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By Bryan Mena, CNN

Washington (CNN) — Lower gas prices helped Americans feel more optimistic about the economy early this month, though that relief might be short lived if the conflict in the Middle East continues to intensify.

The University of Michigan’s latest survey of Americans, released Friday, showed that consumer sentiment surged 10% early this month to a preliminary reading of 54.4, the highest point since February.

“Consumer sentiment climbed to its highest reading since February of this year on the basis of easing price pressures at the pump in recent weeks,” Joanne Hsu, the survey’s director, said in a release. “This month’s rise in sentiment was pervasive across the population, seen across groups by age, income, wealth, and political party.”

“However, with prices remaining frustratingly high, consumers are hardly ebullient about the economy; sentiment is down 12% from a year ago,” she added.

Sentiment has already mostly recovered from the record low reached in May, as the war with Iran sent energy prices skyrocketing, though it remains below pre-war levels. Consumer sentiment is closely tied with gas prices, so any recovery hinges on whether energy markets stabilize, which largely hinges on a permanent solution to the conflict in the Middle East. On Friday, attacks between the United States and Iran widened as the war showed no signs of de-escalating.

However, even if sentiment reverses course, it may not mean much for economic activity, since sentiment hasn’t been a good predictor of future spending patterns in recent years. Retail spending in June grew just 0.2%, according to Commerce Department data released Thursday, though when excluding higher gas prices (since the figures are not adjusted for inflation), spending was up by a solid 0.7% that month.

Spending largely hinges on the state of the labor market, which remains in decent shape with unemployment at a low 4.2% and new applications for unemployment assistance still at historically low levels. So long as Americans aren’t out of work, they will continue to have the means to spend, even if they’re feeling lousy.

Americans have unmistakably soured on the economy, according to various surveys, as the economic shocks of recent years have driven up the cost of living. Americans’ expectations for inflation in the year ahead, according to the Michigan survey, declined to 4.2% this month from 4.6% in June, but it “substantially exceeds the 3.4% seen in February before the Iran conflict began, along with all 2024 readings,” the release said.

Some critics of the Michigan survey, however, dispute that consumers are actually feeling worse about the economy than during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Great Recession, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and several other wars since the survey’s first reading in 1952. On its face, the economy looks to be in good shape with low unemployment, steady spending and a buoyant stock market.

But Hsu stands by the survey’s soundness and its methodology, which in recent years shifted to gathering survey responses online rather than over the phone.

“It shouldn’t be too surprising that people felt differently about the world, i

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By Mike Dunphy, CNN

(CNN) — When American pharmacist John Stith Pemberton reached his eureka moment on May 8, 1886, his formula for what would become Coca-Cola sparked a global soft drink revolution that still reverberates today.

In fact, it’s now possible to “buy the world a Coke,” as the 1970s jingle goes, in nearly every country — apart from Cuba, North Korea and, since 2022, Russia — but even these places have developed local substitutes to satisfy their citizens’ cola cravings.

Those same cravings have also inspired many entrepreneurs, enthusiasts and even governments around the world to create regional alternatives that incorporate native ingredients and novel formulas for a new cola experience from the roots up.

Often, the successful ones end up owned or part-owned by The Coca-Cola Company — such as Thums Up cola in India and Inca Kola in Peru — but here are eight indie colas around the world that fizz and froth like a classic cola but pour something very different.

Kofola, Czechia

“Love is in Kofola’s DNA” declares this Czech take on cola. What’s actually in this formula is a secret recipe of 14 herbal and fruit extracts, plus caffeine, created during the Cold War in then Czechoslovakia. It was the result of a state assignment, issued to the United Pharmaceutical Works, to create a purely Czechoslovak drink tasty enough to compete with cola drinks from the capitalist West.

The result, Kofola, looks every bit like a Coke in appearance but tastes more herbal in flavor. Among the 14 ingredients in the proprietary Kofo syrup that make it so are raspberry, blackberry, strawberry, cinnamon, licorice, caramel, apple, cherry and orange peel. On top of that, it has 30% less sugar than a Coke and no phosphoric acid.

It’s an acquired taste for some, but as the Kofola slogan says: “If you love it, then there’s nothing to work out.”

Cockta, Slovenia

Another chapter in the cola Cold War, Cockta landed on its formula in 1952, thanks to Emerik Zelinka, professor of chemistry at the University of Ljubljana in then Yugoslavia. Within a year, it was filling bottles and refreshing Yugoslavs as the new national drink. Like many Cold War colas, it almost fell with communism but eventually recovered and found success under capitalism — and quite a bit of it. Today, Cockta is distributed in 18 countries, including the United States.

New fans are won over by the tart, citrus, floral flavor that comes from its secret, caffeine-free combination of 11 herbs and spices, including pomegranate, lemon and orange. But the primary tasting note comes care of the dog rose berry, aka “rosehip.” Cockta also mixes remarkably well with Slovenian red Refošk wine to create a bambus, the local name for a red wine and cola mix.

Ojaja Cola, Nigeria

This Nigerian cola, launched with great fanfare in February 2026, comes with spiritual and royal roots. In fact, it’s the brainchild of His Imperial Majesty Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II, the 51st Ooni of Ife and spiritual leader of the Yoruba people. The African homeland is written into the drink’s DNA, with 100% indigenous ingredients, including everything from actual kola nuts that provide natural caffeine to a spicy ginger kick.

The mission goes further, as the Ooni of Ife noted on his Instagram page at the launch. “This milestone transcends the realm of beverages,” he wrote. “Every aspect of the Ojaja brand reflects an

Análisis por David Goldman, CNN

Taco Bell ha sido la estrella del sector de la comida rápida durante varios años. Pero ahora, la empresa se enfrenta a la peor pesadilla de un restaurante: un brote de diarrea explosiva.

La lechuga iceberg picada vendida en algunos locales de Taco Bell del Medio Oeste ha sido vinculada con el gran brote del parásito de la ciclosporiasis que afecta a varias zonas de Estados Unidos. Los CDC han identificado más de 1.600 casos vinculados a este brote, incluidas casi 100 hospitalizaciones, y las autoridades estatales investigan miles de casos más. La lechuga fue suministrada a Taco Bell en Michigan, Ohio, Virginia Occidental, Indiana y Kentucky por Taylor Farms, informó el jueves una fuente cercana a la investigación a Brenda Goodman y Deidre McPhillips, de CNN.

Taylor Farms no respondió a la solicitud de comentarios de CNN.

El jueves, Taco Bell anunció que había retirado de su cadena de suministro nacional, por precaución, la lechuga potencialmente afectada y que buscaría un proveedor sustituto en un plazo de 24 horas para determinados estados.

“Nos enorgullece haber actuado siempre con rapidez y de forma proactiva para proteger a nuestros clientes”, declaró Taco Bell en un comunicado.

Sin embargo, la historia demuestra que los clientes de comida rápida son cambiantes, y es posible que Taco Bell tenga mucho trabajo por delante para recuperar a los clientes que se sintieron asqueados, especialmente a aquellos que enfermaron.

Taco Bell atravesaba una excelente racha. Las ventas de la compañía en sus locales existentes habían crecido durante ocho trimestres consecutivos. Y no se trataba de ganancias marginales: la empresa informó que las ventas en los establecimientos abiertos desde hace al menos un año aumentaron un notable 8 % en el primer trimestre. Los beneficios en dichos locales crecieron un 16 %.

En comparación, McDonald’s registró un crecimiento del 3,8 % según esa misma métrica de ventas en el primer trimestre. Burger King creció un 5,8 %, mientras que Wendy’s cayó un 2,1 %.

Taco Bell ha logrado atraer clientes gracias a sus ofertas económicas, que incluyen varios productos del menú con un precio de US$ 3 o menos.

Pero, como bien saben McDonald’s y Chipotle, esa buena imagen puede cambiar en un instante. A finales de 2024, McDonald’s estaba en plena recuperación hasta que un brote de E. coli, cuyo origen se rastreó hasta las cebollas servidas en las hamburguesas Quarter Pounder, enfermó a más de 100 clientes. Las ventas de McDonald’s en el cuarto trimestre de 2024 cayeron un 1,4 %, tras haber aumentado un 4,3 % en el mismo trimestre del año anterior.

Por eso, la respuesta de Taco Bell ante el brote será clave.

Hasta ahora, la empresa ha trabajado más en la cocina que en el ámbito público. Retirar la lechuga afectada fue el primer paso necesario, pero un breve comunicado publicado en su sitio web podría no bastar para convencer a los clientes de que Taco Bell tiene la situación bajo control.

McDonald’s, en cambio, invirtió US$ 100 millones en 2024 en una campaña publicitaria y en un programa de apoyo a los franquiciados para atraer de nuevo a los clientes a sus restaurantes. Su CEO, Chris Kempczinski, convocó una conferencia de prensa especial y concedió varias entrevistas para calmar los temores y asegurar a los clientes (y a los inversores) que la empresa estaba tomando medidas serias para solucionar el problema.

La historia de Chipotle en la década anterior fue distinta: la compañía no logró contener un brote masivo de E. coli que comenzó en 2015 y sufrió un daño a su reputación tan grande que reemplazó a su CEO y fundador por Brian Niccol, quien había dirigido Taco Bell durante siete años. Las ventas de Chipotle tardaron años en recuperarse.

“Los clien