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By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS

NEW YORK (AP) — Tariffs and years of teetering mall traffic have roiled much of the toy industry. But Build-A-Bear investors are continuing to reap sizeable gains.

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Shares of Build-A-Bear Workshop are up more than 60% since the start of 2025, trading at just under $72 apiece as of Tuesday afternoon. That compares to just 13% for the S&P 500 since the start of the year, and marks dramatic growth from five years ago, when the St. Louis-based retailer’s stock sat under $3.

The toy industry overall has been “reasonably soft” in recent years, notes Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData — but certain categories, including craft-oriented products, have done very well following the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. And that’s key to Build-A-Bear’s core business model: welcoming consumers into their brick-and-mortar stores to make their own plush animals. read more

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday signaled a cautious approach to future interest rate cuts, in sharp contrast with other Fed officials this week who have called for a more urgent approach.

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In remarks in Providence, Rhode Island, Powell noted that there are risks to both of the Fed’s goals of seeking maximum employment and stable prices. But with the unemployment rate rising, he noted, the Fed agreed to cut its key rate last week. Yet he did not signal any further cuts on the horizon.

If the Fed were to cut rates “too aggressively,” Powell said, “we could leave the inflation job unfinished and need to reverse course later” and raise rates. But if the Fed keeps its rate too high for too long, “the labor market could soften unnecessarily,” he added. read more

By STAN CHOE, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes slipped on Tuesday as Wall Street took a pause from its relentless rally.

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The S&P 500 dipped 0.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 88 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 0.9%.

It’s the first pullback for the indexes after the trio set all-time highs in each of the last three days. Since surging from a bottom in April, the broad U.S. stock market has been facing criticism that it’s shot too high, too fast and become too expensive. Even the head of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, said on Tuesday that stock prices broadly look “fairly highly valued.” read more

A pair of Mars-bound satellites are back at Kennedy Space Center a year after NASA bowed out of its chance to be part of the debut launch of Blue Origin’s New Glenn.

The satellites for the Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) mission, constructed by Rocket Lab, look to fly on what would be New Glenn’s second ever mission.

The two small satellites, dubbed Blue and Gold, were built by Rocket Lab in California for NASA and the University of California Berkeley’s Space Science Laboratory.

“It’s been a long road, but we are so excited to be launching Blue & Gold on their mission to understand the Martian space weather environment.” said Rob Lillis, the mission’s principal investigator and associate director for planetary science at the UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory. “Through the usual ups and downs, Rocket Lab has been right alongside NASA and UC Berkeley, supporting us every step of the way on this interplanetary journey.”

The mission’s purpose is to orbit Mars and observe plasma and magnetic fields around the planet to help understand what processes strip atoms from Mars’ magnetosphere and upper atmosphere. That could help explain why Mars’ atmosphere is so thin, and how it may have evolved over time. read more

For the first time in 2025, the Fed has cut rates. That means two things for consumers: Borrowing will get cheaper, but savings returns won’t be as high. It will take time for either effect to take hold.

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On Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) cut the federal funds rate by 25 basis points, as expected, bringing the federal funds rate range to 4.00%-4.25%. The Fed last cut rates at its December 2024 meeting, following cuts at its two previous meetings. Throughout 2025, the federal funds rate has stood at 4.25%-4.50%.

Why cut rates now?

Fed Chair Jerome Powell called the trim a “risk-management cut,” in a press conference following the decision. When asked if a cut should have come sooner, Powell said, “We have to live life looking through the windshield rather than the rear-view mirror.” read more