Walmart's NYC-based innovation center is experimenting with a cashier-less store concept called Project Kepler, which "aims to reimagine the in-store shopping experience with the help of technologies like computer vision," Recode reports. Project Kepler is in part aimed at creating a store that would feature no checkout lines or cashiers, but use computer vision to detect which products customers leave the store with and then charge their accounts accordingly. Why it matters: Amazon is also...

A greater share of Americans have more debt than money in the bank than at any point since 1962, according to Deutsche Bank economist Torsten Slok. And, in a note to clients yesterday, Slok said that, despite record stock market wealth and home price levels just shy of housing-bubble highs, Americans are poorer than at any point in nearly a quarter century. Why it matters: The data suggest that the third-longest economic expansion in history, and the lowest jobless rate in 17 years, has...

The Dow jumped more than 100 points in early trading Tuesday, after the Commerce Department announced that core inflation rose just 1.8% over the past year, below the Federal Reserve’s annual 2% target. The data suggest that when the Federal Reserve’s FOMC meets next week, committee members will see little reason to push for an accelerated pace of interest rate hikes. These numbers dovetail with other data, like last week’s jobs report, which showed the U.S. economy added 313,000 new jobs at...

If you thought the Trump Administration’s steel tariffs caused a stir, just wait until it unveils its planned suite of new duties on Chinese goods, which Politico reported Wednesday will be rolled out in the coming weeks. The new tariffs will follow the conclusion of an investigation by the U.S. Trade Representative into alleged Chinese violation of U.S. intellectual property law and WTO rules, with reports suggesting that the administration will announce at least $30 billion in new annual...

President Trump slammed Amazon on Twitter Thursday morning, a day after the stock slid following reports that the President is “obsessed” with the company and looking for ways reign in the e-commerce giant. “I have stated my concerns with Amazon long before the Election,” he tweeted. “Unlike others, they pay little or no taxes to state & local governments, use our Postal System as their Delivery Boy (causing tremendous loss to the U.S.), and are putting many thousands of retailers out of...