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Barnes & Noble is on a roll, and its not slowing down in 2026. The bookstore has confirmed plans to open 60 new locations across the country in 2026. For Barnes & Noble, the move is part of a major comeback thats been years in the works. After the company saw a sales peak in 2008, it spent a decade watching sales dwindle as customers moved to other retailers (especially digital booksellers like Amazon), ultimately leading the retailer to shutter 150 stores. In 2019, the company was acquired by the UK’s Elliott Advisors and taken private. But since 2023, Barnes & Noble has annually added dozens of new locations across the U.S. A post-pandemic boom in the bookstore economy and an influx of new readers from online communities like TikToks #BookTok have helped the store crawl its way back to bookselling dominanceand this latest announcement shows that the growth is more than a passing fad. The retailer’s latest expansion plans were reported earlier by USA Today. Where will the new Barnes & Noble locations be? In a statement to Fast Company, a Barnes & Noble spokesperson confirmed that the company is looking to add 60 new stores before June 2026 across 10 locations, though the representative declined to share specific addresses or opening dates. The locations include bookstores in the following states: Ohio Texas Florida Illinois Colorado Washington state California Virgina Georgia D.C. How #BookTok made reading cool This new expansion plan is on par with Barnes & Nobles annual growth levels over the past few years. In 2023, it opened around 30 new stores, followed by 61 in 2024. According to the spokesperson, 2025 was the company’s most impressive year yet, notching an additional 67 stores. Barnes & Nobles newfound success is part of a larger return to the stacksand return to reading as a hobby, more generallypowered, in large part, by readers on TikTok. As younger communities discover popular reads through their #BookTok recommendations, everyone from retailers to libraries are seeing a rise in readership. Back in February, a Barnes & Noble spokesperson told Fast Company, Since the rise of BookTok during the pandemic, bookstores have seen a significant surge in popularity, especially among young people. Our stores have become popular social spots, offering an experience that online shopping simply cant match. BookToks popularity is having ripple effects in other areas, too. Some public institutions, like the Milwaukee Public Library and Columbus Metropolitan Library, are riding this wave by building their own presences directly on TikTok. And companies like the book tracking app Goodreads and publisher Harlequin have both recently adopted new branding thats designed to appeal to the TikTok crowd. While BookToks effect on booksellers and libraries mightve initially seemed like a brief phase, Barnes & Noble’s consistent expansion and strong sales appear to signal that reading is officially cooland profitableagain.
Category:
E-Commerce
If youve sold equity in your company at some point, youre probably used to keeping track of your cap table and knowing which shareholders have how big of a stake. But how would you feel about the U.S. government taking a sizable chunk of your business too? Thats the increasingly common reality for a growing number of U.S. companies, a new analysis by The New York Times findsand for all the chatter over the summer about the feds moving to own almost 10 percent of Intel, computer chips arent the only sector seeing increased governmental involvement. Instead, its the minerals, metals, and mining industry that comes up again and again in the Times breakdown of where the Trump administration is making money moves. Included on that list are investments made by the Department of Defense ($400 million in the mining company MP Materials; $35.6 million in Trilogy Metals; $80 million in mineral refiner ReElement Technologies; $620 million in rare earth magnet manufacturer Vulcan Elements) as well as the departments of Commerce (another $50 million in Vulcan Elements) and Energy ($182 million in deferred debt service with Lithium Americas). Thats not to mention the governments golden share in U.S. Steel, its option to take a future 8 percent stake in the nuclear power company Westinghouse, or of course, the 9.9 percent stake in Intel, priced at $8.9 billion, that came out of the deal this summer. The companies in which Trump is pushing for federal investment tend to be those deemed vital to national security, which is no surprise when you look at the sectors being prioritized: metals and mining, nuclear power, semiconductors. If business-as-usual policies worked, America would not be reliant on foreign countries for critical minerals, semiconductors, and other products that are key for our national and economic security, an administration spokesperson said. Still, its an unusual move by the typically free market-focused Republicans, with the Times estimating that over $10 billion in taxpayer money has already been dedicated to these investments (with more expected to be on the way). Some officials are hopeful the equity stakes will generate a windfall for taxpayers, but the likelihood of that is unclear, the report reads. Many of the companies are facing financial headwinds, and some could take years to become profitable. Critics have also raised concerns that these investments could create room for corruption and backroom dealings. The Times analysis did not look at stakes taken by the governments Development Finance Corporation, which more typically invests in private firms. Brian Contreras This article originally appeared on Fast Companys sister publication, Inc. Inc. is the voice of the American entrepreneur. We inspire, inform, and document the most fascinating people in business: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters that represent the most dynamic force in the American economy.
Category:
E-Commerce
Gold and silver prices rose to record highs in early trading on Monday, spurred on by a confluence of a few different political events and economic factors, including tensions over the U.S. seizing of possibly another oil tanker from Venezuela, speculation of future Federal Reserve rate cuts, overall economy insecurity, and bets on U.S. monetary policy in 2026. In addition, there is the issue of increasing U.S. debt and increasing demands of AI. “The continued strength in gold is part of the so-called ‘debasement trade,’ where investors are seeking a hedge against the unprecedented global G7 debt, Ben McMillan, CEO of IDX Advisors, told Fast Company. For silver, we have the added element that roughly 70% of silver is used for industrial purposes, which recently has been increasing due to increased demand for data centers, solar panels and electronic vehicles (all of which use silver).” In 2025, gold has surged by nearly 70%, according to Bloomberg. Here’s what to know. What happened today? At the time of this writing, in midday trading on December 22, gold bullion (GC=F) was up over 1.9% to $4,472.20 and silver (SI=F) was up about 3.4%, heading toward $70 an ounce, making both headed for highest levels since 1979, per Bloomberg. How did the Fed rate cut affect gold and silver prices? Earlier this month, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points, the third cut in 2025, driving federal rates to their lowest in three years and pointing to possible further cuts in the year ahead. Historically, gold prices have risen following U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, with notable gains of 31% in 2000, 39% in 2007, and and 26% in 2019 (all within 24 months). That’s because those rate cuts are often an attempt to jump-start slowing economic growth, and gold is considered a safe haven in times of economic uncertainty. In this case, gold became more appealing as bonds and other fixed-income investments yielded lower investments, according to Investopedia. Will gold hit $5,000 an ounce in 2026? Now the question is, will gold break the $5,000-an-ounce threshold next year? Nobody can say for sure, but as the bullion inches upward, Goldman Sachs is predicting gold will hit $4,900 an ounce by December 2026, and oil prices will decline to a low mid-year. Meanwhile, McMillan notes, “we’re seeing a structural shift in the demand curves for both [gold and silver] that could result in sustained price strength for longer than many expect.”
Category:
E-Commerce
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