What's on Your Mind?

Have you seen the new Volvo ad made with generative artificial intelligence? Go ahead. Watch it. . . . I’ll wait. If you think it looks awful, you’re not alone. The physics are all wrong, with hair, sand, and objects going in the wrong direction at the wrong time. The humans look like they’re made of plastic. Their emotions are forced, their expressions deformed, their smiles anything but warm. Instead, they likely fill you with an uncanny Grand Canyon of dread. The lighting is artificial, too—no film, digital camera, or grading would produce that unnatural palette. Some people are saying that Volvo made a mistake by not putting a car in the ad, obviously not realizi…

Empathy is not just a “nice-to-have” soft skill—it is a foundation of how children and adults regulate emotions, build friendships, and learn from one another. Between the ages of 6 and 9, children begin shifting from being self-centered to noticing the emotions and perspectives of others. This makes early childhood one of the most important periods for developing empathy and other social-emotional skills. Traditionally, pretend play has been a natural way to practice empathy. Many adults can remember acting out scenes as doctor and patient, or using sticks and leaves as imaginary currency. Those playful moments were not just entertainment—they were early lessons …

Too often, we get stuck waiting—waiting for a boss, a higher-up, or even a partner to hand us the reins and tell us it’s our time to shine. But here’s the truth: empowerment isn’t something you’re given. It’s something you take. If things aren’t going your way, there’s no one else to blame—it’s up to you to make a move. If you’re tired of waiting for someone else to recognize your potential or tell you what to do next, here are three actionable steps to take control and empower yourself today: Stop Asking for Permission—Start Taking Initiative Empowerment begins when you stop waiting for someone to tell you what to do and start taking proactive steps toward wha…

Sycamore Partners is planning a three-way split of Walgreens Boots Alliance if a deal to take the struggling pharmacy chain private is reached, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. Walgreens’s three businesses—U.S. retail pharmacy, Boots UK, and U.S. healthcare—will be separated and have distinct capital structures, according to the report. Sycamore and Walgreens both declined to comment on the report. Shares of the Deerfield, Illionois-based company rose 5% to $11.62 in early trading. The report “marks another twist in the potential go-private story” for Walgreens, Leerink analyst Michael Cherny said. Walgreens…

Walgreens will lay off hundreds of employees as the pharmacy chain continues to struggle with increased competition and higher-than-desired costs. On top of this, the newly private company is expected to close at least another few dozen retail stores in 2026. Here’s what you need to know. What’s happened? Walgreens has announced that it will cut at least 628 jobs across two states, according to communications it sent to the states in question earlier this month. A Walgreens spokesperson confirmed the layoffs with Fast Company when reached for comment. News of the layoffs was first reported by Bloomberg. The job cuts include 469 positions in the company’s ho…

Walgreens has agreed to pay up to $350 million in a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, who accused the pharmacy of illegally filling millions of prescriptions in the last decade for opioids and other controlled substances. The nationwide drugstore chain must pay the government at least $300 million and will owe another $50 million if the company is sold, merged, or transferred before 2032, according to the settlement reached last Friday. The government’s complaint, filed in January in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, alleges that Walgreens knowingly filled millions of illegal prescriptions for controlled substances between Augu…

Shares in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (Nasdaq: WBA) are up a modest amount after the company announced yesterday that it has agreed to be purchased by private equity firm Sycamore Partners. As of the time of this writing, WBA shares are up under 7% to $11.33. Here’s what you need to know about the buyout and share movement. Walgreens is going private After years of financial struggles, publicly traded Walgreens announced yesterday that it has accepted a deal from private equity firm Sycamore Partners to be bought and taken private. Rumors of the deal were first reported earlier this week. Under the agreement, Sycamore will take the pharmacy chain privat…

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. investors have had a wild 2025 so far. Earlier this month, the beleaguered stock (Nasdaq: WBA) soared 25% after beating Q1 2025 expectations on revenue and earnings per share. Yet today, the company’s stock is crashing—WBA shares are currently down over 15% in early trading. But this stock price swing has nothing to do with sales. Instead, it likely has to do with Walgreens’ changes to its dividend payouts. Here’s what you need to know. Why is Walgreens stock crashing? As of the time of this writing, Walgreens shares are down over 15% in early market trading. The reason for the crashing stock price likely has to do with a change t…

Wall Street’s main indexes kicked off the final week of the year on a softer note on Monday, as heavyweight technology stocks retreated from last week’s gains that had pushed the S&P 500 to record highs. The information technology sector weighed on the S&P 500, as most tech and AI-linked stocks declined, with Nvidia down 1.8%, Broadcom off 1%, and Palantir Technologies shedding 1.4%. “This is (not) the beginning of the end of the tech dominance, it’ll turn out to be a buying opportunity,” said Hank Smith, director and head of investment strategy at Haverford Trust. “A big reason for that is the top tech names, excluding Tesla, do not have challenging v…

Markets are flat early Tuesday in holiday-thinned trading before head of the release of new data on how the U.S. economy fared in the third quarter. Futures for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq are all essentially unchanged before the opening bell. Shares of the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk jumped more than 7% overnight after U.S. regulators approved a pill version of the blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy, the first daily oral medication to treat obesity. Novo’s Wegovy is a GLP-1 drug that works like widely used injectables to mimic a natural hormone that controls appetite and feelings of fullness. Again touching new records,…

European shares were mixed in early trading while Asian shares mostly fell on Friday after a respite from Wall Street’s recent feverish rally. The price of gold also pulled back from record highs following recent torrid runs. The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were both up less than 0.1%. Oil prices slipped. In early European trading, Germany’s DAX rose 0.2% to 24,652.73, while France’s CAC 40 added 0.4% to 8,076.96. Britain’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.1% to 9,498.95, weighed down by losses for mining and energy stocks. Most Asian indexes fell. But South Korea’s Kospi climbed 1.7% to 3,610.60 as trading reopened after a holiday. India’s BSE …

Stocks rose in morning trading on Wall Street Friday and further trimmed losses from earlier in the week for several major indexes. The S&P 500 jumped 0.8%, adding to gains made on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 283 points, or 0.6%, as of 10:05 a.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq jumped 1% and is now on track for a weekly gain. Technology stocks with an focus on artificial intelligence once again led the market. Nvidia jumped 3.4% and Broadcom rose 2.4%. Oracle rose 7% on news that it, along with two other investors, had signed agreements to form a new TikTok U.S. joint venture. Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX each get a 15% share in the popular social video pla…

Wall Street is hanging near its records on Monday, as technology stocks keep rising. The S&P 500 rose 0.3%, coming off its latest all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 17 points, or less than 0.1%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.4% higher. Advanced Micro Devices soared 32.6% to help lead the market after announcing a deal where OpenAI will use its chips to power artificial-intelligence infrastructure. As part of the deal, OpenAI could own up to 160 million shares of AMD if it hits certain milestones. A frenzy around AI has been one of the main reasons Wall Street has been hitting record after record, though that’s also …

Wall Street pointed toward strong gains before markets opened Monday as a bipartisan deal to end the federal government shutdown gained traction in the Senate, though it lacked any clear resolution to expiring health care subsidies that Democrats have been fighting for. Rising hopes for an end to the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history pushed futures for the S&P 500 0.9% higher, while Dow Jones futures gained 0.4%. Nasdaq futures climbed 1.5% on the strength of the technology sector. Health insurers were among the losers early Monday as lack of clarity on health care subsidies clouded their futures. Sunday’s test vote began a series of procedural ma…