Buy Now, Pay Later services are typically used on large purchases, like furniture. But now one service is branching out into fast food. DoorDash is partnering with Klarna, a financial company that lets customers schedule small payments over a set period of time, in a new partnership announced Thursday. When the option launches “soon,” DoorDash users can use Klarna to pay in four, interest-free payments or defer payments and let people pick a “date that aligns with their paycheck schedules,” according to a press release. Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services, which also include Affirm and Apple, have exploded over the past few years. However, many economists and consumer advocates say the widespread use of these services, plus a lack of transparency and little regulatory oversight, leaves them wondering just how much debt Americans are actually getting into. During last year’s holiday shopping season, Adobe said that BNPL usage “hit an all-time high,” raking in more than $18 billion in online spending — growing nearly 10% compared to the same time period a year earlier. The option is particularly attractive to younger, cash-strapped consumers who are looking to make their paycheck stretch further. To make money, the BNPL providers charge merchants between 1.5% to 7% of the transaction price, according to Kansas City Federal Reserve research. For some retailers, the costs are worth it, according to research from RBC Capital Markets, which showed online BNPL offerings boosted average ticket sales by 30% to 50% and increase the share of customers who ultimately made a purchase. Americans have found themselves in more and more debt recently. In the fourth quarter of last year, overall debt levels increased by 0.5% to $18.04 trillion, according to the Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit, a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. That report also found that the share of households becoming seriously delinquent (a missed payment for 90+ days) on their auto loans and credit cards is at 14-year highs. The partnership with DoorDash comes as Klarna continues to expands its offerings ahead of going public with plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange in the coming weeks. The Swedish fintech company reported last week a 24% surge in 2024 revenue, cashing in on the BNPL craze, which is projected to surpass $160 billion over the next seven years. In addition to food delivery, DoorDash also lets people buy large ticket items through third-party merchants, like Best Buy and the Home Depot.

March 21 (Reuters) – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s crypto task force held its first public meeting with experts on Friday, focusing on how securities laws might apply to digital assets as the Trump administration looks to overhaul cryptocurrency regulations. Among the participants of the roundtable were John Reed Stark, former chief of the SEC’s Office of Internet Enforcement, Miles Jennings, the general counsel for Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto arm, a16z, and former SEC Commissioner Troy Paredes. Republican SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce is leading the task force, which is charged with developing rules and guidance for crypto. “Spring signifies new beginnings and we have a new beginning here, a restart of the commission’s approach to crypto regulation,” said Peirce. The crypto industry has long clashed with regulators over how federal securities laws translate to digital assets, with many arguing that crypto tokens are more akin to commodities. Tokens classified as securities would require firms to register with the SEC and provide certain disclosures to investors. President Donald Trump, who campaigned on promises to be a “crypto president,” has pledged to reverse an industry crackdown under former President Joe Biden’s SEC, which sued multiple crypto companies, including Coinbase and Kraken, alleging they had flouted its rules. The SEC’s new leadership has agreed to withdraw or pause many of those cases. The task force on Friday debated whether crypto tokens require a new, separate regulatory framework, different from how the SEC oversees securities such as equities. Jennings urged the SEC to take a “technology-neutral” approach, “looking at what differentiates a system like ethereum from ownership of equity in Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab.” Some, including Democratic SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw, expressed concern that the regulator would loosen rules for cryptocurrencies by allowing them to operate under a distinct regime. “Modifying the law to facilitate the success of a chosen product category is fraught with risk,” said Crenshaw. “Risk not only of weakening regulatory protections for that category, but of creating the negative domino effect on other areas of the market protected by the same laws.” The task force’s first roundtable comes as Trump has sought to broadly overhaul policies toward cryptocurrency. Earlier this month, Trump signed an executive order to establish a strategic reserve of cryptocurrencies and held a summit for industry leaders at the White House.

As Elon Musk wraps up his second month in the White House, Tesla owners are trading in their electric vehicles at record levels, according to an analysis by national car shopping site Edmunds. The data from Edmunds published on Thursday said that March represented “the highest ever share” it had seen for Tesla trade-ins toward new or used cars from dealerships selling other brands. Since heading to Washington, D.C., in January as a central figure in the second Trump administration, Musk, who is CEO of Tesla, has been slashing the federal workforce and government spending, and has gained access to sensitive government computer systems and data, though his efforts have been repeatedly challenged in court. Before assuming leadership of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, Musk spent around $290 million last year to help propel President Donald Trump back to the White House. While investors snapped up Tesla shares after Trump’s victory in November, they’ve been rushing for the exits of late, pushing the stock’s price down by 42% this year. Waves of protests have targeted Tesla facilities in the U.S. and beyond. Other criminal acts of vandalism and arson have targeted Tesla stores, vehicles and charging stations across the U.S. In addition, Tesla is facing increased competition from EV makers. In January, S&P Global Mobility found Tesla sales declined about 11% year over year in the U.S., while Ford, Chevrolet and Volkswagen bolstered their sales of EVs, picking up market share. “Shifts in Tesla consumer sentiment could create an opportunity for legacy automakers and EV startups to gain ground,” Jessica Caldwell, head of insights at Edmunds, wrote in an email. “As Tesla brand loyalty and interest wavers, those offering competitive pricing, new technology, or simply less controversy could capture defecting Tesla owners and first-time EV buyers.” The Tesla brand, more than that of any other automaker, is tightly tied to its CEO. In August 2024, Edmunds surveys found that just 2% of car shoppers in the U.S. were unfamiliar with Musk. Edmunds also said that shopping for new models of Tesla vehicles on its platform dropped to its lowest level last month since October 2022 after peaking as late as November. Even before Musk began heading up DOGE, Tesla’s brand was suffering. Its brand value fell by 26%, or about $15 billion, in 2024, a second straight annual decline, according to research and consulting firm Brand Finance. Many car shoppers trade in their Tesla EVs for a newer model Tesla. Edmunds data didn’t account for those transactions. Tesla didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Financial guru Dave Ramsey has joined the chorus of people appalled by a partnership between food delivery service DoorDash and e-commerce company Klarna, whose “buy now, pay later” payment system will allow customers to pay off their orders through split charges over time. Ramsey, a conservative radio pundit and personal finance expert who focuses on encouraging people to live a debt-free life, posted without comment an exasperated GIF of himself on the social platform X. In the snippet, which is taken from Ramsey’s popular show, the money wiz shakes his head and buries it in his hands. He linked it to a post touting the DoorDash-Klarna partnership on Thursday as offering customers an opportunity to “choose to pay for food deliveries in interest-free installments or deferred options aligned with payday schedules.” A spokesperson for Ramsey didn’t immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment. The deferred payment plan, which will roll out fully in the coming weeks, was touted by both companies as providing an alternative for people struggling to afford everyday necessities. “Our partnership with DoorDash marks an important milestone in Klarna’s expansion into everyday spending categories,” Klarna spokesperson David Sykes said in announcing the arrangement on the company’s website. But many voiced concerns online about the financial impact on customers upon announcement of the partnership. DoorDash and Klarna didn’t immediately respond to The Hill’s requests for comment. The new arrangement comes as financial experts have warned of a possible recession and market turbulence amid uncertainty over the Trump administration’s tariff war with Canada and other countries. Ramsey, himself, had already warned about the impact tariffs would have on Americans. “You will pay more, no question about it, 100 percent,” Ramsey said during a recent episode of his radio show. “Companies do not eat taxes.”

TOKYO, March 21 (Reuters) – The U.S. dollar was on the front foot against major peers on Friday after its best single-day performance for three weeks with the Federal Reserve indicating no rush to cut interest rates. The risk-sensitive Australian and New Zealand dollars remained on the defensive after steep slides on Thursday as worries about the economic drag from U.S. President Donald Trump’s aggressive campaign of global trade tariffs dented sentiment. The dollar index measure against a basket of six counterparts was steady at 103.81 as of 0036 GMT, after climbing 0.36% on Thursday. The index plumped a five-month low at 103.19 this week following a steady decline from the highest since late 2022 at 110.17 on January 13 as hopes for expansive policies under Trump gave way to anxiety that the global trade war he started could trigger a U.S. recession. Fed policymakers held rates steady on Wednesday and signaled two quarter-point cuts for later this year, the same median forecast as three months ago. “We’re not going to be in any hurry to move,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said, underscoring the challenge policymakers face in navigating Trump’s erratic tariffs, and the potential impact on the domestic economy. A new round of reciprocal levies is expected on April 2. “We see some signs of a potential turn in the USD … with price now pushing into the range highs of this recent consolidation phase,” said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone “As we head into the April 2 Trump reciprocal tariff announcement, there is an increased risk that market players trim back on USD shorts and look to run a more neutral position.” The euro , which has by far the heaviest weighting in the dollar index, was little changed at $1.0854 after dropping 0.45% on Thursday. “It seems the market has lost some confidence to bid EUR/USD into 1.1000, and the spot rate seems to be carving out a 1.0950 to 1.0800 range,” Weston said. Sterling eased 0.06% to $1.2961. The dollar added 0.07% to 148.88 yen , and was steady against its Canadian counterpart at C$1.4321 . The Antipodean currencies, which are not part of the dollar index, suffered larger losses on Thursday. The New Zealand dollar tumbled more than 1%, but found its feet at $0.05766 in the latest session. The currency lost ground despite data on Thursday showing the economy crawled out of recession last quarter. The Aussie was relatively stable at $0.6303 following a 0.86% slump.

Nike on Thursday warned that sales will drop by a double digit percentage in its current quarter as the sneaker giant contends with new tariffs, sliding consumer confidence and a slower than expected turnaround. In a conference call with analysts, finance chief Matt Friend said Nike expects its sales decline in the fiscal fourth quarter, which is set to end in May, to be at the “low end” of the “mid-teens range.” It also anticipates its gross margin will fall between 4 and 5 percentage points as it ramps up efforts to liquidate excess inventory and stale styles that are no longer resonating with consumers — a process it expects to continue into fiscal 2026. “We believe that the fourth quarter will reflect the largest impact from our … actions, and that the headwinds to revenue and gross margin will begin to moderate from there,” said Friend. “We are also navigating through several external factors that create uncertainty in the current operating environment, including geopolitical dynamics, new tariffs, volatile foreign exchange rates and tax regulations, as well as the impact of this uncertainty and other macro factors on consumer confidence.” The guidance is far worse than analysts had expected. Consensus estimates from LSEG show Wall Street had expected sales to be down 11.4% in the current quarter. Shares fell more than 4% in extended trading and are down more than 5% year to date, as of Thursday’s close. Beyond guidance, Nike beat Wall Street’s expectations in its fiscal third quarter. Here’s how the company performed during the quarter, compared with estimates from analysts polled by LSEG:

• Earnings per share: 54 cents vs.29 cents estimated
• Revenue: $11.27 billion vs. $11.01 billion estimated

The company’s reported net income for the three-month period that ended Feb. 28 was $794 million, or 54 cents per share, compared with $1.17 billion, or 77 cents per share, a year earlier. Sales dropped to $11.27 billion, down about 9% from $12.4 billion a year earlier. Like other retailers, Nike saw strong demand in December followed by “double digit” declines in January and February. While Nike delivered a strong earnings beat, expectations were low headed into the release and profits fell 32% from the year-ago period. During the quarter, Nike’s gross margin fell by 3.3 percentage points to 41.5%, lower than expectations of 41.8%, according to StreetAccount. That’s largely because of the costs associated with Nike’s efforts to clear out old inventory in favor of new, innovative styles. In a press release, the company attributed its drop in gross margin to “higher discounts, higher inventory obsolescence reserves, higher product costs and changes in channel mix.” Meanwhile, sales were down 9%, driven by weakness in China. During the quarter, sales fell 17% in the key region to $1.73 billion, falling short of expectations of $1.84 billion, according to StreetAccount. “I spent some time over there in December. I hadn’t been over there in a while. The competition is a bit more aggressive than what I remembered,” CEO Elliott Hill, who left Nike in 2020 and returned last year, told analysts. “So we’ve just got to accelerate our pace.” Thursday’s release comes about five months into Hill’s tenure as CEO and his efforts to turn around the business and get it back to growth. He has focused on winning back wholesale partners, reigniting innovation and wooing back athletes that have fled to new competitors, but the work has not yet yielded results. “I’ll start by saying I’m proud of the progress we made against the key actions we committed to 90 days ago. While we met the expectations we set, we’re not satisfied with our overall results,” Hill told analysts. “We can and will be better.” During the quarter, sales on Nike’s direct channels dropped 12% to $4.7 billion. Wholesale revenue fell 7% to $6.2 billion. Plus, since Hill took over, the company is now contending with a new set of dynamics that could make its comeback even harder to execute. In the three months since Nike last reported earnings, President Donald Trump has put a new 20% tariff on goods imported from China, consumer sentiment has fallen, and retail sales in both January and February were weaker than expected. Out of the hundreds of suppliers and manufacturers that Nike works with, about 24% of them are located in China, according to a manufacturing disclosure published in January. If the retailer doesn’t raise prices to offset tariffs and can’t push the cost entirely on to suppliers, Nike’s margins are expected to take a hit from the new duties. On Thursday’s call, Nike didn’t say whether it would raise prices or how exactly the new duties would affect margins. Further, when consumers aren’t feeling confident and cutting back on spending, discretionary products like new clothes and shoes are one of the first things they cut out in favor of necessities. Over the last few years, the overall sneaker and apparel markets have been slow because consumers have cut back on clothes and shoes. But up until recently, strong companies were still performing well and taking market share from weaker competitors. However, that trend began to shift over the last few weeks when even the strongest of companies started to sound the alarm about soft consumer spending when they reported first-quarter earnings, raising questions about the health of the economy. During the quarter, sales in North America — Nike’s largest market — fell 4% to $4.86 billion. Still, revenue in the region came in better than the $4.53 billion analysts had expected, according to StreetAccount. Nike is widely expected to reclaim the market share it lost and reset its business, and some insiders say the company’s problems have been overblown. Even so, the tariffs and economic fears could mean that the retailer’s turnaround could take longer, and be more difficult, than expected. What’s key to Nike’s turnaround plan is its ability to reignite innovation and create the type of industry-leading shoes and apparel that have long made it the market leader. During a call with analysts, Hill said early releases for the company’s new Pegasus Premium “nearly sold out” across North America and will scale through fall 2025. Its Romero 18, created for the everyday runner, has seen “outstanding” results, and Nike plans to double distribution by mid-April. “It will take time to reach the volume to replace the handful of classic franchises we over-indexed on, but our approach is simple,” said Hill. “Help consumers fall in love with something new from Nike, and that something is not replacing one icon for another.” Nike has already made strides in its efforts to grow its female consumer base, another key component to boosting revenue and apparel sales. Last month, it announced it was teaming up with Kim Kardashian’s intimates brand Skims to create a new product line dubbed NikeSKIMS that will include apparel, footwear and accessories. The buzzy partnership is expected to give Nike improved inroads with women and allow it to better compete with Lululemon, Alo Yoga and Vuori, which cater more to women than Nike currently does. Further, Nike debuted a new ad campaign geared toward female athletes during the Super Bowl, its first big game advertisement in decades. The campaign showed that reaching female athletes and capturing the buzz around women’s sports will be a center point of Hill’s strategy. If Nike can continue to show positive signs from new product launches and partnerships, the rest of its headwinds might just be drowned out as noise.

WASHINGTON – The Federal Reserve in a closely watched decision Wednesday held the line on benchmark interest rates though still indicated that reductions are likely later in the year.

Faced with pressing concerns over the impact tariffs will have on a slowing economy, the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee kept its key borrowing rate targeted in a range between 4.25%-4.5%, where it has been since December. Markets had been pricing in virtually zero chance of a move at this week’s two-day policy meeting.

Along with the decision, officials updated their rate and economic projections for this year and through 2027 and altered the pace at which they are reducing bond holdings.

Uncertainty has increased

Microsoft said Wednesday that company veteran Amy Coleman will become its new executive vice president and chief people officer, succeeding Kathleen Hogan, who has held the position for the past decade.

Hogan will remain an executive vice president but move to a newly established Office of Strategy and Transformation, which is an expansion of the office of the CEO. She will join Microsoft’s group of top executives, reporting directly to CEO Satya Nadella.

Coleman is stepping into a major role, given that Microsoft is among the largest employers in the U.S., with 228,000 total employees as of June 2024. She has worked at the company for more than 25 years over two stints, having first joined as a compensation manager in 1996.

Hogan will remain on the senior leadership team.

“Amy has led HR for our corporate functions across the company for the past six years, following various HR roles partnering across engineering, sales, marketing, and business development spanning 25 years,” Nadella wrote in a memo to employees.

“In that time, she has been a trusted advisor to both Kathleen and to me as she orchestrated many cross-company workstreams as we evolved our culture, improved our employee engagement model, established our employee relations team, and drove enterprise crisis response for our people,” he wrote.

Hogan arrived at Microsoft in 2003 after being a development manager at Oracle and a partner at McKinsey. Under Hogan, some of Microsoft’s human resources practices evolved. She has emphasized the importance of employees having a growth mindset instead of a fixed mindset, drawing on concepts from psychologist Carol Dweck.

“We came up with some big symbolic changes to show that we really were serious about driving culture change, from changing the performance-review system to changing our all-hands company meeting, to our monthly Q&A with the employees,” Hogan said in a 2019 interview with Business Insider.

Hogan pushed for managers to evaluate the inclusivity of employees and oversaw changes in the handling of internal sexual harassment cases.

Coleman had been Microsoft’s corporate vice president for human resources and corporate functions for the past four years. In that role, she was responsible for 200 HR workers and led the development of Microsoft’s hybrid work approach, as well as the HR aspect of the company’s Covid response, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Wednesday, following declines on Wall Street after a sell-off in technology stocks picked up pace.

Japanese markets were in focus for investors. The Bank of Japan held interest rates steady at 0.5%, in line with expectations, as the central bank weighed the potential impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 was trading flat in its final hour, while the broader Topix index increased 0.59%.

Over in South Korea, the Kospi index advanced 0.74%, while the small-cap Kosdaq fell .99% in its last hour of trade.

Mainland China’s CSI 300 was flat, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index edged up 0.24%.

India’s benchmark Nifty 50 rose 0.21% while the broader BSE Sensex picked up 0.23%.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 ended the day 0.41% lower at 7,828.30.

Gold prices hit a record high, with the precious metal trading at $3,038.06 at 1.27 p.m. Singapore time.

U.S. futures edged up, as investors await the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision.

All three benchmarks were back in the red after two straight winning sessions.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 260.32 points, or 0.62%, closing at 41,581.31. The S&P 500 shed 1.07%, ending at 5,614.66. The broad market index concluded the day 8.6% off its closing high reached in February, bringing it near correction territory. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.71% and settled at 17,504.12.

Tesla, one of the stocks hardest hit during the market’s recent correction, was down yet again on Tuesday. The stock fell more than 5% after RBC Capital Markets lowered its price target on the electric vehicle name, given stiff competition in the EV space.

Elsewhere, shares of Palantir and Nvidia dropped nearly 4% and more than 3%, respectively. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) was also down more than 1%.

Tesla (TSLA) was under pressure again on Tuesday, closing down over 5% as a slew of competitors in China announced updates that again signaled competition on the mainland ramping up for the EV giant.

Tuesday’s loss follows a 5% drop for Tesla stock to start the week, and shares are now down over 53% from highs reached back in December.

What’s driving the news

BYD (BYDDY), China’s top automaker, announced a huge milestone with its battery technology on Tuesday, sending shares listed in Hong Kong to a new record high.

BYD said its new battery and charging system — dubbed the Super e-Platform — can charge at peak speeds of 1,000 kW, providing around 250 miles of range in just five minutes, per BYD chair and founder Wang Chuanfu.

By contrast, Tesla’s fastest superchargers max out at 250kW, or a quarter of BYD’s claimed feat.

“To completely solve users’ anxiety over charging, our pursuit is to make the charging time for EVs as short as the refueling time for fuel vehicles,” Wang added.

BYD, whose cars you still cannot buy in the US, said it will start selling EVs with the Super e-Platform next month — and plans to add 4,000 high-power charging stations in China.

Upstart EV maker Xiaomi (XIACY), best known for making smartphones, announced it would expand production capacity for its vehicles.

The maker of the SU7 sedan — which looks like a Porsche Taycan sedan crossed with a McLaren supercar— will up its production target to 350,000 EVs from its prior 300,000 target, CEO Lei Jun posted on Weibo, per Bloomberg.

The SU7, with its striking looks and tech-forward interior powered by a version of Android called HyperOS, has clearly been a hit with Chinese consumers who look to their cars as extensions of their digital devices.

Xiaomi’s phones connect seamlessly to its vehicles and give users a unified experience across the products, a level Western automakers have not been able to achieve in China.

Tuesday’s move to boost production comes as the company struggles to meet customer demand.

In December, Xiaomi announced it will expand its product offerings with the YU7 crossover SUV EV, which will have a similar footprint to Tesla’s Model Y and will officially launch midyear.

Additionally, Chinese pure-play EV maker XPeng (XPEV) announced strong financial guidance for the first quarter.