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Price has been an important factor in buying decisions ever since the recession in 2008. However, selling solely on price has large disadvantages for merchants, not the least of which is reduced profits. This year, merchants have taken to offering huge deals early and often in a bid to get shoppers into their stores. That strategy has paid off in more sales, but now consumers are starting to expect these deals and are becoming resistant to paying full price. Read the rest of this entry »

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A large storm in Alaska has caused more than just inconvenience, it’s also causing high gas prices. Prices for a gallon of gas have reached $5.98 per gallon and jet fuel is at $6.77 a gallon. Read the rest of this entry »

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Rain or snow won’t keep the postman from arriving, but debt might. The U.S. Postal Service is having trouble keeping its doors open as it struggles with ballooning pension payments. This year, the post office only lost $5.1 billion, but that was because some pension payments to a retirement plan scheduled for this year were allowed to be delayed. Otherwise, they might have lost $10 billion. With these numbers, it’s not a surprise that the U.S. Post Office must find ways to generate revenue, meaning a hike in their prices.

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Mexico has long since benefitted from its close relationship with the United States, such that 88 percent of its exports went to America. However, after the crash of 2008, Mexico experienced a severe drop in American demand and began to rethink its strategy to service only the American market. These days, Mexico has diversified its export market so that only 80 percent of exports go to the United States, and more exports go to Latin American countries, Asia, and Europe instead. The share of exports going to America is expected to decrease further as Mexico is well-positioned to be the vendor of choice for emerging economies due to its unique market position. Read the rest of this entry »

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It’s not enough to lower the 9 percent unemployment rate, but it is still welcome news to millions of unemployed workers. The weekly number of people who filed claims has fallen to 388,000 and stayed below 400,000 for the last four weeks. In order for it to affect the unemployment rate, that number would have to consistently fall below 375,000. However, the fact that unemployment claims keep dropping is a welcome trend in a stagnant job market and signals good things to come. Read the rest of this entry »

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Mario Monti is taking over the Italian government now that Silvio Berlusconi has resigned. The resignation was expected after parliament passed the austerity measures he requested as a condition of his resignation. Despite the financial reforms, the European Union is still wobbling and new blood, in the form of Mario Monti, is needed to restore faith and manage the crisis as it continues to unfold. Read the rest of this entry »

After a recession, it is normal to see an uptick in hiring, but this recession has been slow to turnaround. However, it looks like the bottom in hiring has been reached with September showing a record high in job postings since the recession started three years ago. The Labor Department estimates that 3.4 million jobs were advertised in September, a record since August 2008. It is better news than the paltry 2.1 million jobs posted during July 2009, but nowhere near the high of 4.4 million jobs posted in December 2007 before the recession began. Regardless, the numbers could be cause for optimism if they continue on an upward trend.

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Halloween may be over, but that won’t be the end of midnight haunts. Stores across the country are getting ready for Black Friday, with many of them choosing to open at midnight on Thursday instead of waiting for the morning hours. As part of an overall strategy to hit consumers hard and early with special too good to pass up deals, the bewitching hour this year may be midnight on November 24th. It is a trend that started last year, and continues to get stronger with more retailers joining in. Read the rest of this entry »

Investors have had a lot to worry about this year, but they are hoping for good news this week as they pay closer attention to the U.S. economy.  Several reports are due to come out that will give investors a better idea of the terrain ahead. One report released earlier has shown that the U.S. economy grew by a healthy 2.5 percent between July and September. This week, October’s jobs report is due and if it is good news (anything over 100,000 jobs added), it could spark investor optimism about the U.S. economic future. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s bad enough when you are a Fortune 100 company and you’ve been hacked, but it’s really terrible when you are a leading security company like RSA. In fact, you may not want anyone to know and just not say a word rather than reveal that your company’s data may have been compromised. There are laws that demand disclosure in the case where customer data is breached, but if it is just company data, the same does not hold true, even if that later lead to a breach in the customer’s information. Regardless, somehow word got out that over 760 companies had been hacked recently and the names of those companies have been presented to Congress, even though the extent of the damage is still unknown at this time. Read the rest of this entry »