Bitcoin has reached an all-time high, surpassing $118,000 as a flood of money moves into spot bitcoin ETFs, which have opened up cryptocurrency investing to millions.
A soft U.S. dollar and the digital currency friendliness of President Donald Trump’s administration has also helped to push the price of bitcoin to unprecedented levels recently.
Last month the Senate passed legislation that would regulate a form of cryptocurrency known as stablecoins, the first of what the industry hopes will be a wave of bills to bolster its legitimacy and reassure consumers.
The fast-moving legislation comes on the heels of a 2024 campaign cycle in which the crypto industry ranked among the top political spenders in the country, underscoring its growing influence in Washington and beyond.
Known as the GENIUS Act, the bill would establish guardrails and consumer protections for stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency typically pegged to the U.S. dollar. The acronym stands for “Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins.”
Next week the House of Representatives will be considering the GENIUS Act as part of Congress’ efforts to strengthen the country’s crypto position.
Italian confectioner Ferrero, known for brands like Nutella and Kinder, is buying the century-old U.S. cereal company WK Kellogg in an effort to expand its North American sales.
The Ferrero Group said Thursday it will pay $23 for each Kellogg share, or approximately $3.1 billion. The transaction includes WK Kellogg Co.’s six manufacturing plants, and the marketing and distribution of its breakfast cereals across the United States, Canada and the Caribbean.
WK Kellogg’s shares were up 31% in early afternoon trading Thursday.
Kellogg was founded in Battle Creek, Michigan, in 1906 after its founder accidentally figured out how to make flaked cereal while he was experimenting with granola. Kellogg still makes Corn Flakes, as well as Froot Loops, Special K, Frosted Flakes, Rice Krispies and other cereals.
Kellogg now has four U.S. plants, which are located in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Nebraska. It also has a plant in Mexico and a plant in Canada. The company has around 3,000 employees.
The current company was formed in 2023, when Kellogg snack brands like Cheez-Its and Pringles were spun into a separate company called Kellanova. M&M’s maker Mars Inc. announced last year that it planned to buy Kellanova in a deal worth nearly $30 billion.
Ferrero Group, which was founded in Italy in 1946, has been trying to expand its U.S. footprint. In 2018 it bought Nestle’s U.S. candy brands, including Butterfinger, Nerds and SweeTarts. And in 2022 it bought Wells Enterprises, the maker of ice cream brands like Blue Bunny and Halo Top.
WK Kellogg’s brands have been struggling with a long-term decline in U.S. cereal consumption as consumers turned to protein bars, shakes and other breakfast items. Cereal sales got a bump during the coronavirus pandemic as more families stayed home, but sales continued to decline after the pandemic eased.
At the start of July, U.S. cold cereal sales were down 6% compared to the same period in 2022, according to market research company Nielsen IQ. Kellogg’s net sales fell 2% to $2.7 billion in 2024.
Brad Haller, a senior partner for mergers and acquisitions at West Monroe, said Kellogg’s large distribution network and relationships with grocery chains in North America is appealing to Ferrero because it would help the European company negotiate pricing and positioning for its products.
The purchase also helps Ferraro expand beyond snacks and sweets and into a meal category, Haller said. But the company also may wind up cutting Kellogg brands or shutting down manufacturing plants.
“As Americans, these brands are iconic and beloved by us, but a European company buying these wouldn’t have the same nostalgia,” Haller said.
Kellogg has had other issues. A nearly three-month strike by workers at all its U.S. cereal plants in late 2021 hurt sales. And last fall, dozens of people rallied outside the company’s Battle Creek headquarters demanding that Kellogg remove artificial dyes from its cereals.
Earlier this year, Kellogg said it was reformulating cereals sold to schools to remove artificial dyes and will not include them in any new products starting in January.
Ferrero’s acquisition, which still needs approval from Kellogg shareholders, is expected to close in the second half of the year. Once the transaction is complete, Kellogg’s stock will no longer trade on the New York Stock Exchange and the company will become a Ferrero subsidiary.
A “click-to-cancel” rule, which would have required businesses to make it easy for consumers to cancel unwanted subscriptions and memberships, has been blocked by a federal appeals court just days before it was set to go into effect.
The Federal Trade Commission’s proposed changes, adopted in October, required businesses to obtain a customer’s consent before charging for memberships, auto-renewals and programs linked to free trial offers.
The FTC said at the time that businesses must also disclose when free trials or other promotional offers will end and let customers cancel recurring subscriptions as easily as they started them.
The administration of President Joe Biden included the FTC’s proposal as part of its “Time is Money” initiative, a governmentwide initiative that was announced last year with the aim of cracking down on consumer-related hassles.
The FTC rule was set to go into effect on Monday, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit said this week that the FTC made a procedural error by failing to come up with a preliminary regulatory analysis, which is required for rules whose annual impact on the U.S. economy is more than $100 million.
The FTC claimed that it did not have to come up with a preliminary regulatory analysis because it initially determined that the rule’s impact on the national economy would be less than $100 million. An administrative law judge decided that the economic impact would be more than the $100 million threshold.
The court decided to vacate the rule.
“While we certainly do not endorse the use of unfair and deceptive practices in negative option marketing, the procedural deficiencies of the Commission’s rulemaking process are fatal here,” the court wrote.
The FTC declined to comment on Wednesday.
The agency is currently moving forward with its preparations for a trial involving Amazon’s Prime program. The trial stems from a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit that accused Amazon of enrolling consumers in its Prime program without their consent and making it difficult for them to cancel their subscriptions.
For the first time in almost 20 years, travelers may no longer be required to take off their shoes during security screenings at U.S. airports.
The Transportation Security Administration is looking to abandon the additional security step that has for years bedeviled anyone passing through U.S airports, according to media reports.
If implemented, it would put an end to a security screening mandate put in place almost 20 years ago, several years after “shoe bomber” Richard Reid’s failed attempt to take down a flight from Paris to Miami in late 2001.
The travel newsletter Gate Access was first to report that the security screening change is coming. ABC News reported on an internal memo sent to TSA officers last week that states the new policy allows travelers to keep their shoes on during standard screenings at many U.S. airports, beginning Sunday. That would expand to all airports shortly.
The plan is for the change to occur at all U.S. airports soon, the memo said.
Travelers have previously been able to skirt the extra security requirement if they participate in the TSA PreCheck program, which costs around $80 for five years. The program allows airline passengers to get through the screening process without removing shoes, belts or light jackets.
Travelers who are 75 years old or older and those 12 or younger do not have to remove shoes at security checkpoints.
The TSA has not officially confirmed the reported security screening change yet.
“TSA and DHS are always exploring new and innovative ways to enhance passenger experience and our strong security posture,” a TSA spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday. “Any potential updates to our security process will be issued through official channels.”
The TSA began in 2001 when President George W. Bush signed legislation for its creation two months after the 9/11 attacks. The agency included federal airport screeners that replaced the private companies airlines had used to handle security.
Over the years the TSA has continued to look for ways to enhance its security measures, including testing facial recognition technology and implementing Real ID requirements.
One of the most prominent friction points for travelers is the TSA at screening checkpoints. Trump’s Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy asked the public in an April social media post what would make travel more seamless.
The following day, Duffy posted on X that, “It’s very clear that TSA is the #1 travel complaint. That falls under the Department of Homeland Security. I’ll discuss this with @Sec_Noem.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem will host a press conference Tuesday evening at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to announce a new TSA policy “that will make screening easier for passengers, improve traveler satisfaction, and reduce wait times,” her agency said.
Trump fired TSA Administrator David Pekoske in January in the middle of a second five-year term, though he was appointed by Trump during his first term in the White House. Pekoske was reappointed by President Joe Biden.
No reason was given for Pekoske’s departure. The administrator position remains vacant, according to the TSA website.
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