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The U.S. economy, hobbled by last falls 43-day government shutdown, advanced at an unexpectedly sluggish 0.7% annual rate from October through December, the Commerce Department reported Friday in a big downgrade of its initial estimate. Growth in gross domestic product the nations output of goods and services was down sharply from 4.4% in last years third quarter and 3.8% in the second. And the fourth-quarter number was half the governments first estimate of 1.4%; economists had expected the revision to go the other way and show stronger growth. Federal government spending and investment, clobbered by the shutdown, plunged at a 16.7% rate, hacking 1.16 percentage points off fourth-quarter growth. For all of 2025, GDP grew 2.1%, solid but down from an initial estimate of 2.2% and from growth of 2.8% in 2024 and 2.9% 2023. In the fourth quarter, consumer spending grew at a 2% clip, down from 3.5% in the third quarter and the 2.4% the government had initially estimated. Business investment, excluding housing, increased at a healthy 2.2% pace, likely reflecting money being poured into artificial intelligence, but the increase was down from 3.2% in the third quarter and from the 3.7% advance in the Commerce department’s initial estimate. Exports fell at a 3.3% annual rate in the fourth quarter, a bigger drop than the government first estimated. A category within the GDP data that measures the economys underlying strength came in weaker than previously reported, growing at a 1.9% clip, down from 2.9% in the third quarter and from the first estimate of 2.4%. This category includes consumer spending and private investment, but excludes volatile items like exports, inventories and government spending. Following two consecutive strong readings for the second and third quarters, the economy was expected to soften heading into year-end. Its now increasingly clear that the economy not only slowed but stumbled into the finish line, Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors, said in a commentary. “The government shutdown was certainly a major factor in the loss of momentum, but a sharp decline in consumption growth also played a role.” The U.S. economy the worlds largest has shown surprising resilience in the face of President Donald Trumps policies, including sweeping import taxes and mass deportations. But the war with Iran has driven up oil and gas prices and clouded the economic outlook. Meanwhile, the American job market is in a slump. Last month, companies, nonprofits and government agencies cut 92,000 jobs. In 2025, they added fewer than 10,000 jobs a month, the weakest hiring outside recession years since 2002. Fridays GDP was the second of the three estimates of fourth-quarter growth. The final report is due April 9. Paul Wiseman, AP economics writer
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E-Commerce
Feeld markets itself as the dating app for the curious. For most of its users, that means curiosity about kink and casual sexbut its newest tool asks you to be curious about yourself. As a favorite platform for the kink, fetish, and nonmonogamous communities, Feeld is a place where taboos are the norm. But a new survey from the app suggests that kink is more mainstream than dominant culture would have you believe. And Feelds new tool, Reflections, lets anyoneFeeld users and otherwiseassess their own relationship with nontraditional sex. Feeld surveyed thousands of its own users and external respondents for opinions on the perceived normality of traits like nonmonogamy, queerness, and kinkiness. It published the results in a report titled “State of Reflections, Vol. 1.” The survey found that while Feeld users were unsurprisingly more open-minded on average, the general public wasnt far behind in its attitudes toward non-vanilla sex. Nearly half of non-Feeld users (42%) said they practice kink, compared with 68% of the apps user base. In some areas, everyday folks were even kinkier than Feeld members: Among those who practice kink, 44% of external respondents said they engage in role-play, just above the 41% of Feeld users that said the same. But despite whats actually happening behind closed doors, kink remains largely stigmatized. Only 25% of non-Feeld users said that talking about safe sex is normal, and just 23% said its normal to prioritize conversations about consent. And 28% of those external participants believe alternative relationship structuresdynamics like ethical nonmonogamyare somewhat or extremely abnormal. Reflecting on taboos To help break down those stigmas, Feeld launched Reflections, its new self-assessment tool. Reflections is a collection of surveys that asks respondents to rate their interests and behaviors across three categories: desire, boundaries, and relationships. In the desire section, users reflect on their comfort with a variety of kinksfrom being blindfolded to role-playing a doctor-patient relationship to bringing toys into the bedroom. The boundaries section asks them to consider what qualifies as a red flag in a relationshipgoing through a partners phone without consent might be a bridge too far, for exampleand how much any given partner impacts their own self-expression. Finally, the relationships portion delves into attachment style and interest in nonmonogamy. After each section, Feeld provides an analysis of those answers, providing scores out of 100, under headings including kink affinity, feeling authentic in sex, and voice and consent. (Reflections is available to anyone online, or to users directly in the Feeld app.) In a press release, Feeld CEO Ana Kirova described Reflections as one of the most defining experiences weve brought to Feeld. It embodies what weve always stood forcuriosity, self-discovery, and opennesswhile reflecting our core belief that meaningful connection starts with self-understanding, Kirova said. Reflections creates the space for introspection, so every connection that follows can be more honest, intentional, and true to who you are.
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E-Commerce
Carnival Cruise Line has announced that it is launching a new dining experience on its ships for people who dont like the long, leisurely evening dinners that cruises are known for. Heres why Carnival is introducing the new option, and what it means for you if youre traveling on a Carnival cruise soon. Whats happened? This week, Carnival announced that it is rolling out a new Express Dining option on more than a dozen of its ships. The cruise giant says that the new dining experience is designed to offer a freshly prepared multi-course dinner experience in under an hour for groups of six guests or fewer. The idea behind Express Dining is that if Carnival offers a faster way to enjoy an evening meal, guests who want to explore the ship’s other entertainment options, like shows or bars, will have more time to do so. Our guests continue to tell us they value greater flexibility in how they spend their time on board, and Express Dining was designed with that in mind, Carnival president Christine Duffy said, announcing the new dining option. Are leisurley dinners going away? If youre one of the many people who find the long, leisurely dinners one of the major appeals of cruises, dont worrythose arent going away. Instead, Carnival will offer guests the choice of Express Dining or the lines traditional dining experience. Those who opt for the new Express Dining service should be aware that, due to the faster service, not all food options from the traditional dining service will be available. Carnival says that while the Express Dining service significantly reduces service time and mirrors much of the main dining experiences offerings, the new service does have a slightly abbreviated selection. What ships is Carnivals new Express Dining service available on? Carnival says the new Express Dining option is now available on the following 15 ships: Carnival Jubilee Carnival Celebration Mardi Gras Carnival Venezia Carnival Firenze Carnival Panorama Carnival Horizon Carnival Sunrise Carnival Vista Carnival Breeze Carnival Radiance Carnival Conquest Carnival Dream Carnival Glory Carnival Freedom Carnival says all ships in Carnivals fleet will offer Express Dining by the end of May. Carnivals stock has faced rough waters in 2026 While Carnival is betting that its guests will likely appreciate the option to sit down to a faster meal, the companys announcement, as expected, seems to have been met with indifference from investors. After all, Carnival has bigger problems than serving food quickly right now. The companys stock price (NYSE: CCL) has declined nearly 22% in the past month, particularly after the outbreak of the war in Iran, which is serving to drive up oil pricesa commodity that Carnivals ships rely on. Higher oil prices mean higher costs for Carnival, and thus fewer profits. As of the time of this writing, CCL shares have now fallen over 19% since the year began. However, over the past 12 months, CCL shares have risen a healthy 29%.
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E-Commerce
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