September 11, 2025
Written by
Nicholas Morine
Nicholas Morine- U.S. economic metrics showed some signs of weakness, with CPI data indicating inflation had risen by 0.4% in August, tallying 2.9% annually — the highest figure since January. The jobs market also exhibits signs of softness moving forward (via CNN Business).
- OpenAI and Oracle have reportedly signed a deal to purchase ~$300 billion in computing power over the course of the next five years (via The Verge).
- RaceTrac is slated to purchase Chicago-based sandwich chain Potbelly in a deal worth an estimated $566 million (via The Chicago Tribune).
- Dollar Tree is looking to onboard thousands of new employees, highlighting this push via its National Hiring Week event. The event runs Sept. 14-Sept.20, and the retailer is touting “competitive pay, flexible schedules and quality benefits” to interested applicants (via Chain Store Age).
- Kroger raised its annual core sales guidance for the second time in a row, signaling strong demand for inexpensive essentials (via Reuters).
- U.S. holiday spending is expected to slow, according to Deloitte data, although growth is still projected. This year is anticipated to see sales growth of between 2.9% to 3.4%, to $1.61 trillion to $1.62 trillion, versus last year’s figures. In 2024, holiday sales growth reached 4.2% versus year-prior figures (via Chain Store Age).
- U.S. EV sales continued to break new ground in August, with 146,332 units sold that month, per Kelley Blue Book data. EV sales represented 9.9% of total new car sales, up from 9.1% in July (via Electrek).