Venmo, long known for helping friends split dinner bills and birthday gifts, is jumping into the heart of consumer commerce. The PayPal-owned platform on Wednesday rolled out several updates designed to move beyond peer-to-peer transfers, transforming Venmo into a more robust fintech tool for everyday spending.The changes include upgraded rewards for Venmo Debit Mastercard users, expanded checkout options at major retailers, and a new brand campaign aimed at positioning Venmo, which has more than 64 million monthly active users, as a full-service commerce platform.”We’re transforming from a payments app into a full-service commerce experience for users to spend their balance…
Author: usaeverydaylife
U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell departs after holding a press conference following a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee on interest rate policy in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 7, 2025. Kevin Lamarque | ReutersPresident Donald Trump on Wednesday angrily urged Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to cut interest rates, minutes after the payroll firm ADP reported its lowest private-sector jobs number in years.”ADP NUMBER OUT!!! ‘Too Late’ Powell must now LOWER THE RATE,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.”He is unbelievable!!!” the president said of the central bank chairman, whom he has frequently pressured to shave rates in…
TOPSHOT – Dutch radical right party PVV leader Geert Wilders (C) addresses the media as he arrives for the weekly coalition talks in the Lower House in The Hague, on June 3, 2025. (Photo by Robin van Lonkhuijsen / ANP / AFP) / Netherlands OUT (Photo by ROBIN VAN LONKHUIJSEN/ANP/AFP via Getty Images) Robin Van Lonkhuijsen | Afp | Getty ImagesThe collapse of the Dutch government sets a tricky political backdrop for the Netherlands as it prepares to host the NATO summit in just three weeks.Right-wing leader Geert Wilders’ exit from government ended the already fragile Dutch coalition after a…
A sign promoting the benefits of working for McDonald’s hangs in the window of a restaurant on May 13, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois.Scott Olson | Getty ImagesPrivate sector job creation slowed to a near-standstill in May, hitting its lowest level in more than two years as signs emerged of a weakening labor market, payrolls processing firm ADP reported Wednesday.Payrolls increased just 37,000 for the month, below the downwardly revised 60,000 in April and the Dow Jones forecast for 110,000. It was the lowest monthly job total from the ADP count since March 2023.The report comes two days before the more…
Dollar General emerged as one of Oppenheimer’s favorite defensive plays heading into a potential economic slowdown. The investment firm upgraded the discount retail chain to an outperform rating from perform. Analyst Rupesh Parikh also set a price target of $130, which points to a 15% advance from current levels. Parikh called Dollar General’s valuation “accommodative” with room for further multiple expansion on the horizon — despite the stock already being up 49% in 2025. DG YTD mountain DG YTD chart Shares of Dollar General surged 16% on Tuesday after the company beat first-quarter earnings and revenue expectations. The company also…
A worker counts Bulgarian Lev banknotes at a store in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Friday, March 29, 2024.Oliver Bunic/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesBulgaria on Wednesday secured the green light to join the euro zone, meaning the bloc could soon grow from 20 to 21 members.The European Commission and European Central Bank both assessed that the country met the requirements to adopt the single currency starting next year.”This positive assessment of convergence paves the way for Bulgaria to introduce the euro as of 1 January 2026 and become the 21st EU Member State to join the euro area,” Philip Lane, member of the ECB…
The Apple store on 5th Avenue is seen in New York on April 8, 2025. Timothy A. Clary | Afp | Getty ImagesForecasts for Apple and Samsung shipment growth this year were sharply slashed by Counterpoint Research on Wednesday amid uncertainty over U.S. tariff policy.The research outfit said it had revised down its 2025 global smartphone shipment growth forecast to 1.9% year-on-year from 4.2% previously, citing “renewed uncertainties surrounding U.S. tariffs.”U.S. President Donald Trump announced “reciprocal tariffs” on imports from countries around the world in April, but exempted smartphones and other electronics from those duties days later.Still, with tariff uncertainty looming,…
UBS singled out Snowflake as a potential beneficiary of the artificial intelligence trend. The bank updated the cloud-based data storage to buy from neutral. Analyst Karl Keirstead also raised his 12-month price target to $265 from $210, signaling upside of 27% from Tuesday’s close. Despite shares of Snowflake rallying 35% this year, Keirstead said that “it’s not too late to get more constructive.” SNOW YTD mountain SNOW YTD chart “We’re becoming increasingly confident in the prospect that we’re just a few quarters into what could prove to be a multi-year enterprise investment cycle in the data layer, based on industry…
Apple’s valuation is starting to look expensive, and investors should steer clear, according to Needham. The investment firm downgraded the iPhone maker and “Magnificent Seven” stock to hold from buy. Analyst Laura Martin also removed her $225 price target — which implied upside of 10.7%. “We move to the sidelines for AAPL owing to its expensive relative valuation, increasing fundamental growth headwinds, and rising competitive threats,” she wrote. “We believe that, for AAPL shares to work, they must have the catalyst of an iPhone replacement cycle, which we do not foresee in the next 12 months. Until then, we believe…
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks to the media after the House narrowly passed a bill forwarding President Donald Trump’s agenda at the Capitol on May 22, 2025.Kevin Dietsch | Getty ImagesAs Senate Republicans debate trillions of tax breaks advanced by the House, some business owners could be blocked from part of the proposed windfall, policy experts say.If enacted as written, the House GOP’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” would raise the federal deduction limit for state and local taxes, known as SALT, to $40,000. That would phase out once income exceeds $500,000.The bill would also boost a…
