This week in business: Taylor Swift, Tesla, and some cleaner Walmart snacks

"On one end, regulators and retailers are making decisions that could directly affect your wallet and grocery cart-from FICO shaking up how mortgage lenders handle credit scores to Walmart promising cleaner labels on its private-label food. On the other, cultural and corporate forces collided in ways that only 2025 could deliver: Starbucks is closing stores (many of them unionized), and Taylor Swift is rolling out a new album and a three-day movie event that's giving theaters a rare box office jolt."

"Quantum computing stocks leap-again Rigetti, D-Wave, IonQ, and Quantum Computing Inc. notched double-digit daily pops, extending huge 12-month runs. Rigetti landed a $5.7 million order for two upgradable 9-qubit Novera systems; D-Wave touted a U.K. police pilot that sped up response-time modeling. Fans see early commercial traction; skeptics say the hype is still miles ahead of revenues. Big banks eye relief as capital rules get rewritten"

"Big banks eye relief as capital rules get rewritten Trump-era regulators are crafting the most sweeping capital update since 2008, easing parts of the "Basel Endgame," recalibrating GSIB surcharges, and tailoring leverage constraints. Industry sources expect systemwide capital to be flat at worst-maybe lower for some mega-banks. Critics warn softer buffers could bite if the economy wobbles. Walmart is cleaning"

Ready-to-eat pasta items were added to ongoing listeria recalls tied to an outbreak traced to August 2024, with 20 cases, four fatalities, and 19 hospitalizations reported. Quantum computing stocks rallied as companies like Rigetti, D-Wave, IonQ, and Quantum Computing Inc. recorded strong gains and early commercial wins such as Rigetti's $5.7 million order and a U.K. police pilot using D-Wave. Trump-era regulators proposed significant capital-rule rollbacks that could leave systemwide capital roughly flat, while critics warn of reduced buffers. Walmart committed to removing synthetic dyes and 30 additives from several private-label brands by January 2027. Starbucks announced store closures amid unionization, and a major pop release and three-day movie event boosted theater box office.

Read at Fast Company