WSJ What’s News - Rising Grocery Prices Are Frustrating Americans

Episode Date: October 15, 2025

P.M. Edition for Oct. 15. The September inflation data might be postponed, but consumers say they are feeling the squeeze of rising grocery prices now. Plus, big U.S. banks say the economy is strong. And WSJ European autos reporter Stephen Wilmot discusses how automakers are reacting as countries around the world roll back their goals for electric vehicles. Alex Ossola hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Better than expected bank earnings show that the U.S. economy is still going strong. Plus, how frustrated shoppers are dealing with grocery prices that just keep rising. And as countries back off their EV targets, what does that mean for automakers? Many people still see EVs as the future in the industry, but it's a future which will arrive a bit later than previously anticipated. It's Wednesday, October 15th. I'm Alex O'Sullough for the Wall Street Journal. This is the PM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories that move the world today.

On yesterday's show, we told you that a handful of big U.S. banks had reported better than expected earnings for the third quarter. Today, Bank of America said its profit rose 23% to $8.5 billion. thanks to healthy consumer activity and a busy summer in its investment banking division. As a group, the six largest banks in the U.S. earned nearly $41 billion in the last three months, up 19 percent from a year ago. Banks are viewed as barometers for the broader economy because they see details of the financial health of millions of American households and companies. In earnings calls this week, executives pointed out signs of strength.

We do see in our data that the consumer spending more. That was Bank of America finance chief Alistair Borthwick, talking about consumers putting more on their credit and debit cards. And that feels consistent with a growth economy. But executives also pointed out causes for concern about the U.S. economy at a moment when it's been flashing conflicting signals. In recent months, national GDP and other indicators showed the economy was holding steady. Concerns about a sluggish job market have raised fears about the financial health of lower-income households. Most banks and financial services companies say the economy is holding up, even if they remain wary about potential cracks. New lawsuits against Bank of America and Bank of New York Mellon over their ties to Jeffrey Epstein

accused the banks of maintaining relationships with a convicted sex offender and failing to report suspicious activities until after his 2019 death. The two class action lawsuits were filed in federal court today on behalf of a Jane Doe and other women, who have accused Epstein of abuse. They allege that Epstein's trafficking operation would not have existed without the banks that provided special treatment to Epstein and his co-conspirators. The suits seek unspecified financial damages.

Spokesman for Bank of America and Bank of New York Mellon had no immediate comment. The Labor Department has delayed the release of September inflation data until next week because of the government shutdown. That information gives you. gives an important update on prices. But for businesses and shoppers, there's plenty of evidence out there right now for rising prices, particularly at the grocery store. This is the chief

executive of Albertson's grocery company, Susan Morris, on an earnings call this week. So what we've seen from the consumer is a continued focus on value, a shift to trading down, maybe it's smaller package sizes, a focus on own brands. While overall inflation this year has been far below the pandemic-era price increases, the August inflation report showed grocery price inflation picking up. The price of coffee rose nearly 21% over the 12 months ending in August, while ground beef rose 13% during the same period. Dairy, fruit and vegetables, and cereals all got more expensive. So how are people feeling about the rising cost of groceries? Outside my local grocery store in Brooklyn, it wasn't hard to get people to talk about it. This is Robert Klein.

are ridiculous. I come here because it's near my house, but all prices, they're ridiculous. I have grandkids. You can't buy a toy. It's through the ceiling. You know, things have to go up. People have to earn a living, but within reason. Rising commodity prices are driving some of the increases, including American beef. The Trump administration's tariffs have made some imports like Spanish olive oil more expensive, but food companies have absorbed some of those costs. Albertsons, the supermarket company, is trying to cut down its own cost to counter inflation, its CEO said. Shoppers are trying to save, too. We see an increased usage in coupons. We see them sticking closer to their shopping list,

maybe not buying that extra item, that extra bottle of whatever. They're kind of shortening their list and sticking to it. Blockbuster earnings by America's biggest banks tempered fears that the economy is headed for a slowdown, pushing U.S. stocks mostly higher today. The NASDAQ rose about 0.7%. The S&P 500 was up 0.4%, and the Dow ended nearly flat. Meanwhile, gold prices hit yet another record high. Coming up, what do changing government subsidies mean for the future of electric vehicles? That's after the break. Automakers have spent billions of dollars on new electric models to try to get ready as governments around the world pushed for more electric vehicles. Now, countries are softening their EV targets and rolling back their emissions goals, and automakers are taking their foot off the gas.

Stephen Wilmot covers global carmakers for the journal and joins me now. Stephen, the U.S. of course, retreated from subsidizing EVs, but, It's not the only country to do so. What is this trend looking like around the world? Yeah, it absolutely isn't the only one. The European Union has had pretty tight emissions regulations and has been very reluctant to water them down, but it has actually caved into pressure this year from automakers.

We've seen the same in the UK, which of course is no longer part of the European Union, so it sets its own emissions regulations. And we've seen it play out in Canada, too, under Mark Carney, who was a former champion of Greenpeace, policy. What those three examples all have in common is that the changes have been led by politicians who have strong pro-green agendas that have nonetheless had to cave to a more pragmatic way of thinking about EVs faced with rather reluctant consumer adoption.

So because of this change coming from governments around the world, what does this mean for automakers? Are they changing their operations accordingly? Yes, they have. It's been a two-way street where EV sales have been weak that's forced automakers to react, and they've also been lobbying governments very hard to change the rules so they don't have to pay massive fines for not selling enough EVs. Porsche, which was previously very focused on EVs, it went public in 2022 with very aggressive EV targets. And last month, it dialed those back quite radically and took a big write down. Only this week, we saw GM do the same in the US. citing the change in government position, and notably the cancellation of the $7,500 EV tax credit,

GM had this $1.6 billion write-down linked to its EV programs. Last week, Ferrari, which had previously said that 40% of its models in 2030 would be EVs. Now it's saying 20% of its models in 2030 will be EVs. So it's been a very broad response from the automakers. And the long-term prospects for EVs, how might that shift because of this? Many people still see EVs as the future in the industry, but it's a future which will arrive a bit later than previously anticipated. I think the most plausible scenario is that EVs do continue to be bought by consumers in greater numbers, but just not as rapidly. And it's more about the timetable, but of course, timing is everything.

when you're having to plan products five years out. And if you get that wrong, it's very expensive. So it's not like this is trivial for the industry at all. That was WSJ reporter, Stephen Wilmot. Thanks, Stephen. Thank you. In other news, a federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from going through with mass firings of federal workers

while the government remains shut down. The Trump administration last week sent reductions in force notice. otherwise known as RIFs, to about 4,000 employees at more than half a dozen federal agencies. President Trump has referred to the layoffs as Democrat-oriented and has tried to put pressure on Democrats to end the standoff on government funding. And a startup backed by NVIDIA called Poolside and Cloud Infrastructure Provider Corweave said today that they are planning to build a giant data center in West Texas. The data center will be built on more than 500 acres of land, two-thirds the size of Central Park. and will be capable of generating its own power from the natural gas resources in the area. Many planned data centers across the U.S. have been built without power generation capabilities,

and the companies are betting that having their own power source improves the long-term viability of their project. Poolside and Corrieve declined to say what the overall expected cost would be. They expect to complete construction in the first quarter of 2027. And that's what's news for this Wednesday afternoon. Today's show is produced by Pierre Biennamee and Zoe Colkin, with supervising producer Tali Arbell. I'm Alex O'Sullough for the Wall Street Journal. We'll be back with a new show tomorrow morning.

Thanks for listening.