Americans’ take on the economy sours

Americans’ view of the U.S. economy worsened in June, resuming a downward slide that had dragged consumer confidence to its lowest level since the COVID-19 pandemic five years ago.

The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index slid to 93 in June, down 5.4 points from 98.4 last month, which represented a brief uptick. The regression surprised economists, who had expected a small uptick this month.

In April, American consumers’ confidence in the economy sank to its lowest reading since May 2020, largely due to anxiety over the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

A measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for their income, business conditions and the job market fell 4.6 points to 69. That’s well below 80, the marker that can signal a recession ahead. Consumers’ assessments of the present economic situation declined by 6.4 points to 129.1.

Tariffs and the impact they could have on personal finances remained at the top of respondents’ minds, the Conference Board said.

Online job hunting firms file bankruptcy

Careerbuilder + Monster, a firm that brought together early trailblazers in online job recruiting, filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware on Tuesday as business continues to shrivel. The company said it started a Chapter 11 process to facilitate a sale of the operations, according to a statement. Chapter 11 filings allow a company to continue operating while it works out a creditor-repayment plan. CareerBuilder and Monster both launched during the 1990s and popularized online job searching just as internet use was going mainstream. The two companies were rolled into a joint venture last year, with Apollo Global Management Inc. having a controlling stake and staffing agency Randstad NV being a minority shareholder.

Under the bankruptcy plan, the jobs board business would be sold to JobGet Inc. while Monster Media Properties would be bought by Valnet Inc. Monster Government Services, which provides management software to state and federal goverments, would be transferred to Valsoft Corp. These firms are the stalking horse bidders, and the completion of asset sales is subject to higher and better offers.

Careerbuilder + Monster also said it is in talks with Blue Torch Capital for as much as $20 million of debtor-in-possession financing. A workforce reduction is part of the plan as well, Chief Executive Officer Jeff Furman said in the statement.

McDonald’s, Krispy Kreme end partnership

There will soon be a doughnut-sized hole in McDonald’s U.S. menu.

McDonald’s and Krispy Kreme said Tuesday that they’re ending their partnership on July 2, a little more than a year after it was announced. Krispy Kreme said demand for its doughnuts at McDonald’s wasn’t strong enough to recoup its costs.

Chicago-based McDonald’s announced in March 2024 that it would begin selling three types of Krispy Kreme doughnuts at participating locations after a successful pilot in Kentucky. The doughnuts were sold individually or in boxes of six.

The companies planned a phased rollout that would bring doughnuts to McDonald’s nationwide by the end of 2026. At the time, Krispy Kreme President and CEO Josh Charlesworth said the partnership would give customers “unprecedented daily access” to Krispy Kreme’s doughnuts.

Compiled from Associated Press and Bloomberg reports.