Firstly, 2025 really took on the 'challenging times economically' baton from 2024 with gusto. I've written numerous times attempting to provide some guidance for people tackling uncertainty and a challenging economic landscape. From leaders struggling with team cuts to international students facing sponsorship challenges to professionals questioning their career paths; 2025 wasn't the return to abundance we all hoped for.
I think the news certainly makes things more complicated. I think people are confused. We had a terrific second quarter. We talked about the back-to-school business being pretty healthy, and yet we all see potential storm clouds on the horizon. So we're trying to be cautiously optimistic... You could stay up all night worrying... But in reality, our job is to make sure we create a better shopping experience for the customer.
These are trying times for corporations. The marketplace is rife with unpredictability, especially when it comes to economic and trade policy. The 2025 World Economic Forum's Chief Economists Outlook report concluded that "uncertainty has become a defining feature of the global economic landscape," with 82% of chief economists gauging uncertainty as "very high." This year, the Economic Policy Uncertainty Index, which tracks data from around the world, spiked to its highest level in three decades.
Karp notes that while the company has "grown quite significantly," it has kept to its "constraints." "Our head count is one manifestation of this disciplined approach," Karp wrote in the letter to shareholders. "The casual expansion of our ranks would have diminished the need to lean even more heavily on the strength of our software and the Ontology and to ensure their continued maturation.
Mexico is facing a crucial week for its economy. Thursday marks the end of the 90-day deadline that U.S. President Donald Trump gave the Mexican government to evaluate their trade relationship and define the tariffs that will remain in place between them. The Latin American country is the United States' main trading partner; however, it has failed to contain the protectionist onslaught that Trump has launched globally.
Are finance chiefs simply adapting to this unending unpredictability? "Uncertainty has become the new norm," Steve Gallucci, global and U.S. leader of Deloitte's CFO Program, said during our discussion of the firm's Q3 2025 CFO Signals report released this morning. Gallucci emphasized that it's critical for CFOs to foster strategies and mechanisms designed to manage persistent variability-a reality that's unlikely to change soon. According to the report, the CFO confidence score came in at 5.7, slightly up from last quarter's 5.4 reading.
To do so, Modern Retail+ Research surveyed 68 brand and retailer professionals about their past and current use of sales channels during the holidays, their past and current holiday marketing tactics, as well as how their current holiday season discounts and holiday revenue expectations compare to last year's. We also interviewed executives at the Fwrd Group and NEOM Wellbeing to learn about their plans and expectations for the upcoming holiday sales season.
Financial tycoons shared their advice for young people to succeed at work and in life. Billionaires Leon Cooperman, Jeff Greene, and John Calamos said passion and hard work are vital. Kevin O'Leary, Nassim Taleb, and Ross Gerber said they need to be responsible and disciplined.
At first, I took things a bit personally, but then when I connected with other fellow agency owners and consultants, I noticed that many of them were going through the same thing at some level, at least on the marketing side.The truth is that we're at an inflection point. The forces reinventing marketing are not merely external; they're structural. Economic shifts are the main driver, but also AI disruptions, talent trends and evolving client expectations are fundamentally altering the way value is delivered.
Some 60 per cent of British millionaires believe they would have a better life abroad, a new survey has revealed. More than half of all the 1,000 wealthy respondents also said they are more likely to consider leaving the UK if Rachel Reeves introduces a wealth tax.
Economic uncertainty globally is influencing demand for hybrid workspace and leading companies to adopt flexible office arrangements. Share price reactions are not always rational in such an environment.
"I'm basically starting over - that's the part that bothers me," said Francis, who's in her 50s and based in the Northeast US. "But I have to do what I have to do to survive."
The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board has warned that the recent 15% tariff agreement with Japan could carry long-term strategic costs in the form of rising prices and mounting pressure on consumer and business sentiment.
A recent Bank of America Institute note spotted a contradiction: While data shows customers increasing spending at restaurants recently, when surveyed, shoppers said they actually cut spending on dining out. They explain this by deal-hunting: Diners still went out, but scaled down the types of restaurants they visited to get more bang for their buck.
Frasers Group anticipates adjusted pre-tax profits between £550 million and £600 million for the new financial year, reflecting little to no profit growth due to economic uncertainty and potential tax rises.
Shares of ASML, the Dutch semiconductor equipment giant, tumbled 11% on Wednesday after the company announced it could no longer confirm that it will grow in 2026.
"Higher education has not faced this level of financial uncertainty in generations," said Robert Kelchen, chair of educational leadership and policy studies at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, who reviewed preliminary survey data. Recent history offers one comparison—the early days of the pandemic, when uncertainty was similarly 'off the charts.' However, back then, the federal government 'quickly stepped in to provide support.' Today, by contrast, the federal government 'is causing the uncertainty.'
"A report from Indeed indicates that the job market for recent graduates is at its toughest since 2018, with a 33% decline in job advertisements compared to last year."
