Klarna enters the banking business, Lenovo records a 20% jump in sales in the first quarter: Question about a trend

In today's episode of Asking for a Trend, host Julie Hyman analyzes the key themes and stories that dominated the trading day.

Klarna is expanding its AI-powered global payments network with new services for retail banking. Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO of Klarna, explains: “Back in the day, when you used a bank card, you pressed one for debit and two for credit. And then the banks stopped doing that because people weren't building up such large balances anymore and weren't turning over as much, which meant lower revenue and profits for the banks. But it's a healthier credit product.” He emphasizes the ability for consumers to choose between debit and credit and to clone a balance on a transaction basis.

Lenovo (0992.HK) reported a 20% jump in revenue in the first quarter, and Ryan McCurdy, president of Lenovo North America, is on hand to explain the company's latest earnings report. “It's really a great start to our fiscal year across the board. And it follows a really strong second half of last year,” McCurdy explains. He points out that 47% of the company's revenue comes from non-PC sales as it expands its position in services and mobility infrastructure.

After July retail sales data pointed to robust consumer sentiment, Yahoo Finance markets reporter Josh Schafer takes a deeper dive into the consumer picture, analyzing a new chart from Goldman Sachs that shows higher-income consumers are more positive about the economy than lower-income ones.

This article was written by Melanie Riehl