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☆ Scammers are using delivery apps like Instacart to swindle customers and delivery workers out of money
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewSome Instacart shoppers are the targets of a scam centered on gift cards. "Within 30 seconds, I got a message about buying the Vanilla Visa gift card," she said. Instacart forbids shoppers from adding gift cards to orders, a screenshot of the company policy seen by BI indicates. "Customers are not able to order gift cards through the Instacart platform or place a special request for a gift card via chat," an Instacart spokesperson told BI. AdvertisementInstacart also tells shoppers not to purchase gift cards for customers, the spokesperson added.

Persons: —, they've, Instacart, Jim, itsjwest, Heidi Bleau, Bleau Organizations: Service, Business, Walgreens, BI Locations: Massachusetts, cologne

☆ It’s not just the Super Bowl. Catching a game is becoming unaffordable
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-04 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

In 2023, the average NFL ticket climbed 8.6% to $120, according to Team Marketing Report, a sports market research company. Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, home of the Super Bowl, is the third smallest NFL stadium. The closing of the upper deck in Oakland helped the Athletics raise ticket prices during the early 2000s, for example. Five of the most recent seven NFL stadiums have seating for 71,000 or less. Relatively small, that ranks it 27th out of 30 NFL stadiums in capacity.

Persons: ”, Victor Matheson, Lionel Messi’s, Todd Kirkland, ” Matheson, Kirby Lee, Dennis Coates Organizations: New, New York CNN, Super, NFL, College of, Nebraska, Lionel Messi’s MLS, Atlanta Braves, Bureau of Labor Statistics, BLS, Ticketmaster, New York Yankees, USA, Reuters, Athletics, Oakland, Las, University of Maryland, Minnesota Twins, Florida Marlins, NFL’s Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers Locations: New York, Las Vegas, Oakland, Baltimore County

☆ US drug shortages are forcing ‘impossible choices’ for Americans, experts tell Senate committee
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Jen Christensen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Dr. Jason Westin regularly witnesses the power of lifesaving cancer drugs. But because generic cancer drugs are often in shortage in the United States, he says, he and his patients have been put in a terrible position. Makers of generic drugs don’t have to share information about the supply chain, so buyers currently choose based only on price. Hernandez told the Senate committee that of the top 50 generic drugs paid for by Medicare Part D, 16 were marked up 1,000% or higher. Until there is some kind of legislation that addresses drug shortages, Wosińska and the other experts agreed, they will continue.

Persons: Jason Westin, ” Westin, that’s, they’d, Sen, Marsha Blackburn, Mike Crapo, Generics, ” Crapo, “, ”, Crapo, Inmaculada Hernandez, ” Hernandez, Dr, Marta E, it’s, ” Wosińska, Ron Wyden, ” Wyden, Hernandez, Sanjay Gupta Organizations: CNN, Anderson Cancer Center, US, Finance, Vanderbilt, Tennessee Republican, Food and Drug Administration, Westin, Skaggs School of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, Centers, Medicare, Medicaid Services, Brookings Institution, CNN Health Locations: M.D, Houston, United States, Nashville, Idaho, China, India, San Diego, Oregon, generics

☆ Wealth Assistants claimed it would help its clients make money on Amazon. Clients said they 'lost everything' instead.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Madeline Stone | Jack Newsham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

Wealth Assistants also said that if clients didn't break even in the first year, they would get their money back. BI spoke with 16 people who invested between $35,000 and $100,000 each to work with Wealth Assistants and said they lost their money. Ten days later, Wealth Assistants said it laid off its roughly 75 employees and planned to shut down by December 1. Selling customers on the entrepreneur lifestyleMany Wealth Assistants clients said they were drawn by the opportunity to generate passive income. Cart.com sent Wealth Assistants a formal notice of termination in the fall after Wealth Assistants stopped paying its invoices earlier in the year, the representative said.

Persons: Mike Wimmer, Wimmer, they're, I'm, Ryan Carroll, Max K, Max O, —, Carroll, Carroll didn't, we're, Tina Luk, breakeven, Seth Hamilton, Andrew Pou, Suzy Arriola, Saheb Sabharwal, Cart.com, Moe O'Neil, weren't, Max, you've, it's, they've, We've, we've, Madeline Stone, Jack Newsham Organizations: Business, ., Federal Trade Commission, Amazon, Products, Nobu Dallas, Lamborghini, Facebook, Wealth, BI, FTC, DK Automation Locations: China, Texas, Nobu, California, Houston, Pennsylvania, mstone@insider.com

☆ Low Platinum Prices Show How Banking on Miners Could Threaten the Energy Transition
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Yusuf Khan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

Platinum is used to make the electrolyzers that produce hydrogen and the sharp down cycle in South Africa’s platinum mining sector demonstrates the risk that low prices and lack of investment could slow the energy transition. Prices for other commodities have also fallen, while miners have been complaining of rising costs and seem to be limiting their capital expenditures. Photo: michele spatari/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesFor the mining sector, cyclical returns are nothing new. Ray said many South African PGM miners are now selling their output at close to the cost of production, eating away at profitability. “To the extent that PGM prices stay at current levels, I would not be surprised to see more supply-side reaction,” Ray said.

Persons: Waldo Swiegers, ”, Tom Price, michele spatari, We’ve, ” Emma Townshend, ” Townshend, Raj Ray, Ray, ” Ray, ” Implats’s Townshend, Implats, Yusuf Khan Organizations: Bloomberg, Liberum, Agence France, PGM, Times, Business, BMO Capital Markets, Metals Locations: Sibanye, Africa, Johannesburg, Stillwater, South, South Africa, Marikana, U.S, China, Europe, Implats

Data released on Thursday showing a drop in consumer prices to their lowest since the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the doubts in China's economic rebound after some months of indicators showing growth stabilising. China's big online shopping platforms did not release final sales figures for 2022, when analysts said COVID-19 restrictions inhibited spending and consumer confidence. Some indicators point to a slowdown in Singles Day sales. Data provider Syntun estimated e-commerce platforms sold 311 billion yuan of products from Oct. 31 to Nov. 3, a 7.1% decrease year-on-year. For Tan Jiapeng, a 35-year-old office worker in Beijing, his only Singles Day purchase so far has been a Descente winter jacket, an "essential purchase" for the winter.

Persons: Florence Lo, Jason Yu, Kantar, COVID, Bain, Jacob Cooke, Nomura, Tan Jiapeng, Tan, Casey Hall, Sophie Yu, Marius Zaharia Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, HK, PDD Holdings, Company, Technologies, Thomson Locations: Rights BEIJING, China, Beijing

☆ Singles Day: China’s e-commerce giants try to lure reluctant consumers with ‘truly low’ prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Manav Tanneeru | Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The Singles Day festival, also known as “Double 11,” was created by Alibaba in 2009 and has turned into a weeks-long shopping bonanza in China. To lure them, e-commerce platforms are offering rock bottom prices this Singles Day. “While the government is looking for solid consumption growth, consumer spending is hampered by both lower household income growth and weak consumer confidence,” said Louis Kuijs, chief Asia economist at S&P Global Ratings. This is a real downgrade in consumption,” the user said, adding she hadn’t yet spent any money during the current Singles Day. “Some promotions are fake,” said another user under the name “Nyanko.” “Merchants have raised prices before cutting them for Singles Day.

Persons: ”, Alibaba, Alibaba’s, JD.com’s, Pinduoduo’s, ” “, Alicia Yap, Zhejiang province Hu Xiaofei, Louis Kuijs, ” Kuijs, Jacob Cooke, “, ” Cooke, Cooke, John Donahoe, Lululemon Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Companies, Citi, “, China’s, Technologies, Bain and Company, Pinduoduo, Nike, . Company, Starbucks Locations: China, Hong Kong, Beijing, Jinhua, Zhejiang province, Asia

Alibaba's Taobao and Tmall Group did not respond to a request for comment. This year's Singles Day event is also the first since Alibaba Group split into six business units. This view is supported by recent polls on social media where the majority of respondents said Singles Day was no longer necessary. Meara He, a 21-year-old student from Wenzhou, says she often shops using Douyin live-streams and this year, "doesn't care" about Singles Day as much. "In the past I would wait for Double 11 (Singles Day) and do some shopping, but this time I just plan to buy products that I need," she said.

Persons: Alibaba, Pinduoduo, Josh Gardner, Alibaba's, Ashley Dudarenok, AlixPartners, Douyin, Melody Zhao, Casey, Sophie Yu, Brenda Goh Organizations: PDD Holdings, Kungfu, Tmall, Administration, Market, ByteDance, Alibaba, Suisse, Industry, Hua Gui Food Group, Casey Hall, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, HK, China, Wenzhou, Shanghai, Beijing

[1/2] The logo of Temu, an e-commerce platform owned by PDD Holdings, is seen on a mobile phone displayed in front of its website, in this illustration picture taken April 26, 2023. Shein's lawsuit against Temu, filed last December in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, alleged that Temu told social media influencers to make disparaging remarks about the fast-fashion retailer, and tricked customers into downloading the Temu app using "imposter" social media accounts. In July, Temu filed its own lawsuit in Boston federal court, accusing Shein of violating U.S. antitrust law in its dealings with clothing manufacturers. Temu's complaint alleged Shein "forces manufacturers to sign loyalty oaths certifying that they will not do business with Temu." Temu, whose parent company PDD Holdings also owns Chinese shopping platform Pinduoduo, similarly sells low-priced clothing but is equally well known for stocking cheap headphones and home appliances.

Persons: Florence Lo, Shein, Temu, Casey Hall, Christian Schmollinger Organizations: PDD Holdings, REUTERS, Rights, Northern, Northern District of, Temu, HSBC, Thomson Locations: U.S, Chicago, Boston, Northern District, Northern District of Illinois, China, Europe, Asia

Homes a tenth the size of Mar-a-Lago on tiny inland lots sell for that in the Town of Palm Beach, a wealthy island enclave. It is also a club, private beach resort, historical artifact and banquet hall with a ballroom that features gold leaf. The much smaller Palm Beach compound once owned by the Kennedy political dynasty sold for $70 million three years ago. SO HOW DID PALM BEACH COUNTY COME UP WITH SUCH A LOW TAX ASSESSMENT? If Mar-a-Lago had a $1 billion assessed value, it’s property tax bill would be approximately $18 million.

Persons: Donald Trump's Mar, Trump, Judge Arthur Engoron, Liza Pulitzer, ”, Pulitzer, Brown Harris Stevens, Rob Thomson, Marjorie Merriweather Post, E.F, Hutton, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Mona Lisa, Renoir, Eli Beracha, Lago, ” Beracha, Thomson, Kennedy, Becky Robinson, Jared Moskowitz, Robinson, Letitia James, James, — Organizations: New, Palm, Trump, Waterfront Properties, Historic Landmark, Post, Mar, Florida, Hollo, Real, U.S . Rep, South, South Florida Democrat, Trump , New York Locations: FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla, York, Florida, Palm Beach, Intracoastal Waterway, Post, Mar, Lago, summering, New Jersey, Trump, South Florida, Trump ,, New York

☆ Planet Fitness races against rate hikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

View of the Planet Fitness logo at the their location in Clifton, New Jersey, U.S., January 6, 2023. REUTERS/Jennifer Saba Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Sept 18 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Planet Fitness (PLNT.N) is struggling to adapt to a high-interest-rate diet. Under Rondeau, Planet Fitness benefited from a post-pandemic exercise rebound, notching annual sales growth of over 40% in the last two years as location count expanded by 13%. Its stock is up 32% this year, while Planet Fitness’s is down by roughly the same amount. Life Time boss Bahram Akradi said his old approach of keeping prices low was a “mistake.” Planet Fitness can fix the same error.

Persons: Jennifer Saba, Chris Rondeau, Rondeau, Fitness’s, Bahram Akradi, Anita Ramaswamy, Jonathan Guilford, Sharon Lam, Aditya Sriwatsav Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Planet, X, Thomson Locations: Clifton , New Jersey, U.S

☆ Ukraine's frontline farmers face Russian rockets and rock-bottom prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Vladyslav Smilianets | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Viacheslav RatynskyiVELYKOMYKHAILIVKA, Ukraine, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Less than 30 km (19 miles) from Ukraine's southeastern front line, rural farmers whose businesses have survived Russian rockets now fear another hammer blow to their livelihoods: rock-bottom prices for their harvest. "The price (for crops) is not acceptable for the farmers. The farmers of Velykomykhailivka must juggle their worries about collapsing prices and export difficulties with the prospect of more Russian missiles crashing into their farms. We won't have any profit this year with such storages and crop prices." Reporting by Vladyslav Smilianets; Writing by Max Hunder; Editing by Tom Balmforth and Conor HumphriesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Mykola, Krut, Vladyslav Smilianets, Max Hunder, Tom Balmforth, Conor Humphries Organizations: Local, Russian, REUTERS, Reuters, UN, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Velykomykhailivka, Dnipropetrovsk region, VELYKOMYKHAILIVKA, Russian, Dnipropetrovsk, Moscow

☆ Satellite reunion creates a bit of breathing space
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dish Network Chairman Charlie Ergen speaks during Google's annual developers conference in San Francisco, California May 20, 2010. Dish Network Corp, the No. Some 15 years after the 70-year-old billionaire initially cleaved his satellite empire, he unveiled an all-stock deal Tuesday to reunite Dish Network (DISH.O), the $4.5 billion pay-TV operator, with the smaller EchoStar (SATS.O) infrastructure business. Dish shareholders, who will own 69% of the enlarged entity, are issuing stock at a rock-bottom price for the privilege. If nothing else, though, the modest 13% premium they’re offering to EchoStar shareholders buys some valuable time.

Persons: Charlie Ergen, It’s, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Peter Thal Larsen, Sharon Lam Organizations: Dish, Dish Network Corp, Sprint Nextel Corp, Reuters, Nasdaq, Twitter, Siemens, Thomson Locations: San Francisco , California

☆ Warren Buffett's wife balked at paying $4 for a cup of coffee. That won't surprise the investor's close followers.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-15 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Warren Buffett's wife reportedly balked at the $4 cost of a coffee at Sun Valley. Buffett lives simply, seeks value as an investor, and strikes a hard bargain when he cuts deals. Get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in business, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley — delivered daily. Her reaction won't surprise close followers of Buffett, or shareholders of his Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate. Indeed, Buffett still lives in the same house in Omaha, Nebraska that he purchased for $31,500 in 1958.

Persons: Warren Buffett's, Astrid Menks, Buffett, Warren Buffett, He's, Charlie Munger, —, Munger, They're, Alleghany, Goldman Sachs Organizations: Service, New York Post, Berkshire Hathaway, Berkshire, Alleghany Locations: Sun, Wall, Silicon, Berkshire, Omaha , Nebraska, Munger, Los Angeles, Omaha

☆ H&M is selling $1.70 crop tops to compete with Shein
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Grace Mayer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

H&M is selling some crop tops for $1.70. H&M appears to taking a more aggressive pricing strategy in response to the threat from Shein. One of the crop tops, which comes in black and white, was marked down on Friday by nearly 70% from $4.99. Shein, the Singapore-based online retailer, first surged in popularity during the pandemic when customers were scouring for affordable retailers. A spokesperson for H&M declined to comment on when the brand started discounting tops to as low as $1.70.

Persons: —, Shein, Zara, Temu Organizations: Service, Street Journal, Google, UBS, Shein, Bloomberg Locations: Singapore, Shein

☆ Putin has a secret plan to squeeze Western companies as they leave Russia by seizing their assets at bargain prices, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

According to the report, the measures are designed to punish countries that seize Russian assets, and reward those which don't. Western companies that've stayed in Russia have made significant profits there, indirectly helping the Kremlin fund its war. Western companies collectively contributed more than $3.5 billion to the Russian state in 2022, Russian independent outlet Novaya Gazeta reported. The new measures Putin signed could be interpreted as a way of making it more difficult for firms to leave. Earlier in June, the Russian government sought to raise $4 billion by imposing a windfall tax on large Russian companies, Insider reported.

Persons: Putin, —, Vladimir Putin, they'd, that've, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov Organizations: Service, Financial Times, McDonalds, Ikea, Kremlin, Novaya Gazeta Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Russian, AFP

☆ I save $10,000+ a year on airfare by booking with miles, and I've found the best US airport for flights to Israel (and Europe) at rock-bottom prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Joseph Hostetler | Jasmin Baron | Credit Cards Reporter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +27 min

Read Insider's guide to the best travel rewards credit cards. You might even already have a large stash of them if you have a travel rewards credit card — even if you've never heard of them. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card 4.4 /5 A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star 4.4 out of 5 Stars A tooltip Our editor's ratings analyze fees, bonuses, rewards, and benefits to highlight the simplest and most valuable credit cards available. Apply nowChase Sapphire Preferred® Card 4.4 /5 A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star 4.4 out of 5 Stars A tooltip Our editor's ratings analyze fees, bonuses, rewards, and benefits to highlight the simplest and most valuable credit cards available. Show more Regular Annual Percentage Rate (APR) 20.74% - 27.74% Variable Editor's Rating 4.4 /5 A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star 4.4 out of 5 Stars Our editor's ratings analyze fees, bonuses, rewards, and benefits to highlight the simplest and most valuable credit cards available.

Disruptions may hit mine output, leading analysts to trim a forecast surplus for this year to 133,000 tonnes from 165,000 tonnes of oversupply in the previous poll. Analysts have marked up their estimates for an aluminium market surplus this year to 113,500 tonnes from 80,535 tonnes forecast in January. "Due to relentless mined nickel supply growth in Indonesia, and its broad-based nickel-bearing exports, we remain longer-term bears on the global nickel price," said Tom Price at Liberum. Analysts expect LME cash nickel prices to average $22,273 a tonne in the third quarter, down 11% from current levels. They also expect the global nickel market to see a surplus of 112,000 tonnes this year and an oversupply of 89,500 tonnes in 2024.

☆ Ending the retailers’ crisis has a high price tag
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Aimee Donnellan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

BARCELONA, May 2 (Reuters Breakingviews) - High-street retailers are facing a heavy bill to weather the cost-of-living crisis. The cost of heating stores and staff requests for pay rises are squeezing operating margins at top players like H&M (HMb.ST) and Next (NXT.L). Shrinking disposable income is making it hard for these retailers to boost sales to protect margins. Most bricks-and-mortar retailers trade on higher multiples than they did before the war in Ukraine sparked soaring inflation. But that leaves a squeezed middle of retailers like H&M exposed to the brunt of the retail crisis.

LONDON, March 21 (Reuters) - Distressed debt investors and large hedge funds are buying up Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) additional tier-1 bonds at rock-bottom prices after they were written down to zero in the Swiss bank's rescue by cross-town rival UBS (UBSG.S). AT1 bonds issued by other European banks tumbled on Monday as the treatment of Credit Suisse AT1 bondholders highlighted the risks of this type of debt. Buyers have included a mixture of hedge funds and deep distressed debt funds, which Southey expected would need to hold the bonds for an extended period before they paid off. Some of those buyers intend to join groups that would litigate to improve odds on cashing in on the bonds, Southey said. "It's quite possible that we will see demand from buyers of subordinated bank debt to have more explicit protections written into these bond prospectuses in the future."

☆ Temu's low prices catapulted the Chinese app to the top of the US download charts. Here's what we know about it — and how it could avoid its competitors' pitfalls.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Temu, a new shopping app from Chinese e-commerce giant Pinduoduo, is making waves in the US. In December, Temu had 9 million US downloads, topping Amazon, which had 4.2 million downloads; Shopify's Shop app, which had 3.4 million downloads; and fellow Chinese player Shein, which had 3 million downloads. Like Shein, Temu also boasts a large selection of products, with its app description claiming that it offers thousands of new items a day. Shein was the most downloaded app globally in 2022, with 229 million downloads, while Amazon was the top app in the US. Notably, Pinduoduo was also a top downloaded app globally, ranking seventh with 79 million downloads.

☆ Opioid Crisis Fast Facts
▼ + stars: | 2017-09-18 | by ( Cnn Editorial Research | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

March 29, 2017 - Trump signs an executive order calling for the establishment of the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis. April 9, 2018 - The US surgeon general issues an advisory recommending that Americans carry the opioid overdose-reversing drug, naloxone. The settlement will be used to fund addiction research and help cities and counties with the opioid crisis. Cleveland County District Judge Thad Balkman orders Johnson & Johnson to pay $572 million for its role in the state’s opioid crisis. November 15, 2022 - Walmart agrees to the framework of a $3.1 billion settlement, which resolves allegations from multiple states’ attorneys general that the company failed to regulate opioid prescriptions contributing to the nationwide opioid crisis.

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