Business

FOX Business' Lauren Simonetti joins ‘Mornings with Maria’ to report on how artificial intelligence is transforming the retail shopping experience. Macy's announced that it's closing more than a dozen additional stores in 2026 as it pushes forward with plans to shutter underperforming locations to boost profitability. Approximately 14 stores are slated to close during the first fiscal quarter as part of its "Bold New Chapter" turnaround strategy, which includes shuttering about 150 underperforming locations by the end of 2026.Macy's CEO Tony Spring said in a letter to employees last week that the company will continue to review its portfolio, which includes continuing to close underprodcutive stores and streamlining operations. MACY’S TURNAROUND SHOWS PROMISE AS SALES CLIMB TO HIGH...

Millions of households are poised to receive cold weather payments from the DWP to assist with heating costs following the harsh beginning to the year.A total of 802 postcode areas across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are affected. Storm Goretti battered the nation with snow, strong winds and temperatures as low as -12C between December 30, 2025 and January 9, 2026.The DWP cold weather payment scheme provides £25 for every seven-day period an area experiences sub-zero temperatures, with multiple payments possible for prolonged cold spells.Pensions minister Torsten Bell said: "As temperatures plunge, cold weather payments will automatically get support directly to vulnerable households. "Combined with the biggest ever pension credit take-up campaign and our triple lock commitment –...

Continental Resources chairman Harold Hamm discusses the U.S.' interest in Venezuela's vast oil reserves and more on 'Kudlow.' A Trump administration official confirmed to Fox News on Wednesday the first sale of Venezuelan oil, valued at $500 million, has been completed. The deal came after President Donald Trump announced interim authorities in Venezuela would be turning over between 30 million and 50 million barrels of sanctioned oil to the U.S., worth about $2.8 billion at current market prices.Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the U.S. government would oversee the sale of the oil and proceeds would be deposited into accounts controlled by Washington.  Additional sales are expected in the coming days and weeks. EXPERT WARNS OF 'EXTREME VIOLENCE' IN VENEZUELAN MINING AS TRUMP AD...

Brits could soon be hit by big changes to ISA rules as Rachel Reeves prepares a wide-ranging overhaul of how savings are taxed. The plans would affect both Cash ISAs and investment ISAs and could leave many people paying more to the Treasury from next year. The first change has already been confirmed. In the 2025 Budget, the Chancellor said the tax-free allowance for Cash ISAs will fall from £20,000 to £12,000 for under-65s from April 2027. That alone limits how much people can save each year without paying tax on the interest. But the Treasury is also looking at new measures that go further. Reports from Politico suggest HMRC is considering a 22% flat-rate charge on interest earned on cash held inside Stocks and Shares ISAs.At the moment, interest inside an investment ISA is tax-free, ...

American Real Estate Association co-founder Jason Haber unpacks the state of the housing market and assesses Redfin’s announcement of a ‘great housing reset’ coming in 2026 on ‘The Claman Countdown.’ For the first time, the number of homeowners with mortgages above 6% has outpaced those with borrowing rates under 3%, according to Realtor.com's latest report on the lock-in effect. The last time rates were under the 3% threshold was between July 2020 and September 2021. Rates haven't fallen below this threshold since 1971. Since September 2022, rates have remained above 6%, keeping many would-be sellers "locked in" to their current rate and keeping potential buyers sidelined, which hindered the U.S. housing supply. With limited inventory and growing competition for homes, home prices...

Citing data from Nesta, Octopus Energy recommends reducing your 'flow temperature' to a maximum of 60°C as a crucial step in cutting costs. This setting is separate from your thermostat reading and actually refers to the temperature of water leaving your boiler.The energy firm explained: "Set your flow temperature to between 55 and 60 degrees on your combi boiler. Take a look at Nesta's Money-Saving Boiler walkthrough to see how, depending on your boiler, you could save £65."If you adjust a thermostat to 15°C, your boiler heats water to a considerably higher temperature before pumping it around your property until the room hits 15°C. Research from Which? indicates that a standard boiler typically operates with a flow temperature between 75°C and 80°C, though this is frequently more than...

Continental Resources chairman Harold Hamm discusses the U.S.' interest in Venezuela's vast oil reserves and more on 'Kudlow.' At first glance, it looks like a contradiction — and the left is quick to call it a moral failure.   America is swimming in oil, yet President Donald Trump has moved to bring Venezuelan crude into U.S. refineries. If the United States is energy-independent, they ask, why buy oil from Venezuela at all? After years of sanctions and pressure on Caracas, isn’t this hypocrisy?  The answer is no. It’s strategy. And it starts with a basic fact too many commentators ignore: America has plenty of oil — just not always the right kind.   The shale revolution, powered by fracking, transformed U.S. energy production. It flooded global markets with light, sweet crude and...

South East Water is under investigation by the industry regulator following a series of  water supply outages since November that have impacted tens of thousands of homes and commercial premises throughout Kent and Sussex. Ofwat has launched a probe into whether the water company has violated its licence requirements by falling short of customer service standards and failing to provide adequate assistance to those affected during the supply disruptions.The most recent episode has seen thousands of properties across Kent and Sussex endure a sixth consecutive day without running water, with South East Water (SEW) attributing the disruption to Storm Goretti which triggered burst mains and electricity failures. Tunbridge Wells experienced a prolonged water shortage in November and December,...

Check out what's clicking on FoxBusiness.com. T-Mobile appeared to poke fun at rival Verizon on Wednesday as a widespread outage disrupted service for customers across the country. In a post on X, T-Mobile reassured its customers that its own network remained fully operational while noting that calls or messages to Verizon users could be affected."T-Mobile’s network is keeping our customers connected, and we’ve confirmed that our network is operating normally and as expected," T-Mobile wrote. "However due to Verizon’s reported outage, our customers may not be able to reach someone with Verizon service at this time." VERIZON PHONE SERVICE GOES DOWN FOR SOME CUSTOMERS T-Mobile said it's "keeping our customers connected" amid the Verizon outage. (Plexi Images/GHI/UCG/Universal Im...

Lidl has confirmed where two new UK stores will open this month. The discount supermarket's staff will welcome customers through the doors of branches in Brough, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, and Burntwood in Staffordshire.Shoppers in Brough can expect their new Lidl to open on Thursday (January 15) while those in Burntwood won't have long to wait as their branch opens a week later on January 22. The new branches are among 19 Lidl plans to open over the next eight weeks as part of a nationwide expansion.Lidl announced on Tuesday that it was also renovating over 70 of its existing outlets to the tune of £43million. Changes as part of the store overhaul include new tills and bigger freezers to offer a wider range of products.The chain is also launching new energy-saving features, such ...