Stephan's Friday Picks

• Saks owner says he saved department stores. Never mind the bankruptcy (NYT)
• The protein bar delusion (The Atlantic)
  
• The billionaires behind Japan's cultural icons (Bloomberg)
• Will Americans get over their fear of eating animal blood (NYT)
• From the archives (2002): Power steer (NYT)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Amazon takes the #1 spot on the Fortune 500, ending Walmart's 13-year run (Fortune)
• Loblaw misses quarterly revenue estimates as Canadians tighten household budgets (Globe and Mail)
• Made in Canada: Snack attack (Globe and Mail)
• Keurig Dr Pepper sales rise on higher prices (WSJ)
• Home Depot profit falls as home improvement downturn continues (WSJ)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• Online shopping could be AI's next victim (Bloomberg)
• Retailers court Gen Z with splurges that look good on TikTok (Bloomberg)
• Teens have doused themselves in Axe for decades. Even Axe is over it (WSJ)
• Starbucks needs you to buy an afternoon refresher (WSJ)
• Packaged foods producers turn to price cuts as sales stagnate (FT)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Danone sales rise on high-protein, medical nutrition demand (Bloomberg)
• How Paris' working class dining experience is reshaping restaurant experiences in France (The Conversation)
• Egg prices collapse as once-empty shop shelves now overstuffed (Bloomberg)
• There's a reason American kids are such picky eaters (NYT)
• Walgreens cuts hundreds of jobs after private equity buyout (Bloomberg)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• Nestle unveils ice cream disposals, stresses fast formula recall (Bloomberg)
• Primark's fast fashion crown slips with shoppers lured to Shein (Bloomberg)
• The problems piling up at fast fashion giant Shein (FT)
• Some Reese's treats drop the milk chocolate. Mr. Reese disapproves (NYT)
• Etsy sells Depop, a secondhand clothing app popular with Gen Z, to eBay (NYT)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• Food companies simply can't get enough of the word 'simply' (Bloomberg)
• The beef industry has a message for consumers: Get used to high prices (WSJ)
• Walmart cites worrying economic indicators in cautious forecast (Bloomberg)
• Amazon is now Amazon's biggest company. It's 17-year journey to surpass Walmart (WSJ)
• From the archives (1997): Michael Mauboussin: Competitive Advantage Period: The Neglected value driver (First Boston)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Food companies sink as executives warn of consumer stress (Bloomberg)
• General Mills cuts outlook due to weak consumer sentiment (WSJ)
• Home Depot gets stricter on bonuses amid housing market freeze (Bloomberg)
• US restaurants downsize meals to counter anti-obesity drugs and affordability crisis (FT)
• Carrefour drops in disappointing sales, overseas pullback (Bloomberg)