Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos said on Thursday that inflation continues to hurt the discounter’s customers and that the macroeconomic environment won’t improve this year.

On the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call, Vasos said customers are expecting value and convenience “more than ever” from the dollar-store chain.

“Our customers continue to report that their financial situation has worsened over the last year, as they have been negatively impacted by ongoing inflation. Many of our customers report they only have enough money for basic essentials, with some noting that they have had to sacrifice even on the necessities,” Vasos said. “As we enter 2025, we are not anticipating improvement in the macro environment, particularly for our core customer.”

Dollar General’s core consumer is “always strained” due to their economic status, but also resourceful, Vasos said.

“We’ve started to see where [our customer is] getting her sea legs, if you will, on the additional inflation that’s been very sticky out there, and she’s starting to understand her budgets even more,” Vasos said.

Part of the uncertainty, Vasos said, stems from the potential impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on the consumer.

When Trump imposed tariffs during his first term in office in 2018 and 2019, Dollar General had to raise some prices in line with others in the industry, Vasos said. But the general store was able to mitigate the impact back then and is “well positioned” to do so again this year, he said.

“Given the already stressed financial condition of our core customer, we are closely monitoring these and any other potential economic headwinds, including any changes to government entitlement programs,” Vasos said.

CFO Kelly Dilts said the company’s 2025 guidance factors in continued economic pressure on the consumer, but does not account for further changes to tariff policy or government initiatives like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which subsidizes food for low-income Americans.

For the fourth-quarter, Dollar General said same-store sales growth of 1.2% was driven entirely by 2.3% growth in average transaction. Customer traffic fell 1.1% during the period, “impacted by ongoing financial pressures of our core consumer,” Vasos said.

Alongside its fourth-quarter earnings, Dollar General said Thursday it would close 96 Dollar General stores and 45 Popshelf stores and will convert six other Popshelf stores into flagship banner locations this year. Popshelf primarily serves higher-income shoppers with lower-priced products.

Shares of Dollar General rose 5% Thursday morning.

Donatella Versace announced Thursday that she is stepping down as chief creative officer of Versace, ending her nearly 30-year-long stint at the Italian luxury fashion empire’s helm.

Versace, 69, took on the role to lead the luxury fashion house after her brother and its founder, Gianni Versace, was fatally gunned down outside his Miami Beach mansion in 1997.

‘It has been the greatest honor of my life to carry on my brother Gianni’s legacy,’ Versace wrote on Instagram. ‘He was the true genius, but I hope I have some of his spirit and tenacity.’

Following her brother’s death — and despite not having a background in design or fashion — Versace quickly became a living embodiment of the Versace brand and remains a beloved figure within the fashion industry.

The 69-year-old’s iconic pin-straight blond hair and her unparalleled ability to bring together the industry’s top models, including Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford, for the fashion house’s out-of-this-world runway shows became as emblematic of the brand as its gold mythological logo.Emmanuel Gintzburger, CEO of Versace — whose parent company is fashion conglomerate Capri Holdings — said that the brand ‘is what it is today because of Donatella Versace and the passion she has brought to her role every day for nearly thirty years.’

‘The universal values she stands for and her love for uncompromised creativity anchored Versace far beyond a brand or a company,’ he said in a statement. ‘Working alongside her has been an incredible privilege and pleasure.’

Dario Vitale, the former design and image director of Italian brand Miu Miu, will lead the fashion house as its new chief creative officer, the company said in a statement.

“I want to express my sincere thank you to Donatella for her trust in me, and for her tireless dedication to the extraordinary brand that Versace is today,” Vitale said in a statement. “It is a privilege to contribute to the future growth of Versace and its global impact through my vision, expertise and dedication.”

Versace will stay on at the company as its chief brand ambassador.

‘I will remain Versace’s most passionate supporter,’ she said. ‘Versace is in my DNA and always in my heart.’

Spirit Airlines is out of bankruptcy, hitting its target to emerge in the first quarter, after a crippling few years. CEO Ted Christie says the carrier is leaner and ready to take on competitors, including rival Southwest Airlines.

Earlier this week, Southwest shocked customers by announcing it will start charging for checked bags for the first time in its half-century of flying, a huge strategy move for the largest domestic U.S. carrier. (There are some exceptions to Southwest new bag rules, which take effect in late May.)

“I think it’s going to be painful for a little bit as they find their footing, and we’re going to take advantage of that,” Spirit’s Christie said in an interview Thursday.

Southwest had been a standout in the U.S. by offering all customers two free checked bags, a perk that has endured recessions, spikes in fuel prices and other crises while most rivals introduced bag fees and raised them every few years.

Spirit Airlines, on the other hand, made a la carte pricing common in the U.S., with fees for seat assignments, checked bags and other add-ons. It’s a strategy most large airlines, except for Southwest, have copied in one form or another.

As Southwest starts charging for bags and introduces its first basic economy class, which doesn’t include a seat assignment or allow free changes, Spirit could possibly win over customers, Christie said.

Southwest said it would get rid of its single-class open seating model last year.

“There at least was an audience of people who were intentionally selecting and flying Southwest because they felt that it was easy. They knew they were going to get two bags,” Christie said. “Now that that’s no longer the case, it’s easy to say that they’re going to widen their aperture and they’re now going to look around.”

Spirit is far smaller than Southwest and even smaller than it was last year, but it competes with the airline in cities like Kansas City, Missouri; Nashville, Columbus, Ohio; and Milwaukee. If customers look on travel sites like Expedia, where Southwest is a new entrant, Spirit’s tickets could be cheaper and appear higher in results, Christie said.

Other airline executives have also said they expect to win over some Southwest customers.

Delta Air Lines President Glen Hauenstein said at a JPMorgan industry conference Tuesday that there are consumers who choose Southwest based on its free-bag perk “and now those customers are up for grabs.”

Spirit, for its part, has recently been offering more ticket bundles that include things like seat assignments and luggage.

The carrier is now focused on returning to profitability. It posted a net loss of more than $1.2 billion last year, more than double its loss in 2023 as it grappled with grounded jets because of a Pratt & Whitney engine recall, higher costs, more domestic competition and a failed acquisition by JetBlue Airways.

Spirit has rejected multiple recent merger attempts by fellow budget carrier Frontier Airlines. Christie said Thursday that nothing is “off the table” and that a fifth-largest airline as a low cost carrier in the U.S. makes sense, but that the airline is focused on stabilizing itself after bankruptcy.

Through its restructuring process, which started in November, Spirit said it reduced its debt by about $795 million. The transaction converted debt into equity for major creditors. The carrier also received a $350 million equity infusion.

Spirit plans to relist its shares on a stock exchange but hasn’t set a date yet.

More than eight out of every 10 respondents to a Morgan Stanley survey believe Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s controversial political activities are hurting his business.

In total, 85% of the 245 participants polled by the firm believe Musk’s foray into politics has either had a “negative” or “extremely negative” impact on business fundamentals. The majority of respondents also expect Tesla deliveries to fall this year, according to the survey.

While a small sampling, these results offer the latest sign of mounting frustration with the billionaire entrepreneur as he’s become a rising figure in international and American politics. It also comes at a pivotal point for Tesla’s stock, with shares plunging nearly 40% this year.

When asked about Musk’s efforts with U.S. government efficiency and other political activities, 45% of respondents said these actions had a “negative” effect on the company. Another 40% said they were having an “extremely negative” impact.

On the other hand, 3% said they were “positive” for the business. Meanwhile, 12% called them “insignificant.”

To be sure, Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas reported that his survey respondents are drawn from his email distribution list and should not be taken as a random representative sample. He also noted that the respondents are not necessarily owners of Tesla stock. The survey was taken over a 17-hour period, starting on Tuesday afternoon.

Jonas also asked about expectations for the company’s performance. In a separate question, 59% said they anticipated Tesla would deliver fewer cars to customers in 2025 compared with the prior year. What’s more, 21% of total respondents said they expected a decline of more than 10%. That comes as some analysts have raised alarm that recent reports of vandalism could spook potential customers.

Just 19% of responders said they forecasted deliveries to rise in 2025, while another 23% said they would be flat between the two years.

Musk’s political profile has grown after his public support of President Donald Trump in the runup up to last year’s election and his subsequent role leading the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. The Tesla executive’s efforts to slash the federal government’s spending and workforce has drawn the ire of critics who see his team as working too quickly and haphazardly.

Musk acknowledged in an interview with Fox Business on Monday that his high-profile role in Trump’s administration meant he was running his businesses, which also include X and SpaceX, “with great difficulty.” That day, Tesla shares tumbled more than 15% for their worst session since 2020.

Despite the recent nosedive, 45% of respondents said they anticipate Tesla shares will be at least 11% higher by the end of the calendar year. Around 36% expect the stock to tumble another 11% or further by year-end, while 19% see the stock staying within 10% of its price around $220.

After a New York Times report last week unearthed criticisms of Musk’s team from members of Trump’s cabinet, the president offered a vote of confidence on Tuesday. Trump evaluated five Tesla vehicles parked at the White House after the president said on social media that he would buy one as a symbol of support.

Trump also said he would declare violence at Tesla dealerships to be acts of domestic terrorism.

The Federal Trade Commission asked a judge in Seattle to delay the start of its trial accusing Amazon of duping consumers into signing up for its Prime program, citing resource constraints.

Attorneys for the FTC made the request during a status hearing on Wednesday before Judge John Chun in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. Chun had set a Sept. 22 start date for the trial.

Jonathan Cohen, an attorney for the FTC, asked Chun for a two-month continuance on the case due to staffing and budgetary shortfalls.

The FTC’s request to delay due to staffing constraints comes amid a push by the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency to reduce spending. DOGE, which is led by tech baron Elon Musk, has slashed the federal government’s workforce by more than 62,000 workers in February alone.

“We have lost employees in the agency, in our division and on our case team,” Cohen said.

Chun asked Cohen how the FTC’s situation “will be different in two months” if the agency is “in crisis now, as far as resources.” Cohen responded by saying that he “cannot guarantee if things won’t be even worse.” He pointed to the possibility that the FTC may have to move to another office “unexpectedly,” which could hamper its ability to prepare for the trial.

“But there’s a lot of reason to believe … we may have been through the brunt of it, at least for a little while,” Cohen said.

John Hueston, an attorney for Amazon, disputed Cohen’s request to push back the trial date.

“There has been no showing on this call that the government does not have the resources to proceed to trial with the trial date as presently set,” Hueston said. “What I heard is that they’ve got the whole trial team still intact. Maybe there’s going to be an office move. And by the way, both in government and private sector, I’ve never heard of an office move being more than a few days disruptive.”

The FTC sued Amazon in June 2023, alleging that the online retailer was deceiving millions of customers into signing up for its Prime program and sabotaging their attempts to cancel it.

“Amazon tricked and trapped people into recurring subscriptions without their consent, not only frustrating users but also costing them significant money,” former FTC Chair Lina Khan said at the time.

The FTC has also brought a separate case against Amazon, accusing it of wielding an illegal monopoly, in part by preventing sellers from offering cheaper prices elsewhere through its anti-discounting measures. That case, which the FTC filed in September 2023, is set to go to trial in October 2026.