What’s in a name?

The Campbell Soup Company will drop “Soup” from its iconic label (made pop-culture famous by Andy Warhol in the 1960s) as it shifts its focus to snack foods. The 155-year-old company now owns brands like Goldfish, Cape Cod, and Pepperidge Farm, ladling out $9.6 billion* in net sales last year, with its snack business up 13%.*

Name dropping also happens in the workplace — and it just might help you land your dream job. According to Empower research, 1 in 3 Americans say they owe their current job (31%) and salary (29%) to the power of their personal network.

— The Editors 

📉 Welcomed rate drops: A long-awaited move by the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates to 4.9%* from a two-decade high. The half-point reduction follows a cooling of the 12-month inflation rate to 2.5%,* the lowest since February 2021. Empower research shows 70% of Americans are concerned about rising prices and inflation, so the drop is a welcome sign that pricing pressures and borrowing costs could be easing. The 30-year mortgage rate also edged down to 6.2%,* the lowest since February 2023.

👦 Mikey’s back: On the heels of net quarterly sales of $22.5 billion,* PepsiCo is bringing back a familiar name at breakfast: Mikey. The famous 1972 Life Cereal “Hey Mikey” commercial that featured three real-life brothers is getting a reboot, airing on several digital streaming services. Though the global breakfast cereal market is valued at more than $36 billion,* Empower research shows nearly 4 in 5 (79%) have noticed shrinking serving sizes of household goods like cereal.

🥑 Hello my name is: The newest member of Chipotle’s guac-making team goes by the moniker “Autocado,” and can cut, core, and peel an avocado in about 26 seconds.* The fast-casual chain generates $9.9 billion* in sales, and is venturing into robotics as it goes through an estimated 5.2 million cases of avocados this year. Even with added efficiencies, some automated co-workers still have flaws: A mechanical tortilla maker christened “Chippy” required too much cleanup to make the cut. Americans spend almost $40 monthly on fast-casual food, according to the Empower Personal Dashboard^TM.

🎲 Name of the game: Attention shoppers: If you’re looking for the hottest toy this holiday season, Amazon has a name for it. The online retailer has unveiled its “Toys We Love” list, featuring more than 300 items, with at least a quarter of them priced under $20.* Over 1 in 4 (27%*) shoppers say they intend to drop less money on holiday gifts this year, and 37% of people plan to spend under $250 in total, according to Empower research.  

Naming names on the billionaires list

The world’s billionaires have been busy. Names topping Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires List* did the shuffle when a surge in Oracle stock briefly shot Chairman Larry Ellison to the second-richest spot with a net worth of $206 billion.* Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, sits perched at the top with a net worth of $251 billion, followed by Jeff Bezos at $203 billion.

Speaking of Musk and SpaceX, the space travel universe is expanding: In collaboration with the aerospace company, billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman supplied funding and led a four-person Polaris Dawn crew in the first-ever private spacewalk. This wasn’t his first time in orbit. In 2021, Isaacman flew and financed the roughly $200 million* Inspiration4 mission, also with SpaceX.

Roughly 69% of billionaires are CEOs or founders of their own company, yet Empower research shows just 3 in 10 Americans say they aspire to a C-suite role.

The net worth of your network

Is “The Network Effect” real? Some 75% of Americans say it’s important to use your personal connections to help others, and half say they’ve actively helped others get a job (53% overall, 61% Millennials), according to an Empower study. About 2 in 3 (66%) say paying it forward to others increases their happiness.

People are also turning to their inner circles for financial help. A third of Americans (32%) say they have not saved enough and need to rely on their network to make ends meet (41% Gen Z, Millennials). One quarter receive an average of $390 per month ($4,680 annually) in financial support from relatives or personal connections. Additionally, 28% of people have received help with living expenses such as groceries, rent, or mortgage payments.

Six in 10 Americans have paid it forward to strangers in small ways, too, like paying for the person behind them in the drive-thru.

Name that tune

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is still making headlines nearly 233 years after his death. A “new” 12-minute piece by the composer was recently discovered in a German library and dates back to the mid- to late-1760s* when he was a teen.

While some classical music enthusiasts may call the composition priceless, others are willing to drop big bucks to own a Mozart manuscript: In 2019, an unpublished score of two minuets autographed by Mozart sold for $413,000.*

A $91,000 Oreo by another name

What do “Star Wars,” Dirt Cake, and Space Dunk all have in common? They’re all Oreos. With some brands running $1* cheaper, the cookie company is looking to get a leg up on the competition with limited-edition flavors from Churro to Tiramisu that feature different textures and colors.

Specialty items may drive sales, as 28% of people purchasing the limited-edition cookies don’t buy the regular ones. New releases every 1 – 2 months typically have a shelf life of about 8 weeks, fueling popularity on resale sites: The exclusive “Supreme” Oreo, released in collaboration with the streetwear brand, once sold for more than $91,000* on eBay.

While virtually all Americans (98%*) have heard of the Oreo brand, pricing may be a priority over name recognition for some. More than half of U.S. shoppers have purchased more private brand goods in 2024, compared to just 28% for name brands.