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Consider this: You want to book a multicity, international trip with flights from New York City to London, then Paris, and then back to New York City. There are numerous variables in the mixdifferent airlines, various ticketing levels, and morethat make the booking more complicated than anticipated. Accordingly, you may end up booking several separate flights, with multiple tickets and confirmation codes to keep track of. If you travel a lot, that can be a lot to manage. But Navan, a corporate travel and expense platform, says it has smoothed the whole process out for booking flights. Navanwhich went public less than a month and a half ago, and mainly competes in the same space as companies such as Ramp and Concurannounced on Wednesday that it has unveiled a huge upgrade to its multicity booking process, making it easier than ever to book complex travel itineraries. Thats something that amounts to a rather large engineering breakthrough, its team says. While users previously could use Navan for exactly these types of complicated, multicity bookings, doing so, following the upgrades, is now much simpler. These types of itineraries amount to around 10% of bookings on the platform, says Ian Fette, vice president of Engineering at Navan, but it wasnt the feature that got all the attention and love. However, the process has been massively upgraded, he says, although it took some time. Navan started working on the improved process during the second half of 2024. And, as noted, its the myriad variables that come into play when booking multicity trips that made it such a daunting task for engineers. Whats hard about multicity [itineraries]is not all airlines can handle all the itineraries you can throw at them, Fette says. Some airlines have partnerships and can sell one ticket that covers the whole journey, or you can construct itineraries where one airline can fulfill all the routes, he continues, but it may not be price competitivewe try to break it up and see if we can fill it as one ticket, and get a good price. Previously, balancing simplicity and pricing for multicity bookings has been the goal for travelers, and it generally involved a one-ticket approach (comprising all flights) or a series of one-way flights. Navans upgraded system spares travelers from trying to do all that mental work of trying to put it together. Fette says users are already lauding the changes, and that the upgrades lay the foundation for future enhancements to the Navan platform. This unlocks our ability to continue to iterate our ticketing intelligencehow we use the knowledge and data we have to drive you to the best pricing, he says. This is an ongoing area of investment for us, and its a huge step up.
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E-Commerce
Reading the news, it can feel like no one is partying anymore. People seem more excited to stay home than go out. Gen Z is drinking less than any other generation. Wellness clubs have replaced night clubs as the go-to spots to socialize. But partying is not dead — priorities have simply shifted, as highlighted in the Evites Pregame Report 2026 released today. The online invitations platform surveyed more than 5,000 party enthusiasts to uncover the hottest trends and the biggest pet peeves for party planning in 2026. As it turns out, partying no longer happens only at the club. It has shifted to smaller, connection-focused affairs. After birthdays and holiday celebrations, watch parties came in as the third-most-popular event types at 49%, followed by book clubs at 43% and celebrating pets at 35%. After all, a dogs birthday party is still a party. Gen Z has been declared generation stay-at-home. But that doesnt mean they arent inviting people over. According to Evite, home-based celebrations are booming as hosts prioritise comfort and intimate celebrations over big blow outs. Post-pandemic, people discovered they prefer deeper, more meaningful connections over crowded events, and as a result their homes have become more central to their identity and social lives, Olivia Pollock, Evites Etiquette & Hosting Expert, tells Fast Company. Theres also a practical component at play. Hosting at home helps keep budgets manageable, 67% of respondents say they prefer affordable, personalized experiences. If they arent going out, a new generation of hosts is instead getting creative at home, turning their apartments into makeshift coffeehouses and planning elaborate themed dinners designed with TikTok and Instagram in mind. If they are hosting outside the home, 69% favor outdoor and nature-based locations, with over half (52%) seeking unconventional venues. In 2025, social media isnt just a tool, it’s the unofficial co-host at gatherings, says Pollock. Nearly a quarter of respondents plan to host content-friendly gatherings specifically designed to share online. That might mean a unique spin on a charcuterie board, a themed tablescape, or even personalized touches like namecards, knowing that guests will definitely want to take a post on their socials. Partying, in whatever form, is more important than ever, particularly at a time when 57% of Americans are lonely. Younger generations are feeling it worse than older Americans, a recent Cigna survey shows. Those figures are unsurprising given that in 2023, only 4.1 percent of Americans attended or hosted social gatherings on a given weekend or holiday, data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows. The antidote would be a nationwide effort to get out and party more. Even if that looks like hosting a wine and cheese night at home or a watch party for the finale of your favorite show rather than shaking ass at the club. It also means showing up. Evite found 62% of respondents cited guests RSVP-ing “yes” and then bailing as a top pet peeve, with ignoring RSVP deadlines just behind at 57%. Hosts also have a role to play. Being underprepared with a lack of details about the dress code or schedule is the cause of headaches for 67% of guests. Not enough food or drinks (49%) and poor scheduling or timing (39%) also are etiquette faux pas. Alcohol, once a party staple, is now less of a go-to, as the sober-curious movement continues to gain ground. Those aged 34 and under are drinking about 10 percent less now compared with two decades ago, according to a 2023 Gallup poll. Half of hosts now strive to offer a variety of beverage options, with soda (48%), crafted mocktails (39%), and tea or coffee (37%)topping the list of preferred guest beverages. In 2026, partying isnt going anywhere. It just looks a little different. The common thread is that people just want to connect, said Pollock. Regardless of the occasion, or the venue.
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E-Commerce
A SpaceX initial public offering might be on the horizon. The aerospace company, run by founder and CEO Elon Musk, is reportedly planning an IPO aimed at raising over $30 billion, according to Bloomberg, which cited people familiar with the matter. The IPO could be as soon as mid- to late-2026 or 2027. In its recent 2026 US Venture Capital Outlook, PitchBook pointed to the rise in space-focused stock listings, citing favorable policies. Fast Company has reached out to SpaceX for comment and will update this post if we hear back. Reaching the $30 billion threshold would make SpaceX the largest IPO in historyand give it a reported $1.5 trillion valuation. Oil company Saudi Aramco currently holds the record, raising $29 billion in 2019. It hit a $1.9 trillion valuation, selling 1.5% of its ownership. Sources cited by Bloomberg claim that SpaceX will hit about $15 billion in revenue this year and estimate $22 billion to $24 billion in 2026. Most of that income is courtesy of Starlink, which has been used by governments and companies alike to provide satellite internet services. Executives at SpaceX have floated the idea of Starlink spinning off and doing its own IPO. However, last year, CFO Bret Johnsen said it would likely be in the years to come. Musk and the companys board have reportedly already started making plans for an IPO, including hiring. The funds would, in part, go toward developing space-based data centers, presumably to help power the enormous computing needs of the AI boom. Stocks rise in space-adjacent companies News of a potential SpaceX listing has led to a spike in share prices of related companies. Take EchoStar Corporation, which sold spectrum licenses to SpaceX this fall. Between two separate deals, EchoStar received $11.1 billion in SpaceX private stock. The companys shares (Nasdaq: SATS) closed up about 6% on Tuesday and jumped nearly 7% in premarket trading on Wednesday. Space transportation company Rocket Lab Corporation saw its shares (Nasdaq: RKLB) close up 3.6% and rise another 1.5% overnight.
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E-Commerce
Its a common experience: you search for white bean soup recipes one time on Instagram, and you are bombarded with white bean soup content on the app for seemingly all eternity. Instagram wants to fix that. Starting today, the companys three billion users can have more control over their algorithm via a Your Algorithm feature. Its not quite Bluesky, or the Instagram of yore that only displayed content from accounts users followed, but it does let users select or unsubscribe from different topics. The new feature, which leverages AI, lets users pick topics they want to see more or less of on their explore page. Users will first be able to see a list of suggested topics that their algorithm thinks they are interested in which they can modify. Users can also share their interests to their stories, allowing their followers to see and even replicate some of their feed. [Image: Instagram] We’re always trying to show people the best possible reels for them. After 2020 [we] slowly started figuring out how to do a good job of predicting people’s interests and showing them reels they’d be interested in, Tessa Lyons, Instagrams vice president of product, says. I think we do a pretty good job today, but we don’t always get it right, and we know that people’s interests change. What we really want to do is give people control over the experience that they have on Instagram. In designing the feature, Instagram had to balance Reels’ utility as a discovery tool with the features that give users control over what they will see. The ideal Reels experience is one that helps you go deeper on the interests you already have and then discover new interests that you might not even know about. And getting that balance right is really important, Lyons says, adding, [your algorithm] is one input we have into your Reels experience. So even if you add a handful of different interests, thats not going to be the only content you see. You’re still going to see other content as well. Lyons also says that the feature can help Instagrams algorithm learn about users and serve them relevant content more quickly; after she adopted a cat and tuned her algorithm to feature more kitten content, her feed immediately updated to include relevant reels. In the past, the algorithm may have needed a few days to understand she wanted to see more. By this same measure, the feature will likely improve the ad experience, as Instagram will be able to surface more targeted content for each user based on the interests they signal. According to Lyons, the inspiration for the feature started as a meme on Threads a couple of years ago, when users started writing posts to their respective algorithms, asking it to connect them with different interests, like writers or books. It was just people expressing what they wanted from their Threads experience. Some of them would say, Dear Algorithm, I just dont want to see politics anymore. Im over it, Lyons says.
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E-Commerce
The economy has had a volatile year marked by ongoing headwinds and uncertainties. Persistent inflation, unpredictability around tariffs, and a stock market that many fear is in the midst of an AI-fueled bubble are among the factors impacting consumers’ spending power. But there is one event today that will hopefully deliver some much-needed certainty to the economy and broader markets: the Federal Reserves interest rate cut announcement. Heres what you need to know about a possible Fed rate cut today. What is the Fed rate cut announcement? The Federal Reserve is Americas central bank. One of its main responsibilities is setting the country’s interest rates. These interest rates are set by the Feds primary policymaking body, called the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). The FOMC is led by the chair of the Federal Reserve, who is currently Jerome Powell. The FOMC considers a wide array of data that informs its decision to cut interest rates or not. That data includes labor reports, inflation rates, consumer confidence numbers, and gross domestic product (GDP) information. Once the FOMC analyzes the data, the body will vote to do one of three things: raise interest rates, lower interest rates, or keep interest rates where they are. The current Fed interest rate is 3.75% to 4.00% (375 to 400 basis points). What are the benefits of a Fed rate cut? The main benefit of cutting interest rates is that it lowers the cost of borrowing money. If money is cheaper to borrow, consumers are more likely to take out loans, including mortgages, car loans, and increased credit card spending. Businesses are also more likely to take out loans, since borrowing is cheaper. Companies typically use loans to expand their operations, boost hiring, or buy needed equipment or supplies. Since borrowing is cheaper, lower interest rates can inject more money into the economy, thereby increasing spending. Lower interest rates can also boost the stock and cryptocurrency markets, because when interest rates are lower, safer assets like bonds have a lower rate of return. This spurs investors to put their money into riskier assets, such as stocks or cryptocurrencies, because they have the potential for higher returns. What are the drawbacks of a Fed rate cut? Low rates arent always a good thing. There are drawbacks to lower interest rates, too. When interest rates are lower, anyone with a savings account earns less interest. This can especially hurt retirees, who often have more cash parked in savings accounts than their younger peers, and who may rely on their monthly interest earnings to pay for necessities. Also, while lower interest rates can make everything from houses to cars more affordable, a plethora of cheaper money in the economy can have an inflationary effect, causing prices to rise, which negates the savings gained by the lower interest rates. What is the likelihood of a Fed rate cut? Right now, the current Federal Reserve interest rate is 3.75% to 4.00% (375 to 400 basis points). The Federal Reserve and Powell are under extreme pressure from the Trump administration to lower rates. Because borrowing money would then be cheaper, lower rates would make many Americans feel like their purchasing power is going further as the holidays progress and we head into the new year. That would be a political win for President Trump. But the Fed is supposed to be politically neutral, and Powell has shown no signs that he or the FOMC will make a decision based on politics. That said, many expect the Fed to lower interest rates today, but it likely won’t be by much. Data compiled by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Groups Fed Watch shows an 89.9% chance that the Fed will reduce rates by a 25-basis-point range today. If that scenario plays out, it means the federal interest rate range would drop from 3.75% to 4.00% (375 to 400 basis points) to 3.50% to 3.75% (350 to 375 basis points). When is the Fed rate announcement? The Federal Reserves calendar says it will announce its interest rate decision today, Wednesday, December 10. What time is the Fed rate announcement? The Federal Reserves interest rate announcement will be made at 2 p.m. ET today. How are stocks performing ahead of the announcement? Markets seem to be holding their collective breaths ahead of the Feds rate cut announcement today. As of the time of this writing, in premarket trading, S&P, Dow, and Nasdaq futures are all relatively flat: S&P Futures: down 0.04% Dow Futures: down 0.06% Nasdaq Futures: down 0.12% How are crypto markets performing ahead of the announcement? Many major cryptocurrencies are currently up over the past 24 hours ahead of the announcement. This suggests that crypto traders expect the Fed to cut rates, which could spur a rally in crypto markets. As of the time of this writing, heres how major cryptocurrencies are performing: Bitcoin: up 1.9% Ethereum: up 6.4% XRP: up 0.2% BNB: down 0.5% Solana: up 3.2% How can I watch the Fed rate announcement? The Federal Reserve doesnt actually announce its decision live. Instead, at 2 p.m., it will issue its results via its website. However, at 2:30 pm ET, the central bank will hold a press conference to discuss its decision on interest rates. Youll be able to view a live stream of that press conference on the Federal Reserves YouTube channel.
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E-Commerce