The News

 In a Wednesday interview with CNBC’s Jim Cramer, Snowflake

CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy said the cyber attack the enterprise software company faced earlier this year has not impacted business.

“These headlines, and that’s what they are, have not really affected our core business with existing or new customers,” Ramaswamy said. “We obviously talk about security a lot more with customers because we want them to be safe, but the core Snowflake platform is incredibly strong and secure.”

Snowflake reported earnings after the close on Wednesday, beating Wall Street’s expectations and raising its forecast for full-year product revenue. However, shares were down nearly 8% in after hours trading.

The company also guided for a lower operating margin than in the previous quarter. But Ramaswamy pushed back on the notion that the decline is a problem for the company and said Snowflake is investing in things that will help drive revenue.

“We are investing in our future, whether it is in engineering or in sales to go sell the product more,” he said. “That’s not a long-term worry.”

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Starbucks’ pumpkin spice latte release Dates

Starbucks is bringing back its pumpkin spice lineup earlier than ever before.

Why it matters: The coffee giant has been reeling from a slowdown in sales in recent months and has been under pressure to make changes.

• Last week, Starbucks appointed Brian Niccol as its chairman and CEO effective Sept. 9.

When does Starbucks fall menu 2024 start

Driving the news: Starbucks announced Wednesday that its fall menu will return Thursday, Aug. 22 — two days earlier than last year.

• The pumpkin spice craze was born 21 years ago in 2003 when the pumpkin drink first debuted.

Starbucks PSL, seasonal drinks drive sales

The big picture: Seasonal drinks and limited-time offers have driven sales and traffic for the company in the past.

• Starbucks says 10% of sales come from returning favorites of its most popular seasonal beverage.

What we're watching: There's been strong consumer demand for fall products launching earlier between Summerween trending on social with 124.3 million TikTok posts, #CodeOrange (67,000 posts on TikTok) and the Augtober trend.

Starbucks fall menu includes pumpkin, apple drinks

Zoom in: The 2024 fall menu includes the classic Pumpkin Spice Latte, Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew and the Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai that debuted in 2023.

• The Apple Crisp Oatmilk Macchiato and Iced Apple Crisp Oatmilk Shaken Espresso also return and are joined by the new Iced Apple Crisp Nondairy Cream Chai.
• For food, the Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin and Baked Apple Croissant return and are joined by the new Raccoon Cake Pop.
• Two additional fall drinks are only available in the Starbucks app — the Iced Caramel Apple Cream Latte and the Iced Honey Apple Almondmilk Flat White.

What they're saying: The chain said the new drinks are to "complement the range of beverages designed to meet the flavor profiles of our Gen Z and Millennial customers" who "increasingly favor tea-based, cold and non-dairy beverages."

Dunkin' pumpkin spice 2024 release date

What's next: Dunkin' hasn't confirmed when it will launch its pumpkin and fall menu but the 2024 release is already late compared to recent years.

• In 2022, Dunkin' launched pumpkin products on Aug. 10 and it returned Aug. 16 last year.

Yes, but: The brand's pumpkin coffee creamers have returned and Dunkin' Spiked Pumpkin Spice Iced Latte is available in grocery stores across 27 states.

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 NEAR WEST SIDE — A small crowd heckled former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell Tuesday afternoon as the conservative provocateurs filmed outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Giuliani and Lindell, flanked by a few aides in Trump swag with selfie sticks, hopped out of a black Dodge SUV to review how the city beefed-up a security wall that some pro-Palestine protesters broke through Monday at Park 578, 1919 W. Maypole Ave.

Giuliani said he came to Chicago to witness “the pure communist convention.”

Lindell plans to shave his iconic mustache Wednesday and “go incognito” inside the convention, he told Block Club Chicago.

The MyPillow creator — who says he’s run out of money amidst orders to turn over documents in a $5 million lawsuit over false claims the 2020 election was rigged in favor of President Joe Biden — is charging $2 for “wall-to-wall coverage” of his time in Chicago through FrankSpeech, a conservative broadcast network.

The duo’s visit to the security fence quickly descended into a shouting match between Lindell and passerby Anthony Arrington, who pulled up on a Divvy e-bike to confront Lindell on his election denialism.

Members of the media quickly left the sparsely-attended first amendment platform set up by the city at the park to watch the confrontation. Near the platform, dozens of police officers on bikes largely outnumbered any speakers and attendees Tuesday.

Arrington, wearing a Kamala Harris shirt, said he’s in town from Iowa to support the vice president’s confirmation atop the Democratic ticket.

“Do you pay by credit card?” Arrington asked Lindell, who said he did. “We can spend all this money, folks, on technology to spend money, but we can’t figure out technology to vote? That’s what I’m hearing.”

Giuliani, 80, was quickly whisked away by aides back to his car as Lindell and Arrington traded barbs for the next ten minutes.

“I’m an ex-crack addict. I’ve spent a lot of time by the projects and stuff,” Lindell said. “I know Chicago.”

Some Chicago police officers gathered around Giuliani to take pictures with the former New York mayor and disbarred Trump attorney, who was charged in May on nine felony counts for trying to overturn Arizona’s 2020 election results.

An extra layer of fencing was added to part of the United Center security perimeter after a small group of protesters broke through existing fencing Monday. Secret Service coordinator Jeff Burnside said “augmentations” were made after the fence was breached.

Riot police were called in and 13 people were arrested on counts ranging from misdemeanor trespassing to a felony aggravated assault on a police officer during protests Monday, Police Supt. Larry Snelling said.

Park 578 has been quiet through Tuesday afternoon aside from lightly attended speeches and TV anchors doing stand-ups near the breached fence.

“You make a commitment to speak here before you see the crowd,” said Sean Dwyer, an “old-school centrist republican” running for 6th District State Representative.

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