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North America
CNBC Finance

Broadway's $1.9 billion season is the latest sign of consumers splurging on experiences

Broadway just wrapped its highest-grossing season on record, offering another sign that consumers are willing to spend on experiences even as concerns about inflation and economic uncertainty linger. The 2025-2026 show season topped the prior year's record and generated nearly $1.91 billion in ticket sales, according to industry data from The Broadway League. "Even in a challenging economic environment, Broadway remained notably on par with last season, reflecting both the resilience of this industry and the connection audiences feel to these productions," said Jason Laks, president of The Broadway League, in a press release. Adjusting for the extra week that was included in the prior season, Broadway grosses this year rose 3.5%, attendance increased 1.8% and average ticket prices climbed 1.7%. This comes ahead of Sunday's Tony Awards, setting a high-stakes background for the industry's biggest night. The awards often lead to further ticket sales for winning shows. While consumers have pulled back in some discretionary categories, demand for live entertainment has remained remarkably strong — from concerts and sporting events to theater. The New York Fed's beige book has made explicit mentions of Broadway nearly a dozen times over the last two decades as an economic indicator, most recently in April saying "ticket sales remained strong." But Broadway's record year highlights a growing question: Have live performances become too expensive to balance rising production costs? The average Broadway ticket cost $131 this season. For a family of four attending a musical, tickets alone can easily exceed $500 before accounting for transportation, meals and other expenses. In many cases, premium seats cost significantly more. At higher rates, the total expenses start to rival a one-day trip to Disney World for a family of four. The industry's growth is increasingly being driven by high-priced plays featuring major celebrities rather than traditional blockbuster musicals. The 2025-2026 season opened 35 new productions: 12 musicals, 21 plays, and two specials. Existing intellectual property counts for three of the four nominated best new musicals, including an adaptation of the Apple TV series "Schmigadoon," the 1980s cult-classic film "Lost Boys" and a parody of the Oscar-winning film "Titanic," titled "Titanique." "Producers are becoming far more selective about the economics of a project," said Broadway producer Jim Kierstead. "There's greater emphasis on recognizable titles, built-in audiences, limited runs, strategic casting, and productions that can generate additional life beyond Broadway through touring, licensing, or international productions."

Broadway's $1.9 billion season is the latest sign of consumers splurging on experiences
Europe
BBC Business

US stocks slump as fears over Big Tech shake Wall Street

Stock markets suffered a sharp drop on Friday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq index seeing its biggest one-day drop since April 2025. With fears mounting that gains so far this year may be unsustainable, a surprisingly strong US jobs report for April sparked a selloff, with the major US markets ending the week in the red. The data stoked fresh fears among investors that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates higher for longer, especially as inflation remains stubborn. The Nasdaq index fell by more than 4%, the S&P 500 closed 2.6% lower and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.35%. Digital assets also suffered a sharp selloff on Friday. Bitcoin, the biggest cryptocurrency, dropped sharply as investors rushed to offload riskier assets across the board. While a strong jobs market is usually good news for the economy, it means the Federal Reserve is less likely to cut borrowing costs anytime soon. David Doyle, head of economics at Macquarie Group, said Friday's jobs report was potentially "too good", especially against a backdrop of high inflation. He said the figures raised the likelihood the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates this year, contributing to the stock market selloff. It meant investors who had been holding out for rate cuts were forced to quickly change their plans. However, Friday's selloff did not mark a global market panic. Instead, it saw investors shifting away from tech stocks, which critics have warned are overvalued and could crash in the same way as the dotcom bubble in the early 2000s. Major investment funds pulled money out of AI and microchip companies, which have seen their share prices soar in recent years. Instead of leaving the market entirely, investors piled instead into traditionally safer investments. Sectors such as healthcare, utilities, and consumer staples, including Kraft Heinz and Keurig Dr Pepper, saw a boost as traders looked for stability.

US stocks slump as fears over Big Tech shake Wall Street
Europe
The Guardian

US added 172,000 jobs in May as labor market shows signs of resilience

A ‘We’re hiring’ sign at a restaurant in Manhattan. Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenA ‘We’re hiring’ sign at a restaurant in Manhattan. Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesUS economyUS added 172,000 jobs in May as labor market shows signs of resilienceGovernment figures show unemployment rate at 4.3% amid rising inflation and economic uncertainty from Iran war US employers added 172,000 jobs in May while the country’s unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%, a sign of a resilient labor market despite rising inflation and economic uncertainty brought on by continued conflict in the Middle East. Despite the positive update on the labor market, US stocks fell sharply by Friday afternoon after a big sell-off of AI chip stocks. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index closed 4% down, the largest single-day drop in over a year. The S&P 500 and and Dow were also down 2.6% and 1.3%, respectively. Economists initially predicted there would be about 80,000 new jobs and a steady unemployment rate of 4.3%. Job figures for March and April were also revised up 29,000 and 64,000, respectively, a 93,000 boost compared with initial figures. Job growth was seen in leisure and hospitality, which was boosted by 70,000 jobs in May, including 48,000 jobs in food services and drinking places. Employment in local government and healthcare also rose last month. The new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is the latest in a number of reports that have pointed to strong hiring in recent months, despite a strained economy and an increase in inflation. The labor department announced earlier this week that the number of job openings in April increased to 7.6m, while the number of people quitting, laid off and discharged changed little. Private employers added 122,000 jobs in May, according to payroll firm ADP, which found that employers of all sizes and most industries – with the exception of the information and natural resource sectors – were hiring. “Hiring was more broad-based in May than we’ve seen in the last few years,” Dr Nela Richardson, ADP’s chief economist, said in a statement. “The labor market continues to show sustained momentum going into the summer hiring season.” Economists are predicting that the Fed will hold rates steady at its meeting 16-17 June, but Trump and his advisers have made it clear they expect Warsh to be receptive to their continued calls for rate cuts. “We’ve got a Warsh Fed now,” the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said at a news conference last week. “It’s a new day at the Fed … I had my first breakfast with Chair Warsh this morning, and I believe that he will do the right thing to balance inflation and growth.” Economists say even if the chair supports a rate cut, it’s unlikely that a majority of the Fed’s 12 voting members would agree. At the Fed’s last meeting in April, just one member voted for lowering the target range for rates.

US added 172,000 jobs in May as labor market shows signs of resilience
Europe
BBC Business

US announces new tariffs over forced labour concerns

The US has announced new tariffs of 10-12.5% on dozens of countries accounting for almost all its imports over concerns they are not doing enough to tackle forced labour. It is the second time President Donald Trump's administration has announced new import taxes since the US Supreme Court struck down many of his previous duties in February. The US Trade Department said these countries will face the tariffs because of their failure to address the importing of goods made with forced labour. The UK said it is tackling forced labour, China denied goods are made with forced labour, and the EU said the tariffs were unjustified. Meanwhile, an India analyst said the move was a pressure tactic as trade negotiations between the countries continue. Human rights groups say forced labour does exist in China and that the UK and other countries need to do more on making sure firms do not have forced labour in their supply chains. However, they questioned the effectiveness of US tariffs as a way of dealing with the problem. The 60 trading partners listed – including the UK, the EU, Canada, India and Japan – account for almost all of the goods sold to the US. The US government's stance is that trading with countries which buy things made with forced labour is unfair on the US. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said it "creates a dynamic where American workers are forced to compete globally on an unlevel playing field". The tariffs announced have not yet been enforced. The Trump administration will need to go through a process to do so. The proposed tariffs come after an investigation launched in March by Greer into the 60 trading partners, and whether those countries had failed to act on prohibiting forced labour.

US announces new tariffs over forced labour concerns
Europe
BBC Business

Hospitality jobs boom as US prepares for World Cup

The US economy created 172,000 jobs in May as pubs, bars and restaurants ramped up hiring ahead of the World Cup. They were primarily created in leisure and hospitality, local government, and health care, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The figures cover the lead-up to this summer's tournament, being jointly hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada. Employment in the financial sector dropped, while the overall unemployment rate held at 4.3%. Rehan Alam, who owns The Red Lion pub and restaurant in downtown New York City, has hired seven extra bartenders to manage an expected surge in attendance when the World Cup begins next week. He told the BBC the business was overwhelmed when the tournament was held in Qatar four years ago, and he expects an even bigger boost due to it being hosted in nearby New Jersey. "Four years ago, when we had the World Cup, we didn't expect it to get that crazy, and it did. It brought a lot of attention to what we've always been trying to do with the soccer," he said. Alam has installed seven new TVs, paid sound engineers to prepare the venue and "beefed up the staffing quite a bit". Alam said the boost is "definitely needed" as firms grapple with rising costs amid the fallout from the US-Israel war with Iran. "Our costs have skyrocketed," he said, pointing to everything from direct energy costs to other charges being passed through in bills. "A boost like this is definitely going to give us that uplift of spirits," he added. The BLS said leisure and hospitality businesses created 70,000 jobs in May, a jump from the average monthly increase of 14,000 for the prior year. Firms selling food and drink specifically were responsible for 48,000 of those, it added.

Hospitality jobs boom as US prepares for World Cup
Europe
The Guardian

Trump threatens tariffs on 60 trading partners including UK and Canada over ‘forced labour’

A container ship at the Port of Los Angeles in May as fresh tariff disruption looms. Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenA container ship at the Port of Los Angeles in May as fresh tariff disruption looms. Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty ImagesTrump tariffsTrump threatens tariffs on 60 trading partners including UK and Canada over ‘forced labour’ Proposal for 10-12.5% levies, to also include EU, Taiwan and Australia, would allow US president to skirt court-imposed limits Donald Trump has threatened tariffs of between 10% and 12.5% on 60 trading partners including the UK, the EU and Australia over alleged forced labour failures, in the latest attempt to revive his signature trade policy. The EU immediately hit back, saying it expected the US to respect the tariff deal it entered into last July and arguing that stealth tariffs breached the spirit of that agreement. The proposed levies on partners accused of allowing imports of goods produced by workers under coercion come after the US supreme court ruled in February that the president’s “liberation day” tariffs were illegal. Trump responded by imposing 10% across-the-board tariffs, but last month the US trade court found those were also unlawful, although they remain in place during the appeal process. The latest proposal for tariffs on the grounds of forced labour, which would affect major partners including Canada, Japan, Norway, Taiwan and China, would enable Trump to skirt those previous court-imposed limits on his protectionist agenda. They come as the US threatens to impose fresh levies of 25% on Brazil. The US trade representative, Jamieson Greer, said: “The failure of our most important trading partners to address the importation of goods made with forced labor is unacceptable. This creates a dynamic where American workers are forced to compete globally on an unlevel playing field. We will no longer tolerate this disparity.” The threat of fresh tariff disruption will unsettle trading partners, including Keir Starmer, who have fought hard to build trust with Trump and to contain the cost of trading with his unpredictable administration. Experts had predicted that Trump, who has been obsessed with tariffs as a tool of national economic security for decades, would try to find a way around the supreme court ruling in February. At the time he threatened to use tariffs in a “much more powerful and obnoxious way” with at least six other legal routes to punish those countries he judged perilous to the US economy. The latest tariffs are a result of investigations into the labour laws of 60 trading partners using section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. According to a 98-page report on that investigation, “only Canada, Ecuador, the European Union, Indonesia, Mexico, and Pakistan have not failed to impose a forced labor import prohibition”.

Trump threatens tariffs on 60 trading partners including UK and Canada over ‘forced labour’
Europe
The Guardian

Federal workers experiencing ‘PTSD-like symptoms’ after unlawful firings by Trump administration

Employees walk out of the US Department of State headquarters on 11 July 2025, in Washington DC. Photograph: Anna Moneymaker/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenEmployees walk out of the US Department of State headquarters on 11 July 2025, in Washington DC. Photograph: Anna Moneymaker/Getty ImagesBusiness Federal workers experiencing ‘PTSD-like symptoms’ after unlawful firings by Trump administrationIn survey of more than 300 fired probationary employees, 95% reported continuing mental health effects US federal workers laid off by the Trump administration say they are experiencing mental health effects, including PTSD-like symptoms, from losing their jobs, according to a new survey. More than 300 fired probationary employees were surveyed, with 95% reporting ongoing mental health effects, according to 27UNIHTED, a network of former National Institute of Health (NIH) employees. Nearly half said they were experiencing PTSD-like symptoms, and a quarter are taking new medications to manage symptoms. Survey respondents were located across 43 states and the US Virgin Islands and had worked in 12 different departments across 15 agencies, bureaus and subgroups. The employees are a tiny fraction of the more than 300,000 federal workers who were laid off or pushed to resign or retire since the start of Donald Trump’s second term. More than 25,000 workers were laid off in the middle of their probationary period, meaning they had started their positions within a year or two when they were abruptly fired. Brier Ryver worked as a park ranger at the Crystal River national wildlife refuge, Florida’s only wildlife refuge for manatees, when she was fired along with other federal probationary employees. She was in the midst of a six weeks education program teaching children when another probationary colleague was terminated. She was temporarily reinstated in March 2025 but was ultimately fired again that May. “I love that job, so I went back to it, but the instability was very apparent,” Ryver said. “Even now, still talking to people who are still reinstated, it still feels like they’re waiting for the other shoe to drop.” A federal judge ruled in September that the firing of federal probationary employees was unlawful, though the federal government was not required to reinstate terminated employees. The judge overseeing the case noted concerns that the supreme court would overrule the relief if he ordered reinstatement of the fired workers. Ryver noted the firings had set a precedent that could allow the federal government to fire employees on a whim despite civil service protections. “These unlawful terminations that should have never happened in the first place have had deep personal impacts,” Ryver said. “I still have PTSD-like symptoms in my own life that are impacting my ability to work, and although I’m in a different role now, it’s still at the back of my mind, what happened to us.” Christa Reynolds worked as a contractor for the NIH for eight years before taking a role at the agency as a program analyst.

Federal workers experiencing ‘PTSD-like symptoms’ after unlawful firings by Trump administration
North America
CNBC Economy

Inflation hits 3.2% in the euro zone as Iran war pushes energy costs higher

Euro zone inflation rose to an estimated 3.2% in May, driven by double-digit energy price growth, official data showed on Tuesday. The print, which was in line with forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists, is expected to lock in expectations of an interest rate hike at next week's European Central Bank meeting. Energy costs represented the highest annual rate of inflation in May, according to the flash data, with prices rising by 10.9% — a slight rise from the euro zone's 10.8% energy price growth recorded the previous month. Services inflation rose to 3.5% from 3% in April, while food, alcohol and tobacco prices cooled to 2% from 2.4% the previous month. Inflation rates also varied drastically between individual markets. Germany, Europe's biggest economy, saw annual inflation fall to 2.7% in May from 2.9% in April. But Greece and Lithuania's annual inflation rates rose above 5% last month. In France, annual inflation rose from 2.5% in April to 2.8% in May. Tuesday's print showed inflation in Europe is continuing to rise above the European Central Bank's 2% target as oil and gas prices remain elevated in the wake of the U.S.-Iran war. Inflation in the euro zone jumped to 3% in April, up from 2.6% in March. Prior to the outbreak of the conflict in Iran, inflation in the euro area had dipped below the 2% threshold. Europe is particularly vulnerable to energy shocks as a major net energy importer. Markets are currently pricing in a 94% chance of the ECB hiking its key interest rate by 25 basis points at its meeting later this month, according to LSEG data. Following the data release, the euro was flat against the dollar at around $1.164. The yield on Germany's 10-year bund, broadly seen as a benchmark for the euro zone, fell by 6 basis points. Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro at ING, said in a note on Tuesday morning that the May inflation data paves the way for an ECB rate hike next week. "A week ahead of the next ECB meeting, this is the expected uptick in inflation that will motivate the central bank to decide on an 'insurance' hike," he said.

Inflation hits 3.2% in the euro zone as Iran war pushes energy costs higher
Europe
The Guardian

Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim say they’ll ‘stay and fight’ at 60 Minutes

Bill Whitaker, Lesley Stahl and Jon Wertheim. Photograph: Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenBill Whitaker, Lesley Stahl and Jon Wertheim. Photograph: Getty ImagesCBSLesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim say they’ll ‘stay and fight’ at 60 MinutesStahl and Whitaker had been wild cards after new CBS News management fired multiple people in recent weeks Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim announced on Friday their decision to remain at CBS’s 60 Minutes after the tumultuous firings of several of the show’s senior correspondents and top producers. The three correspondents issued a joint statement, saying: “We have had a hard time deciding whether to stay … We don’t want to see 60 Minutes die. We have been grieving because this whole mess has wounded and damaged the broadcast. Stahl, 84, and Whitaker, 74, had remained wildcards as they had not commented on the uproar that has plagued the show since the new management of CBS News ousted correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega and producers Tanya Simon, Draggan Mihailovich and Matthew Polevoy last Thursday as part of a total restructuring of the show. Then, on Tuesday evening, the network terminated veteran Scott Pelley, telling him in a legalistic email message that he was being fired for “cause” because of his conduct in an explosive meeting a day earlier with new executive producer Nick Bilton and the network’s managing editor, Charles Forelle. During the meeting, Pelley criticized Bari Weiss, the former opinion commentator who became the network’s editor-in-chief – an appointment which has sparked backlash among numerous CBS employees who raised concerns about impartiality. “She’s murdering 60 Minutes,” Pelley said of Weiss. “She does not love this place. She was brought in to kill it and is doing exactly that.” In Friday’s note, the trio of correspondents said they were still “deeply upset by the firings” of Simon and Mihailovich, who they described as “strong leaders who everyone respected”. “As far as we can tell – because no explanation has ever been offered – they were expelled because they fought for our 60 Minutes values and stood up to protect our independence and integrity. Newsrooms are not supposed to run like dictatorships,” they wrote. The correspondents went on to also mention Alfonsi, Vega and Pelley, as well as Polevoy and senior producer Guy Campanile, who was also fired by CBS News. “We want to express how sorry we are that these principled, fair and honest journalists were treated so shabbily, with such indecency. It’s been heartbreaking,” they wrote. Explaining their decision to stay, they said: “We feared that our returning might be construed as an endorsement of the existing power structure. That is simply, categorically not the case.

Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim say they’ll ‘stay and fight’ at 60 Minutes