Wednesday’s business headlines

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Here’s a look at Wednesday’s business headlines.

Gum

Gum makers are mixing everything from vitamins to candy into their recipes to give customers more incentives to pick up a pack.

The Wall Street Journal reports chewing gum has lost sales to mints, and customers have gravitated to other means of burining nervous energy, like fidget spinners and smartphones.

Gum sales dropped 4% globally by volume between 2010 and 2018, and according to EuroMonitor, and 23% in the U.S.

Holiday spending

It may be the most wonderful time of the year but it’s also the most expensive, which puts a damper on the season for most Americans.

In Lending Tree’s 2019 Holiday Spending survey, it found that 61% of Americans are dreading the holidays due to the extra spending and financial burden the season brings, causing loss of sleep, anxiety and added debt.

One in three are losing sleep worrying about how they’ll pay for the winter holidays, including about half of Millennials and parents of kids under 18.

Car insurance

Hoosiers are about in the middle of states when it comes to cost of car insurance.

Business Insider says the range of car insurance is $750 to nearly $1,500 a year.

The average in the state is $1,100.

Salesforce

Salesforce earnings topped Wall Street estimates but the cloud-software company’s outlook came in shy of consensus views.

The company’s full-time workforce increased almost 39% from a year earlier to 48,000 as of Oct. 31.