BUSINESS

The Amazon MGM sci fi thriller grossed another $54.5 million at North American theaters over its second weekend.

StraitsX, a Singapore-based company, has seen rapid growth in its stablecoin card program, with a 40x surge in transaction volume and an 83x increase in card issuance between 2024 and 2025.

Three very different artists dropped music this week — and each one gave us a case study worth breaking down.

The company seemed to have skipped it’s weekly bitcoin purchase announcement for the first time since late december.

TheStreet aims to feature only the best products and services. If you buy something via one of our links, we may earn a commission.Why we love this dealThe weather is warming up, and outdoor get-togethers are getting closer and closer. Spring is the time for outdoor campfires, barbecues, and fun in the sun, and spending time out in the backyard with friends and eating delicious food is one of America’s best pastimes. If you’re thinking about hosting this year, we have found great deals on patio sets and lights to set a comfortable atmosphere for your family and friends. However, when it comes to food, making a show of cooking takes it up a notch. Whether cooking dinner for the family or roasting some veggies, the Pit Boss 3-Series Vertical Smoker offers a versatile and delicious cooking option. A smoker is an easy way to cook food for your family gatherings. It can easily be tended to while hanging out outside with everyone, saving you the hassle of running back and forth from the kitchen to the patio. This Pit Boss smoker is 50% off during Amazon’s Big Spring Sale, offering a savings of $200. Shoppers can snag this smoker for just $200, and put it to good use for Easter, the 4th of July, and whenever the craving for smoked foods strikes. Pit Boss 3-Series Vertical Smoker, $200 (was $400) at Amazon

Courtesy of Amazon

Shop at AmazonWhy do shoppers love it?This vertical smoker offers tons of space for smoking meats and veggies with 880 square inches of space. It features four 15-inch by 12-inch racks to fit potatoes, brisket, tofu, squash, and more. The temperature ranges from 100 degrees to 320 degrees, making it a viable option for low and slow or hot and fast, depending on what you need to cook. While this smoker only runs on gas, it features a wood chip tray to add flavor to your food, or you can leave it empty to just get a plain smoke, which is great for pre-marinated foods.  Related: Amazon has a ‘brilliant’ Charbroil 3-in-1 outdoor grill for 40% off during the Big Spring SaleThe external wood chip and ash drawer, the front-access grease drawer, and the removable racks make this smoker super easy to clean and maintain. The 47-inch-tall vertical shape and 22-inch-wide size allow for easy adding and removing, and the large viewing window lets you see into the whole smoker without opening the door and letting the smoke out. It also features a heat indicator that provides an easy and accurate reading while cooking. The two 12,500 British Thermal Unit (BTU) burners are crafted with porcelain-coated stainless steel for efficient and safe heating. The pros and cons of this $200 smokerProsSpace: This smoker has four racks for smoking various foods.Viewing window: The viewing window makes it easy to keep an eye on meats while cooking, instead of opening the door and letting heat out. Cleaning: The external wood chip and ash removal, and front-access grease door make the smoker easier to clean.Cons Cost: There are smaller smokers available for less money. Gas only: This smoker is gas-powered only.One reviewer said, “Cleaning is a breeze since the racks slide out easily, and the overall build quality feels solid—not cheap and flimsy. Plus, the temperature control is precise, and the wood chip tray is conveniently accessible.”Another shopper said, “My husband likes that he can put pellets for a smoke flavor, or leave them out and just cook. He’s even cooked a pizza in it. He also says it doesn’t seem like it uses a lot of propane. After using it several times a week for well over a month, the tank still fills pretty heavy.”Shop more dealsRoyal Gourmet Analog Smoker, $170 (was $200) at AmazonLCD Control Wood Pellet Smoker, $263 (was $340) at AmazonMasterbuilt Slow and Cold Smoker, $77 (was $90) at AmazonThe Pit Boss 3-Series Vertical Smoker offers top-notch smoking with an easy-to-clean system. The four racks offer tons of space for all types of food, and the large viewing window makes smoking fun and easy. At 50% off, this smoker is a great deal.

When the size-inclusivity movement gained momentum, it revolutionized the fashion industry, pushing many apparel companies to expand beyond traditional sizing and better serve a broader range of body types. Major retailers responded by expanding their size ranges, while specialized plus-size brands emerged to meet growing demand.Several years later, however, the market is shifting again. Alongside macroeconomic pressures and cautious consumer spending, the rapid adoption of GLP-1 medications is beginning to reshape apparel demand, particularly within the plus-size segment.GLP-1s’ impact on the retail industryGlucagon-like peptide-1, called GLP-1s and known by brand names such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Trulicity, were developed to regulate blood sugar, digestion, and appetite for people with Type 2 diabetes. They are now increasingly used for weight-loss management, driving measurable shifts in consumer behavior.According to Circana estimates, approximately 23% of all U.S. households use GLP-1 medications as of September 2025, up four points from the prior year. Their influence is extending well beyond healthcare and into retail.Around 80% of GLP‑1 users anticipate needing new clothing due to size changes, while 55% have already purchased new clothing or footwear, driven primarily by changing sizes, according to a recent Circana survey.This signals a structural shift in demand. Apparel purchasing is no longer driven solely by seasonality or trends, but increasingly influenced by GLP-1-driven body changes.Unlike traditional weight-loss cycles, GLP-1-driven shifts are occurring at both scale and speed, making them more disruptive to apparel demand forecasting and inventory planning.Consumers’ identities are changing, not just sizeWeight loss associated with GLP-1 use is not only changing what consumers wear but also reshaping how they see themselves.As users transition through multiple sizes, many are rebuilding their wardrobes from scratch. This often includes experimenting with new categories and styles that previously felt out of reach. Circana data shows increased purchases in categories such as activewear, denim, dresses, and intimates during the first year of GLP‑1 use.Kristen Classi-Zummo, apparel industry advisor at Circana, notes that this reflects a bigger behavioral shift.”GLP-1 usage extends beyond the physical implications; it’s a catalyst for redefining personal style. As consumers rebuild their wardrobes, they’re reassessing what fits, what flatters, and what feels aligned with their lifestyle,” said Classi-Zummo.This transformation represents more than a temporary trend. It is an identity reset with direct implications for merchandising, marketing, and product development.For retailers, this also introduces a new challenge where consumers are not simply replacing clothing; they are redefining their relationship with apparel, often prioritizing versatility, confidence, and lifestyle alignment over previous purchasing habits.

GLP-1 usage is changing consumer habits and impacting retailers nationwide.Shutterstock

Mounting pressure on plus-size retailersRetailers focused on extended sizing are already beginning to feel the impact.The broader retail environment remains difficult. Store closures increased 67% in 2025 compared to the previous year, reflecting ongoing industry contraction and realignment, according to CoreSight Research.More coverage on store closures:48-year-old nostalgic mall retailer will close 25 stores in 202677-year-old jewelry giant will close 100 stores, shut 2 brands125-year-old retail chain to close more stores in 2026Within this environment, several plus-size specialized retailers have reported declines.Torrid (CURV) reported a 14.3% year-over-year sales decline in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, with a net loss of $8.1 million, compared to $3 million. The company plans to close 30 stores in the first half of 2026 after shuttering 151 locations last year.DXL (DXLG) posted a 6% year-over-year drop in sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, with a net loss of $29.6 million compared to $1.3 million.DXL CEO Harvey Kanter attributed part of the slowdown to GLP-1 adoption, predicting that as many as 25% of the company’s customers are on the medication, actively losing weight and delaying purchases.”Right now, we are in a pattern where they are losing weight and they are trying not to buy clothes until they are done with that journey,” said Kanter during the earnings call.This dynamic is creating a short-term demand gap. Consumers in transition are temporarily spending less in the near term, even as long-term demand for wardrobe replacement builds.At the same time, it is compressing traditional retail buying cycles, forcing brands to rethink inventory strategies as consumers move through multiple sizes more quickly.The future of the retail industry The broader outlook for fashion retail remains cautious.McKinsey & Company’s State of Fashion 2026 Report projects low-single-digit growth for the global fashion industry, citing ongoing macroeconomic instability, tariff pressures, and value-conscious consumer behavior.”In the end, 2026 will likely be another year of dislocation for fashion companies,” said McKinsey & Company analysts.Yet in this subdued environment, GLP-1 adoption represents a new and unexpected growth driver.Bernstein analysts estimate that GLP-1-related wardrobe changes could generate up to $13 billion in increased annual apparel spending.”We expect that GLP-1 users will expand their apparel shopping basket size for 1-3 years, including both the multiple size changes during their weight loss journey as well as replacing their entire wardrobe (and perhaps shifting the styles and types of clothing as well) once they have reached their goal weight,” the analysts said, as reported by MarketWatch.The risk of scaling back on inclusivityDespite these shifts, scaling back on inclusive sizing could prove short-sighted.A substantial portion of the U.S. population still wears plus-size clothing, estimated between 68% and 78%, according to an analysis by FIT professor Mallorie Dunn. This demand is not disappearing, even as some consumers size down.Overcorrecting in response to short-term trends could alienate a large and still underrepresented customer base.What this means for retailersGLP-1 medications are introducing a new dynamic into fashion retail, one that blends healthcare, identity, and consumer spending patterns.For brands, the opportunity lies in balancing supporting consumers through transitional sizing and evolving identities, and maintaining long-term commitments to inclusivity. Retailers that can do both while adapting to faster demand cycles and more fluid sizing needs will be best positioned to navigate this shift and outperform in an otherwise constrained market. Related: 106-year-old retail brand operator closing all stores in bankruptcy

The crypto and banking industries saw Senators Alsobrooks and Tillis’ agreement-in-principle for stablecoin yield.

Last week, one of our product managers (PMs) built and shipped a feature. Not spec’d it. Not filed a ticket for it. Built it, tested it, and shipped it to production. In a day.A few days earlier, our designer noticed that the visual appearance of our IDE plugins had drifted from the design system. In the old world, that meant screenshots, a JIRA ticket, a conversation to explain the intent, and a sprint slot. Instead, he opened an agent, adjusted the layout himself, experimented, iterated, and tuned in real time, then pushed the fix. The person with the strongest design intuition fixed the design directly. No translation layer required.None of this is new in theory. Vibe coding opened the gates of software creation to millions. That was aspiration. When I shared the data on how our engineers doubled throughput, shifted from coding to validation, brought design upfront for rapid experimentation, it was still an engineering story. What changed is that the theory became practice. Here’s how it actually played out.The bottleneck movedWhen we went AI-first in 2025, implementation cost collapsed. Agents took over scaffolding, tests, and the repetitive glue code that used to eat half the sprint. Cycle times dropped from weeks to days, from days to hours. Engineers started thinking less in files and functions and more in architecture, constraints, and execution plans.But once engineering capacity stopped being the bottleneck, we noticed something: Decision velocity was. All the coordination mechanisms we’d built to protect engineering time (specs, tickets, handoffs, backlog grooming) were now the slowest part of the system. We were optimizing for a constraint that no longer existed.What happens when building is cheaper than coordinationWe started asking a different question: What would it look like if the people closest to the intent could ship the software directly?PMs already think in specifications. Designers already define structure, layout, and behavior. They don’t think in syntax. They think in outcomes. When the cost of turning intent into working software dropped far enough, these roles didn’t need to “learn to code.” The cost of implementation simply fell to their level.I asked one of our PMs, Dmitry, to describe what changed from his perspective. He told me: “While agents are generating tasks in Zenflow, there’s a few minutes of idle time. Just dead air. I wanted to build a small game, something to interact with while you wait.”If you’ve ever run a product team, you know this kind of idea. It doesn’t move a KPI. It’s impossible to justify in a prioritization meeting. It gets deferred forever. But it adds personality. It makes the product feel like someone cared about the small details. These are exactly the things that get optimized out of every backlog grooming session, and exactly the things users remember.He built it in a day. In the past, that idea would have died in a prioritization spreadsheet. Not because it was bad, but because the cost of implementation made it irrational to pursue. When that cost drops to near zero, the calculus changes completely.Shipping became cheaper than explainingAs more people started building directly, entire layers of process quietly vanished. Fewer tickets. Fewer handoffs. Fewer “can you explain what you mean by…” conversations. Fewer lost-in-translation moments.For a meaningful class of tasks, it became faster to just build the thing than to describe what you wanted and wait for someone else to build it. Think about that for a second. Every modern software organization is structured around the assumption that implementation is the expensive part. When that assumption breaks, the org has to change with it.Our designer fixing the plugin UI is a perfect example. The old workflow (screenshot the problem, file a ticket, explain the gap between intent and implementation, wait for a sprint slot, review the result, request adjustments) existed entirely to protect engineering bandwidth. When the person with the design intuition can act on it directly, that whole stack disappears. Not because we eliminated process for its own sake, but because the process was solving a problem that no longer existed.The compounding effectHere’s what surprised me most: It compounds.When PMs build their own ideas, their specifications get sharper, because they now understand what the agent needs to execute well. Sharper specs produce better agent output. Better output means fewer iteration cycles. We’re seeing velocity compound week over week, not just because the models improved, but because the people using them got closer to the work.Dmitry put it well: The feedback loop between intent and outcome went from weeks to minutes. When you can see the result of your specification immediately, you learn what precision the system needs, and you start providing it instinctively.There’s a second-order effect that’s harder to measure but impossible to miss: Ownership. People stop waiting. They stop filing tickets for things they could just fix. “Builder” stopped being a job title. It became the default behavior.What this means for the industryA lot of the “everyone can code” narrative last year was theoretical, or focused on solo founders and tiny teams. What we experienced is different. We have ~50 engineers working in a complex brownfield codebase: Multiple surfaces and programming languages, enterprise integrations, the full weight of a real production system. I don’t think we’re unique. I think we’re early. And with each new generation of models, the gap between who can build and who can’t is closing faster than most organizations realize. Every software company is about to discover that their PMs and designers are sitting on unrealized building capacity, blocked not by skill, but by the cost of implementation. As that cost continues to fall, the organizational implications are profound.We started with an intent to accelerate software engineering. What we’re becoming is something different: A company where everyone ships.Andrew Filev is founder and CEO of Zencoder.

Historically, spikes in Bitfinex BTC/USD longs have acted as a contrary indicator.

By 2050, the growth in anti-microbial resistance could kill nearly 39 million people globally.