Associated Press

Interest rates have been climbing since the Federal Reserve signaled last month that it expects to raise its benchmark rate just twice this year, down from the four cuts it forecast in September.

The merger comes at a time when companies that use still images are facing increased competition from images generated by artificial intelligence.

Though TikTok has been around only since 2016, small businesses use the platform in a variety of ways, from growing a customer base to advertising and marketing, as well as selling goods directly from the site.