Category: 3. Business

Happy Friday and Happy New Year! We’re proud of all we’ve accomplished in 2025, and we’re looking forward to continuing to serve you in 2026.

The holiday season may mostly be over, but this weekend you have one last chance this year to ride one of Transit Museum’s holiday nostalgia rides, running between 2 Av on the   and 96 St on the  . It’s also not too late to visit the holiday train show at Grand Central, which is open until February.

Here’s what else is happening this weekend (also viewable as a map):

•   trains aren’t running between Chambers St and Flatbush Av-Brooklyn College.
•   trains aren’t running at all.
•   trains aren’t running between Inwood-207 St and 168 St.
•   trains aren’t running between 168 St and 145 St.
• Coney Island-bound   trains are running on the   from 36 St to Coney Island-Stillwell Av.
•   trains aren’t running between Bedford-Nostrand Avs and Church Av.

For more details, keep on scrolling. We’ve also got travel alternatives for stations that will be closed or skipped.

And don’t forget to sign up for the MTA Weekender newsletter sent every Friday. You’ll get these service changes directly in your inbox, with more than enough time to plan your weekend travel.

Sign up for the Weekender!

Major subway service changes

    trains, the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Manhattan

From 11:30 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday: 

•   trains are running between Eastchester-Dyre Av   and Chambers St and on the   to/from South Ferry.
•   trains aren’t running at all.
•   trains are running between Wakefield-241 St   and Flatbush Av-Brooklyn College, express in Manhattan and local in Brooklyn.

This is because of structural maintenance.

• For service between Wakefield-241 St and E 180 St, take the  .
• For service between Eastchester-Dyre Av and E 180 St, take the  .
• For service between Harlem-148 St and 135 St, take free shuttle buses, which are running between these stations stopping at 145 St.
• For service between 135 St and Chambers St, take the  .
• For service between Manhattan and Brooklyn, take the       trains.
• For service to/from Park Place, Fulton St, Wall St, Clark St, Borough Hall, and Hoyt St, use nearby    or   stations.
• For service between Atlantic Av-Barclays Ctr and New Lots Av, take the  .
• For service between Atlantic Av-Barclays Ctr and Flatbush Av-Brooklyn College, take the  .

   trains, Manhattan

From 11:45 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday:

•   trains aren’t running between Inwood-207 St and 168 St in either direction. 
  •   trains are running between 168 St and Ozone Park-Lefferts Blvd or Far Rockaway-Mott Av. 
•   trains aren’t running between 168 St and 145 St in either direction.
  •   trains are running between 145 St and Euclid Av. At 145 St,   trains are stopping at the lower level   platform.

This is because of track replacement.

• For service between Inwood-207 St and 168 St, use nearby   stops or take free shuttle buses, which are running along two routes:
  • Broadway shuttle buses are running between Inwood-207 St and 168 St.
  • Fort Washington Av shuttle buses are running between 190 St and 168 St.
• For local service between 168 St and 145 St, take the  , which is running local between these stations.

  trains, Brooklyn

Coney Island-bound   trains are running on the   from 36 St to Coney Island-Stillwell Av from 11:45 p.m. Friday to 10 p.m. Sunday because of track maintenance.

• For service to/from bypassed stations, take a Manhattan-bound train.

  trains, Brooklyn

  trains aren’t running between Bedford-Nostrand Avs and Church Av in either direction from 9:30 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday because of signal modernization.

• For service between Bedford-Nostrand Avs and Hoyt-Schermerhorn, take free B93 shuttle buses, which are running between these stations and connecting to Jay St-MetroTech     .
• For service between Bergen St and Church Av, take the  .

Other subway service changes

   trains, Brooklyn

Manhattan-bound    trains are running nonstop from Myrtle Av to Marcy Av from 3:45 a.m. Saturday to 10 p.m. Sunday because of structural maintenance.

• For service to/from these stations, take a Jamaica Center-bound   or Middle Village-bound  .

  trains, the Bronx

Manhattan-bound   trains are running nonstop from Burnside Av to 149 St-Grand Concourse from 3:45 a.m. Saturday to 10 p.m. Sunday because of track replacement.

• For service to/from bypassed stations, take a Woodlawn-bound train.
• During the day and evening,   trains are running every 8 minutes in Brooklyn and Manhattan and every 16 minutes in the Bronx. The last stop for alternate Bronx-bound trains is 125 St. Transfer to a Woodlawn-bound train to continue your trip.

  trains, Queens

Flushing-bound   trains are running express from 74 St-Broadway to Mets-Willets Point from 11:45 p.m. Friday to 3 a.m. Monday because of station work.

• For service to/from bypassed stations, take a Manhattan-bound train.
• At Junction Blvd, all trains are boarding from the Manhattan-bound platform.
•   trains are running every 8 minutes during the day and evening.

Get updates

These service changes are subject to change, so check the MTA homepage before heading out; it’s where you’ll find up-to-the-minute information on subway, bus, and rail service.

Our apps—MTA and TrainTime—also provide real-time service information. You can also contact us in real time for help planning your trip.

See how to contact us.

Saks Global Enterprises, which operates Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus, said Friday its CEO Marc Metrick stepped down, effective immediately

NEW YORK — The top executive of the private company that owns Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus is stepping down as it struggles with debt taken on to buy a rival almost two years ago.

Saks Global Enterprises said Friday that the departure of CEO Marc Metrick is effective immediately, and that he will be replaced by Executive Chairman Richard Baker. Baker will continue to serve as executive chairman.

In addition to debt from Saks’ $2.65 billion acquisition of Neiman Marcus in the summer of 2024, the company is facing increasing competition from a fragmenting luxury goods sector.

Hudson’s Bay Co., the Canadian owner of Saks Fifth Avenue, split off the luxury retailer’s e-commerce business, Saks.com in 2021. After acquiring Neiman Marcus three years later, Saks Fifth Avenue changed its name to Saks Global.

Saks Global, based in New York City, completed a $600 million notes offering in August in an effort to bolster its liquidity following the Neiman Marcus acquisition.

The company is trying to winnow down its heavy debt load with global sales of luxury goods that are expected to contract for the second straight year in 2026. Wealthier customers have rebelled against extravagant price hikes on goods that haven’t drummed up much excitement, in addition to growing anxiety about the global economy, according to a new study by Bain & Co. consultancy released in November.

Metrick joined Saks Fifth Avenue in 1995 and held a variety of positions at Saks and Hudson’s Bay. He was named CEO of Saks Fifth Avenue in 2021 and CEO of Saks Global in 2024.

The company said Friday that he is stepping down to pursue new opportunities.

Hawarden Regional Healthcare enters into a Partner in Health agreement with Avera effective Jan. 1, 2026.

This follows a letter of intent that was signed in October to explore and evaluate the potential partnership. Previously, Hawarden Regional Healthcare was affiliated with MercyOne health system.

Hawarden Regional Healthcare will remain owned by the city of Hawarden with local board control. Hawarden Regional Healthcare, a critical access hospital, and its clinics in Hawarden, Ireton and Akron will operate under the same name as in the past, “an Avera Partner” will appear on signage after the agreement takes effect.

Affiliation with Avera means that Avera will provide support in areas such as recruitment and retention of physicians and medical professionals, access to telemedicine and information technology.

“The mission of Hawarden Regional Healthcare is to provide the highest quality health care to the people and communities we serve. Avera has a similar mission and a long history of successful partnerships with rural community hospitals,” said Jayson Pullman, Chief Executive Officer of Hawarden Regional Healthcare. “We are looking forward to the ways in which an Avera relationship will add value to Hawarden, assisting us to provide even better care to our patients, maintaining a high level of satisfaction with employees, and attracting and retaining quality providers.” 

Avera Health covers a geographic footprint of 72,000 square miles with 315 locations in 100 communities across five states in the Upper Midwest. That includes eight affiliated hospital campuses in Iowa. Avera has different levels of partnerships with community hospitals, depending on their need, ranging from ownership to lease agreements to Partner in Health agreements. 

“Hawarden Regional Healthcare has a long history of providing quality health care to residents of the region, with a robust range of services that allow patients to stay close to home,” said Regional President and CEO of Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center, Dr. Ron Place. “We’re proud to welcome Hawarden to the Avera family and look forward to working together to have a positive impact in the lives and health of persons and communities in northwest Iowa.” 

What:

The U.S. Postal Service is honoring Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784), the first author of African descent in the American Colonies to publish a book, with the 49th stamp in the Black Heritage series.

The first-day-of-issue event for the Phillis Wheatley Black Heritage stamp is free and open to the public. News of the stamp is being shared with the hashtag #BlackHeritageStamp.

When:

Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, at 11 a.m. EST

Where:

Old South Meeting House

310 Washington St.

Boston, MA 02108

RSVP:

Attendees are encouraged to register at https://www.usps.com/philliswheatleystamp

Background:

Born in West Africa and brought to Boston on a slave ship, Phillis Wheatley was enslaved but educated in the Wheatley household. Wheatley published her first collection, “Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral,” in 1773. This collection showcased her impressive mastery of various poetic forms, including hymns, elegies, and narrative verse, securing her place in history. Freed from slavery that same year, she went on to correspond with figures such as George Washington, who praised her poetic talent.

Wheatley’s legacy continues to inspire generations, earning her the title “the mother of African American literature.” Before the Civil War, abolitionists used her accomplishments to affirm the intellectual capability of people of African descent and argue against slavery. Today schools, libraries, community centers and university buildings across the country have been named for Wheatley, and she has been the subject of numerous inspirational books for children. In 2003, a statue of the poet was included in a new Boston Women’s Memorial. The first full-length scholarly biography of Wheatley was published in 2011, with a second biographical study published in 2023, part of an ongoing effort to recognize her resilience in adversity.

Antonio Alcalá, an art director for USPS, designed the stamp using an existing portrait by Kerry James Marshall.

The Phillis Wheatley stamp will be issued in panes of 20. As a Forever stamp, it will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce price.

Postal Products

Customers may purchase stamps and other philatelic products through The Postal Store at usps.com/shopstamps, by calling 844-737-7826, by mail through USA Philatelic or at Post Office locations nationwide. For officially licensed stamp products, shop the USPS Officially Licensed Collection on Amazon. Additional information on stamps, First Day of Issue Ceremonies and stamp inspired products can be found at StampsForever.com.

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The UK financial watchdog has announced it is investigating a claims management company that promised to recover thousands of pounds for victims of alleged car finance mis-selling in adverts featuring heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury.

The Financial Conduct Authority said on Friday it had opened its enforcement probe into The Claims Protection Agency Limited over “concerns about its advertising and sales tactics”.

The watchdog made the announcement after overturning a legal challenge by the company against the FCA’s recently enhanced powers to “name and shame” the targets of its investigations.

It is the first time the regulator has publicly announced an investigation into one of the many claims management companies that have seized on the controversy over alleged mis-selling of car finance to bring millions of claims on behalf of consumers.

The Claims Protection Agency — which used several trading names, including My Claim Group, Martin’s Tips, Karen’s Claims, Express PCP and The PCP Guys — advertised heavily, offering to pursue car finance compensation cases.

Fury, a former world heavyweight champion boxer, became the “ambassador” for My Claim Group, saying in a video ad on Facebook that he was fighting “to claim back what is rightfully ours” and stating people “could be owed up to £4,000 in compensation”. My Claim Group did not respond to a request for comment.

The FCA said it was “investigating what customers were told about the amount of redress they might obtain, whether they were told they could make a claim for free and whether they were pressurised to sign up”. 

The watchdog, which is setting up an industry-wide scheme for lenders to handle claims from car finance customers for free, is worried people will lose out with claims management companies that can charge fees of up to 30 per cent of any compensation awarded.

Its decision to announce the investigation into The Claims Protection Agency would allow its customers “to consider their options”, the FCA said, adding that it had “not reached any conclusions” on whether the company had breached regulatory requirements.

The watchdog has estimated its redress scheme will pay about £700 per claim on average, leading to overall payouts worth a total of about £8.2bn. 

The FCA wrote to The Claims Protection Agency, raising concerns about its adverts and sales tactics in August 2025, prompting the company to stop accepting new customers or publishing any new financial promotions and to remove all existing financial promotions.

When the watchdog subsequently informed the claims manager of its plans to publicly announce an investigation, it challenged the decision via a judicial review in the High Court. 

Mr Justice Fordham rejected the challenge, saying that identifying the company would “most effectively get through to the claimant’s customers with a message that they needed to receive from the regulator”.

The FCA last year sought to introduce a public interest test that would allow it to publicly name more companies it investigates. But after this stirred controversy, the watchdog abandoned much of the plan, sticking to its “exceptional circumstances” test of when to disclose which companies it is probing.

The watchdog gave itself the ability to make anonymised announcements that identify the sector and concerns but not the company being investigated, as well as naming unregulated companies it investigates and probes that are already disclosed elsewhere.

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Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

The writer is a financial journalist and author of ‘The Economic Consequences of Mr Trump’

It is a mug’s game trying to predict the end of a boom with any precision. They last much longer than anyone might reasonably expect. That is true of bull markets, as well as economic advances. The reason is that markets and economies find ways to support themselves. George Soros, the well-known investor and philanthropist, has a term for it: reflexivity.

In a Financial Times article back in October 2009, Soros defined the concept, in terms of its impact on markets, quite succinctly. “The participants’ views influence the course of events, and the course of events influences the participants’ views,” he wrote.

It is a positive feedback loop. The same idea was at the heart of what John Maynard Keynes, the great economist, described as “animal spirits”; if businesses are confident, they will invest money and hire more workers, and this investment will boost economic growth.

In terms of asset markets, the most obvious example of reflexivity comes from the link between banking and property prices. Initially, for whatever reason, banks start lending more money to people who are buying property. The availability of additional finance pushes up demand for property — whether it is office blocks or homes — and property prices rise. This makes the bankers more confident about lending money in the property sector, as their collateral is rising in value. And it makes investors and or speculators more willing to borrow money to buy property, since it looks like a very good bet.

Debt does not have to be involved. For much of the life of cryptocurrencies, the price of digital assets such as bitcoin and ethereum has been sustained by the belief, among some investors, that they represent the wave of the future. Any weakness is thus a buying opportunity. And a rising price is a wonderful way of proselytising the crypto religion; more people are tempted to adopt the faith.

Another way in which booms can sustain themselves, in both economic and asset-market terms, is through spending on goods and services. That is clearly the case at the moment with the rush to invest in artificial intelligence.

This spending has done a lot to prop up US economic growth, at a time when job creation has stalled and consumer confidence has declined. In the first half of the year, JPMorgan estimated that AI spending contributed 1.1 percentage points to US GDP growth. In market terms, it plays a crucial role in convincing investors of the solidity of the AI boom, not least in the demand it creates for the chips made by Nvidia, the world’s most valuable company.

The buzz surrounding this spending also creates a kind of Fomo (fear of missing out) among other executives. If AI is the wave of the future, then any company that doesn’t embrace it risks being left behind. And, true to the principle of reflexivity, the race to invest makes the AI boom seem all the more substantial to investors. The obvious parallel is the late 1990s when spending on fibreoptic cable, routers and telecoms equipment soared, spurring the dotcom bubble.

The intoxicating nature of bullish sentiment indicates how these booms may eventually sow the seeds of their own destruction. In the late 1990s, it seemed that every twenty-something was either launching their own website or joining a start-up internet company with the hope of cashing in their share options. The appeal of the technology was so obvious that too many businesses were founded; only a fraction of them would ever be profitable. When it became clear, in the spring of 2000, that some businesses were running out of cash, sentiment changed. 

The AI boom is different as it is focused on a few big players with strong existing business models, rather than on a host of start-ups. This means that the financial pressures are unlikely to bite as quickly.

On the other hand, AI might not be as immediately useful as many executives hope; a McKinsey study found that 80 per cent of companies that had started to use AI had yet to experience any boost to their profits. Plenty of consumers — particularly students — are enthusiastic users of AI to summarise reports and generate business proposals or essay plans. Useful stuff, but hardly the basis of a productivity miracle.

Of course, in the past, the impact of innovations such as electrification has taken decades to show up in the productivity numbers. By that stage, however, history suggests that a market boom, even if powered by reflexivity, will be long over. At some point, the growth rate in AI spending — and in Nvidia’s revenues — will slow; and then the rating that investors are willing to apply to corporate earnings will decline, along with share prices. The bandwagon will develop a wonky wheel. 

Arguing that a boom must come to an end is not the same as saying the underlying technology is rubbish. AI will be useful, just as the internet is useful and the railways were very useful. That didn’t stop the other two booms from experiencing crashes. A reflex action may prolong a boom but it can also deliver a painful kick.

This article has been amended to correct the statement on JPMorgan’s forecast of the contribution of AI investment to US GDP growth

Elon Musk once laughed off Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD (Build Your Dreams), scoffing in 2011, “Have you seen their car?” That mockery turned into a rude shock on Friday, as BYD dethroned Tesla to become the world’s largest seller of electric vehicles (EVs) on a calendar-year basis.

In a statement released Thursday, BYD reported that sales of its battery-powered vehicles rose nearly 28% to 2.26 million units in 2025. Tesla, on the other hand, delivered 1.64 million vehicles during the same period, marking around 8% drop from 2024 and its second consecutive annual decline. Fourth-quarter deliveries for Tesla fell about 16% compared with the same quarter in 2024, when the company reported 495,570 vehicles.

Musk had openly dismissed BYD in an October 2011 interview with Bloomberg TV, stating, “I don’t think they have a great product,” and adding that he did not consider BYD a competitor. Since then, BYD has experienced a spectacular rise, resulting in Friday’s historic shift in the global EV market.

Tesla endured a turbulent 2025, with shares collapsing in the first quarter amid stiff competition, particularly from Chinese EV makers, and reputational challenges tied to Musk’s political statements, according to ABC News.

Analysts had expected Tesla’s fourth-quarter deliveries to slow less, predicting around 449,000 vehicles, but the elimination of the $7,500 US EV tax credit at the end of September 2025 contributed to the slowdown. In addition to economic factors, Tesla faced political headwinds, with sales struggling in key markets due to Musk’s public support for President Donald Trump and other far-right figures.

Known in Chinese as “Biyadi” — which translates to “Build Your Dreams” in English — the company was originally founded in 1995 as a battery manufacturer. It has since grown into a leading player in China’s highly competitive new energy vehicle market, producing both fully electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. With China being the world’s largest EV market, BYD has leveraged its affordable, high-volume models to capture significant market share.

While facing hefty tariffs in the United States, BYD is expanding overseas, gaining traction in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. In 2025, the company exported over 1 million vehicles, a 150% increase from the previous year. December alone saw a record 133,000 units shipped abroad, with production soon set to begin in new plants in Brazil and Hungary to bypass trade barriers and strengthen its global presence.

The 2025 leadership shift reflects two contrasting trajectories. Tesla’s deliveries fell due to aging models, political challenges, and the EV tax credit phase-out, while BYD surged nearly 30% by targeting entry-level, high-volume segments that Tesla has yet to penetrate. Analysts note that BYD’s vertical integration — producing its own batteries and semiconductors — creates a scale advantage that protects margins as competitors struggle.

Despite record sales, analysts say BYD could face potential challenges in 2026 due to a Chinese policy shift. Fixed rebates have been replaced with a percentage-based system, requiring vehicles to cost at least 166,700 yuan to receive the maximum 20,000 yuan subsidy. A new 5% purchase tax may further impact demand for budget models like the Seagull, although analysts believe BYD’s premium sub-brands are well-positioned to capture consumers moving upmarket.

Tesla narrowly beat BYD in 2024, with 1.79 million units sold versus BYD’s 1.76 million, but 2025 marks the first time BYD has outproduced the American EV giant.

Despite Tesla shares dipping 0.5% in early New York trading on Friday, analysts at Los Angeles-based Wedbush Securities Inc, a leading American financial services firm, noted that its quarterly sales exceeded some expectations, while highlighting ongoing challenges in Europe and other key markets.

With its affordable models, efficient manufacturing, and growing international footprint, BYD is now positioned to reshape the global EV landscape, signaling a historic shift in the balance of power between Chinese and American automakers.

Czech GDP growth was confirmed at 0.8% quarter-on-quarter and 2.8% year-on-year in the final estimate. Real household income added 0.3% YoY in third quarter 2025, while annual household consumption per capita grew at a faster pace of 2.8%. Such twofold dynamics fostered the trend of the savings rate softening to levels observed in the pre-pandemic years. The household savings rate was 18.4% in third quarter 2025, which is 0.1ppt lower than the previous quarter and 1.9ppt lower than a year ago. Total wage costs of non-financial corporations increased by 7.3% YoY in 3Q25.

The investment rate increased by 0.3ppt QoQ and reached 26.8% in third quarter 2025, yet it was 1.1ppt weaker than in the previous year. The profit rate was 43.5% in 3Q25, down 0.1ppt QoQ and 0.3ppt from the previous year. The reading confirmed the good shape of the Czech economy, with fixed investment expanding 0.6% QoQ and 1.7% YoY. The punchy investment figure offers some hope that the Czech industrial base might not be in such a dismal state as suggested by the recent downbeat confidence indicator, with the caveat that the national accounts statistics measure is for the third quarter, but confidence tends to be more forward-looking.