Closely examining the claims companies make about a product can help you separate hype from reality. Flavio Coelho/Moment via Getty ImagesTechnological innovations can seem relentless. In computing, some have proclaimed that “a year in machine learning is a century in any other field.” But how do you know whether those advancements are hype or reality?
The most meaningful gifts reflect the recipient’s values and identity – and the giver’s, too. Halfpoint images/Moment via Getty ImagesEvery fall I anticipate the winter holidays with almost childlike joy. I look forward to familiar traditions with friends and family, eggnog in my coffee, and the sense that everyone is feeling a little lighter and more connected.
Cattle, the No. 1 cause of tropical deforestation, roam on tropical forest land that was stripped bare in Acre, Brazil. AP Photo/Eraldo PeresThe world is losing vast swaths of forests to agriculture, logging, mining and fires every year — more than 20 million acres in 2024 alone, roughly the size of South Carolina.
'Big-box' supercenters can contribute to overpurchasing by shoppers Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty ImagesImagine walking out of a Walmart, Target or Costco. As you push your large shopping cart to your car, you ask yourself: Did I really need all that stuff?
The answer is you probably didn’t.
Passengers walk through the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Nov. 7, 2025. Anna Moneymaker/Getty ImagesMajor airports across the United States were subject to a 4% reduction in flights on Nov. 7, 2025, as the government shutdown began to affect travelers.
Sharp spikes in calls for food assistance are rare outside of natural disasters. AP Photo/Eric GayBetween January and mid-October 2025, calls to local 211 helplines from people seeking food pantries in their community held steady at nearly 1,000 calls per day.
Some 42 million Americans rely on SNAP benefits to put food on the table. Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images NewsThe Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program has helped low-income Americans buy groceries for decades with few disruptions.
When it comes to inquiring about – ahem – certain products, shoppers prefer the inhuman touch.
That is what we found in a study of consumer habits when it comes to products that traditionally have come with a degree of embarrassment – think acne cream, diarrhea medication, adult sex toys or personal lubricant.
American households have become dependent on Amazon.
The numbers say it all: In 2024, 83% of U.S. households received deliveries from Amazon, representing over 1 million packages delivered each day and 9 billion individual items delivered same-day or next-day every year. In remarkably short order, the company has transformed from an online bookseller into a juggernaut that has reshaped retailing. But its impact isn’t limited to how we shop.
Headline inflation has increased markedly across both advanced and emerging market (EM) economies this year ending up much higher than we forecast six months ago. Consumer price inflation is expected to remain elevated until at least the second quarter of 2022 as ongoing supply chain disruptions, higher energy prices, and stronger-than-expected demand in countries such as the US provide additional impetus to already buoyant goods prices. Nowhere is this clearer than in Brazil, where annual inflation rose to 10.67 per cent in October, the highest rate since January 2016.
