Today’s Big Story

Consumer Confidence Slips

Americans' expectations for the economy hit their lowest level in 12 years

This isn’t exactly shocking. Americans are increasingly anxious about their financial prospects. Officially, U.S. consumer confidence continued its sharp 2025 decline as people’s views about their financial futures slumped to a 12-year low, driven by rising anxiety over money, savings and spending.

The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell 7.2 points in March to 92.9, the fourth straight monthly decline and its lowest reading since January of 2021—right in the middle of the Covid pandemic. The reading was short of analysts expectations for a reading of 94.5, according to a survey by FactSet. The business group found that the measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for income, business and the job market fell 9.6 points to 65.2.

According to Semafor, the findings show how Trump’s tariffs, the trade war, and market volatility have begun to weigh on households, as economists warn of rising odds of a recession. Consumers are also facing sticky inflation and high borrowing costs. The U.S. Federal Reserve forecasts only two interest rate cuts this year, while the Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic told Bloomberg Tuesday that he now sees just one owing to slowing progress on inflation.

And it’s not just consumers: C-suite executives are growing more pessimistic about the U.S. economy’s future, too. In a recent CNBC survey of chief financial officers, 60% say they expect a recession in the second half of 2025—up from just 7% who anticipated a 2025 recession in the previous survey. And the Wall Street Journal reports that corporate America’s “euphoria over Trump’s ‘golden age’ has quickly given way to obvious distress.”

The nation’s biggest retailers have noted a shift in consumer behavior, too. Walmart has thrived with Americans trying to offset higher prices by seeking bargains. But late last month, the nation’s largest retailer slashed its profit forecast for this year. Target’s sales and profit slipped during the crucial holiday quarter, and the company predicted that there would be “meaningful pressure” on its profits at the start of the year in part because of tariffs. Macy’s, Best Buy, Abercrombie & Fitch, Dollar General and others have also grown cautious about their expectations for 2025, with many citing “economic uncertainty.”

Trump Downplays Signal Fiasco

But the blunder highlights the pitfalls of the administration’s ad hoc approach to foreign policy

President Trump characterized an extraordinary security breach as a minor transgression on Tuesday, insisting that top administration officials had not shared any classified information as they discussed secret military plans in a group chat that included Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor in chief of The Atlantic magazine. Trump said during a meeting with U.S. ambassadors at the White House that no classified information was divulged in the group chat, though Goldberg wrote that messaging revealed “precise information about weapons packages, targets, and timing” of strikes in Yemen. The White House’s National Security Council has said it is investigating. “Now if it’s classified information, it’s probably a little bit different,” Trump said. “But I always say, you have to learn from every experience.”

That’s forgiving, and in stark contrast to his reaction to Hillary Clinton’s use of a home server as secretary of state. But it’s clear the embarrassing episode has revived alarm among Democrats and seasoned national security professionals about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a onetime National Guard soldier who rose to prominence at Fox and has brought an unorthodox and combative approach to his role. Former national security officials said they were skeptical that the information shared by Hegseth ahead of the March 15 strike was not classified, given the life-or-death nature of the operation. Others said the debacle underscored the ad hoc nature of this administration’s national security deliberations—a mode that has sometimes left allies bewildered and Trump’s own aides at odds.

National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said Tuesday he takes “full responsibility” for using an unclassified commercial chat app to discuss such sensitive plans. When he created the “Houthi PC small group” on Signal earlier this month, it appeared meant for routine updates to Trump administration officials involved in deliberations, but it quickly evolved into something more serious. However, Trump made clear on Tuesday evening that he does not plan to fire Waltz for establishing the Signal group and he believed a “lower level” employee who works for his national security adviser had added the journalist's number by mistake.

Remember Napster? It Was Just Acquired.

The long-dead company is worth $200 million? In this economy?

Napster was only around for roughly three years before it shut down in 2002. The company faced multiple lawsuits from major record labels and bands like Metallica, as Napster's users freely shared music and other files online. Yet, despite its short life, the peer-to-peer file-sharing platform arguably changed the music industry forever, altering how consumers acquired music and ushering in what eventually would become modern-day music streaming.

And while it’s been dead for more than two decades, it was just acquired for $207 million to a Metaverse company, Infinite Reality. Gizmodo says it joins a long line of zombified legacy brands reanimated to sell dubious digital services. On its website, Infinite Reality says it sells AI and XR services to companies and governments, including something called iR Studio, which offers users the ability to create “a 3D website with no coding skills.”

Variety reports that Infinite Reality plans to expand Napster beyond just a basic music streaming service, where it faces far bigger competitors like Spotify, Apple, YouTube and Amazon. In a press release, Infinite Reality said Napster will become “a social music platform that prioritizes active fan engagement over passive listening” and will let artists “connect with, own and monetize the relationship with their fans.” The company’s ideas for Napster include creating branded, 3D virtual spaces for virtual concerts, social listening parties and other community-based experiences; selling merchandise, digital content and event tickets; and using AI-powered customer service, sales and community management agents for personalization.

Rimowa’s Upcycled Luggage Program Launches in U.S.

The Re-Crafted line takes pre-owned luggage and refines it

Rimowa‘s indestructible aluminium luggage carries a lifetime guarantee. But the brand’s newest program underlines that they weren’t necessarily talking about your lifetime. The legendary luggage has always looked cooler when it’s beat-up and carrying stickers from around the world … and now you can buy them that way.

The German luxury brand’s Re-Crafted program is a collection of pre-owned suitcases that are covered in dents and scratches, old stickers, and luggage tags. And the wild thing is there is enormous demand for these suitcases, which cost between $600 and $1,000, generally around half the price of a brand-new Rimowa case. When the brand did similar limited-edition vintage drops in Germany, South Korea and Japan, they sold out within minutes or hours. Already, most of the ones on offer have been bought up.

Emelie De Vitis, Rimowa’s VP of product and marketing, told Fast Company that the brand launched the program quietly, since it wasn’t sure how customers would react. In stores, the brand said it would buy back any authentic Rimowa suitcase for $300, no matter what condition it was in. It would then send them to one of its repair shops to be refurbished to ensure that they are as functional and reliable as a new one. “Some of them were so interesting that we saved them for our own archive,” says De Vitis. But now there’s a whole community of Rimowa fans who are looking for vintage suitcases.

The Long Read

Inside the opulent world of Rachel Tashjian

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