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☆ Swiss Miss: Why UBS's deal with Credit Suisse will threaten its hold on rich clients
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

UBS was already the largest private wealth manager in the world before it agreed to buy fellow Swiss bank Credit Suisse. UBS and Credit Suisse are both known for servicing the ultra-rich, though UBS does so on a much larger scale. The acquirer had $2.8 trillion in global wealth management assets as of the end of 2022 while Credit Suisse's totalled $585 billion. But the merger gives UBS and Credit Suisse clients the thing that matters mostBut the acquisition wasn't just about rescuing Credit Suisse but restoring confidence in the Swiss banking system, Ibrahim noted. For one Irish billionaire and Credit Suisse client, this is what matters most.

☆ UBS will become a Swiss wealth behemoth after buying Credit Suisse, but blending the two rivals could get awkward and messy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

UBS was already a giant in wealth management before it agreed to buy doomed rival Credit Suisse. UBS was already the largest private wealth manager in the world before it agreed to buy fellow Swiss bank Credit Suisse. UBS and Credit Suisse are both known for servicing the ultra-rich, though UBS does so on a much larger scale. The acquirer had $2.8 trillion in global wealth management assets as of the end of 2022 while Credit Suisse's totalled $585 billion. But the merger gives UBS and Credit Suisse clients the thing that matters mostBut the acquisition wasn't just about rescuing Credit Suisse but restoring confidence in the Swiss banking system, Ibrahim noted.

America's biggest retailers say organized retail crime has grown into a multibillion-dollar problem, but the effectiveness of their strategies to solve it and the validity of the data overall have come into question. However, the problem isn't as clear-cut as retailers and trade groups have made it seem. External retail crime accounts for only 37% of those losses, or about $35 billion, the NRF data shows. Still, law enforcement agencies and retailers insist organized retail crime remains an issue and said they stand behind their data. We see it every day in our stores," Scott Glenn, Home Depot's vice president of asset protection, told CNBC.

☆ A New York grocery store is using biometrics including eye scanners and voice prints to identify repeat shoplifters. Some shoppers say that's creepy — even if it deters theft.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

New York City grocer Fairway is collecting biometric data on its shoppers to catch shoplifters, the New York Post reported. Fairway is gathering facial recognition and other biometric information, such as voice recordings, on shoppers at one of its Manhattan locations, the New York Post reported on Thursday. Fairway told the Post that its system will only be accessed by "trained asset protection associates." Nearly one-third of the arrests made for shoplifting in New York City last year involved the same 327 people, the Post reported in January. But an investigation that year by the San Francisco Chronicle found that the affected stores reported fewer than two shoplifting incidents per month leading up to the closures.

☆ Lowe's is testing 400-pound, egg-shaped autonomous robots to patrol parking lots at some of its stores
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Ben Tobin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Lowe's is testing robots from Knightscope to help deter crime and promote safety at its stores. Lowe's is testing autonomous, 400-pound security robots from robotics company Knightscope to patrol parking lots at some of its stores to enhance safety, the company told Insider Monday. Lowe's said it began testing the Knightscope K5 robots in February in Philadelphia. Several TikTok users have posted videos of the robots patrolling the Lowe's parking lots, likening them to the popular Dalek villains from "Dr. Lowe's decision to test these autonomous robots comes as retailers have been sounding the alarms about rising levels of theft.

☆ Venture Capital Investors Are Trying to Take Over Pandemic Response
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

Private capital has been eyeing public health for years. Several founders and investors told me that the failure of Kleiner's fund made Silicon Valley wary of investing in pandemic preparedness. Venture investors love that kind of thing. Public health and private industryWhen COVID hit, Charity Dean was the assistant director of the California Department of Public Health. In the end, almost every pandemic-related product created by Silicon Valley will ultimately require the government as a primary customer.

☆ Nike temporarily closed a celebrated Portland store because of ongoing theft
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Matthew Kish | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The store has been a point of pride for Nike and the Northeast Portland community since it opened. The Portland Nike store closure comes as large retailers are warning about the proliferation of stolen goods on online marketplaces like Amazon, Craigslist, eBay and Facebook. In November, KGW, the Portland NBC affiliate, said the Nike store reported 437 shoplifting cases to police since 2019, second only to a Portland Target store, which had 650. Matthew Kish/InsiderThe now-closed Portland store has been a point of pride for Nike, its employees, and the Northeast Portland community since it opened in June 1984. While the Nike store is at least temporarily closed, it hasn't been abandoned.

☆ Walgreens exec: Security guards aren't there to 'protect product' after CFO called them 'largely ineffective'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

CFO James Kehoe called the chain's security guards 'largely ineffective' in an earnings call this month. Security guards "are not there to protect the product," he said, per the Post. At the anti-theft summit, Stein said instead, locking up products has become an effective means for preventing theft at Walgreens stores, the Post reported. In October 2021, Walgreens CFO James Kehoe blamed the closing of five San Francisco stores on organized shoplifting. Kehoe also acknowledged that private security guards are "largely ineffective" and that police officers had more impact.

☆ VIDEO: Target carts that lock in place are yet another example of how anti-theft measures are leaving shoppers really frustrated
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( Dominick Reuter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Nearly 2 million shopping carts are stolen each year, costing retailers an estimated $800 million. Videos of shoppers battling anti-theft devices on carts in a Target parking lot have gone viral on TikTok. Whether and when a particular store gets Gatekeeper for its carts is determined on an individual store basis, a Target spokesperson told Insider. The Food Marketing Institute meanwhile estimates that 2 million shopping carts are stolen each year, costing retailers an upwards of $800 million globally. Loss-prevention remains a delicate balance for retailers as Walmart's vice president of asset protection and retail operations, David Johnston, told Insider.

☆ TikTok videos show exasperated Target shoppers battling carts that lock in place — and it shows how anti-theft measures make the shopping experience worse
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Dominick Reuter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Nearly 2 million shopping carts are stolen each year, costing retailers an estimated $800 million. Videos of shoppers battling anti-theft devices on carts in a Target parking lot have gone viral on TikTok. A TikToker going by the name Taylor Ann cheerfully narrates in a video of the moment, which has amassed over 4.4 million views on TikTok. Taylor Ann acknowledges the technology has been around for years, but it can still come as a surprise when it arrives at your store. The Food Marketing Institute meanwhile estimates that 2 million shopping carts are stolen each year, costing retailers an upwards of $800 million globally.

☆ Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, and more are locking away more products to deter theft — and it's driving some customers away
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Ben Tobin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Retail theft led to roughly $94.5 billion in losses for retailers in 2021, per a recent NRF survey. Retailers have been locking away more items to protect them from potential theft. But that has led to customers abandoning certain stores, shoppers nationwide told Insider. Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid are among the retailers that lock up products as a security measure. And earlier this month, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon sounded the alarm on theft, saying "stores will close" unless it is abated.

☆ Organized retail crime has ballooned into a $100 billion problem — and store employees are dying over it
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Avery Hartmans | Ben Tobin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Organized retail crime increased by 26.5% in 2021, according to the National Retail Federation. It's organized retail crime, and it's a nearly $100 billion problem for the industry. A 2022 study the National Retail Federation conducted found that organized retail crime at retailers surged by 26.5% in 2021 compared to the year prior. Organized retail crime is not the $10,000 jewelry heist you see in the movies, Jake Stauch, the director of product for the security company Verkada, said. The rise of e-commerce has, in large part, fueled organized retail crime.

☆ Walmart rolled out self-checkout to streamline operations and reduce labor needs — but employees and customers say it's causing a surge in theft
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Ben Tobin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said stores could close if the rising tide of theft wasn't stemmed. Customers and employees blame self-checkout, which Walmart has increasingly relied on, for theft. Since McMillon made those comments, more than 100 Walmart customers and former and current employees have reached out to an Insider reporter to say the retailer must rely less on self-checkout. "They need to hire cashiers again and do away with so many self-checkout," Mindy Stanley, a Walmart customer from Ashland, Kentucky, said. Polly Kearns, a Walmart shopper from Gulfport, Mississippi, said the best way to protect against theft and make customers happy was to eliminate self-checkouts.

Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP) Cons Dash icon A dash. How Clearlane auto loans workClearlane only offers two types of auto loans, loan refinancing and lease buyouts — you won't be able to buy a new or used car with the lender. You must have a minimum monthly income of $2,000 to qualify for a Clearlane loan. Today's personal loan ratesHow Clearlane auto loans compareCompared to other lenders, Clearlane has less competitive rates on its auto financing products. Clearlane also doesn't have a discount or for being a member of its parent bank Ally, which Bank of America offers.

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