the Olympics. The exhibition ends with a gift shop, where a selection of leather goods, accessories, shoes and travel items is available for purchase. According to Louis Vuitton's in-house design team, the boat shape pays homage to Shanghai's port culture as the 'Gateway to the East', while also offering acknowledgement of the brand's history of crafting trunks for transoceanic voyages. It was designed to "create a new cultural landmark" within Shanghai's central business district, the team said. Louis Vuitton Makes A Splash LVMH Greater China president Wu Yue said that The Louis reflects both Shanghai's maritime spirit and the brand's storied history in travel. 'This ship-shaped decoration echoes Shanghai's urban spirit of 'embracing all rivers and seas' and showcases its international outlook of innovation and forward momentum,' he said. Louis Vuitton Chairman and CEO Pietro Beccari added that the concept represents a new chapter in the brand's cultural evolution. 'The shop embodies the brand's 'spirit of travelling' through ideas, emotions and inspiration, in a joyful way,' he said of the opening. Visitors take photographs near the newly-opened Louis Vuitton store shaped like a cruise ship. ... More Photographer: Raul Ariano/Bloomberg The luxury brand opened the installation on June 28 and has used trunks as a design motif for facade design in recent years, concealing its under-renovation New York flagship store with a luggage facade. In Paris, it recently decorated its store with an inflatable replica of artist Yayoi Kusama peering over the roof. In December 2023, Forbes reported that parent company LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton had sold a majority stake in its little-known cruise retail business to a group of four investors led by Florida-based real estate magnate Jim Gissy, to form a joint-venture company called Global Travel Retail Holdings. LVMH's cruise business had consisted of cruise retailer Starboard Cruise Services and Onboard Media, a multimedia solutions business for the global travel and hospitality industry. LVMH had always kept Starboard as a low-profile business unit within its retail portfolio including flagship Louis Vuitton brand, rarely, if ever, mentioning the cruise operation in its quarterly results.
Wall Street Journal
12 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
U.S. Natural Gas Futures Lose More Ground
1527 ET – U.S. natural gas futures recover some early losses but still settle lower as the market awaits clearer signs of more hot weather and LNG export growth. 'The market has been forced to discount a normal or possibly mild summer that would allow storage to build at a strong, steady pace,' Ritterbusch says in a note. This week's data are likely to show a slight decline in the inventory surplus, although 'guidance beyond this week suggests a return to some larger than normal injections.' Production is holding near record levels, and LNG exports 'are not yet showing the effects of the long-awaited increased capacities,' the firm adds. Nymex natural gas settles down 1.2% at $3.415/mmBtu. ( 1000 ET – U.S. natural gas futures continue to lose ground with production picking up while storage levels remain in surplus after a solid spring injection season. Prices have been a 'no win trade' for bulls with inventories more than 6% above the five-year average and strong wind and solar generation filling the void to meet power demand from heat in the Midwest and the East, Dennis Kissler of BOK Financial says in a note. Still, heavy fund shorts put on in recent sessions leave 'a lot of upside room for short-covering that could be triggered if we see the current heat wave stay in place,' he adds. Nymex natural gas down is down 3.4% at $3.337/mmBtu. (
