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Marketers are rushing to gather their own information on consumers in response to new privacy protections put in place by tech giants and governments that could stem the flow of user data that they rely on to target individuals with online ad campaigns. Advertisers have hitherto depended heavily on data from business partners, including tech firms and ad technology companies, to focus their ads. Now, marketers are turning to tactics including sweepstakes, quizzes and events to gather personal information and build detailed consumer  profiles. The Wall Street Journal notes that retailers are among those well placed to harvest data because they deal directly with consumers, and many have long invested in loyalty programs that offer perks to shoppers. Dick’s Sporting Goods, for example, added 8.5 million new loyalty program members in 2020, and now has more than 20 million loyalty members.

 

Wall Street Journal

The United States faces a default sometime between December 21st and January 28th if Congress does not act to raise or suspend the debt ceiling, the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) warned on Friday. Congress passed legislation on Thursday to fund the government through mid-February, averting the risk of a partial government shutdown this week. But lawmakers have yet to address the fact that they have authorized more borrowing and spending than their debt limit allows. “Those who believe the debt limit can safely be pushed to the back of the December legislative pileup are misinformed,” said Shai Akabas, BPC’s director of economic policy. “Congress would be flirting with financial disaster if it leaves for the holiday recess without addressing the debt limit.” December 15th is particularly important because the Treasury Department is required to make a $118bn payment to the Highway Trust Fund. If corporate tax receipts that are due that day come in weak, Treasury could face a cash crunch and the United States would be unable to fully meet all of its obligations like paying out Social Security and funding military paychecks.

 

CBS News

New York Times

Reuters

The U.S. economy added 210,000 jobs in November,  the smallest number of jobs added to the economy since December 2020. Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal had forecast 573,000 new jobs. The unemployment rate fell to 4.2% as more people joined the labor force, the department added, while average wages rose 4.8% from a year ago to $31.03 an hour, as workers continued to see pay increases amid higher inflation. The share of people either working or looking for work rose to 61.8% in November from 61.6% in October, suggesting that wage increases are starting to draw workers off the sidelines. The retail sector lost 20,000 jobs in November, with losses concentrated in general merchandise, clothing and sporting goods stores that were partly offset by increases in food and beverage stores and building supply stores. Transportation and warehousing added 50,000 positions and professional and business services added 90,000. Justin Wolfers, an economist at the University of Michigan, said the report is "doubly disappointing," adding: "This was a moment for people to return to malls and to return to work. The COVID-related news has only gotten worse since then." However, RSM chief economist Joe Brusuelas commented: "We expect that the topline establishment survey will be revised upward over the next two to three months and will look more like what the household survey is showing: the labor market is tightening, and wages are rising in what is the best labor market for workers since the late 1990s."

 

CNN

Fox News

Market Watch

Wall Street Journal

The pickup in inflation rates around the world will be longer-lasting and sharper than previously anticipated, with a growing risk that households and businesses grow accustomed to faster price rises, the OECD has predicted in its latest forecasts for the global economy. It also warned that should the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus sidestep existing vaccines, the world economy could face a sharper slowdown than previously expected and a round of price declines similar to those seen in the early months of the pandemic. Releasing the last of its four reports on the economic outlook this year, the OECD said it now expects consumer-price inflation in the U.S. to average 4.4% in 2022, up from 3.1% when it last released forecasts in September, and inflation in the eurozone to be 2.7%, up from 1.9%. 

 

Wall Street Journal

Apple has warned its parts suppliers that demand for the iPhone 13 lineup has slowed. The company had reduced production of the iPhone 13 by as many as 10 million units, down from a target of 90 million, amid the worldwide semiconductor shortage, but now has cautioned that even those numbers look unlikely. A fall in Apple shares pulled down those of iPhone component and semiconductor suppliers Qualcomm, Skyworks, Europe's ASML and Infineon. Bloomberg notes that “consumer caution leaves economies facing the new [Omicron] virus threat with less support from goods spending - a reversal from earlier in the pandemic.”

 

Bloomberg

Reuters

Activist investor Engine Capital is urging Kohl's to consider a sale of the company or a separation of its e-commerce business. The hedge fund, which owns a 1% stake in the retailer, wants it to examine the two alternatives to improve its lagging stock price; in a letter to the board, it argued that, assuming online sales revenue of around $6.2bn, Kohl’s digital business alone would be worth $12.4bn. Engine also said it believes there are private equity firms that would pay at least $75 a share - Kohl's closed at $48.45 on Friday - and that interactions with potential buyers suggest they could do so by monetizing its real estate. Kohl's was targeted earlier this year by a group of four activists who aimed to replace a majority of its board. The stock rose in the following months, and the two sides eventually reached a truce that added three new directors to Kohl’s board. Under the agreement, the activists - Macellum Advisors, Ancora Holdings, Legion Partners Asset Management and 4010 Capital - could launch another proxy fight beginning January 12th.

 

CNBC

Reuters

Wall Street Journal

Sportsman's Warehouse Holdings has announced the cancellation of its merger with Great Outdoors, owner of the Bass Pro Shops chain, after the Federal Trade Commission indicated the companies wouldn’t get clearance to complete it. Great Outdoors will pay a $55m termination fee. Sportsman’s Warehouse would have gone private through the transaction, which valued the company at $18 per share.

 

Bloomberg

A U.S. judge has dismissed a $10bn lawsuit against McDonald's by Byron Allen, head of  Entertainment Studios Networks. Mr. Allen, who also owns The Weather Channel, had claimed that the fast-food chain had refused to advertise with his properties, and that it also spent just 0.3% of its $1.6bn U.S. ad budget in 2019 with Black-owned media, an allocation that reflected "racial animus and racial stereotyping." However, U.S. District Judge Fernando Olguin in Los Angeles said that Mr. Allen had not offered enough factual evidence to show that McDonald's "intentionally and purposefully discriminated against" his firms. He added, however, that Mr. Allen can file an amended complaint. "This case is about revenue, not race," Loretta Lynch, a lawyer for McDonald's, said in a statement. "We believe there is no evidence supporting this meritless case."

 

Reuters

Former Google temp worker Tuesday Carne claims she was fired for being “ungoogley.” Carne was employed to maintain the equipment at a Google site in South Carolina – a role that the tech giant filled with contract firm Modis, a unit of recruitment firm Adecco. Carne's complaint with the National Labor Relations Board against Modis, and Alphabet 's Google, followed her dismissal after she described a company policy as “bulls---“ at a managers' meeting, she alleges. She later received an email from a Modis manager who described her behavior in the meeting as “unacceptable and ‘ungoogley,'” according to a copy of the message viewed by Bloomberg.

 

Bloomberg

Madrid-headquartered temporary staffing start-up Jobandtalent has raised $500m to expand its workforce marketplace that matches individuals with temporary roles. The company helps more than 1,300 organizations including FedEx and eBay find temporary staff at a time when demand for such workers is growing amid tightening labor markets worldwide. “We are in a situation where we can see a shortage of supply for workers in all of the countries where we operate,” said Juan Urdiales, Jobandtalent chief executive officer and co-founder.  “In that context the demand from the companies for products like the one that we're offering has heavily increased.” The latest financing round gives the company a $2.35bn valuation, according to a statement shared with Bloomberg.

 

Bloomberg

The Baltimore Sun presents a slide show featuring tips from HR reps and hiring managers on how to ensure you get the job. “I will trash any resume if [the applicant] did not follow ad directions or does not meet our qualifications (over or under qualified),” warns Agora CEO Myles Norin. Ari Magwood, general manager at The Brewer’s Art in Baltimore, says: “Coming not dressed for an interview, whether you’re applying for a busboy position or management - it tells me you really won’t take this job seriously.”

 

The Baltimore Sun

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Wednesday that she agreed that allowing state-legal cash-only cannabis businesses to access the U.S. banking system would allow the IRS to improve collection of taxes. Large banks have been lobbying lawmakers to support the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act, or SAFE, which would enable banks to access the burgeoning multi-billion dollar cannabis industry. While the sale or use of marijuana is legal to some degree in 47 states and DC, federal law still prohibits possessing, buying, selling, and using marijuana, which remains classified as a Schedule 1 drug by the Drug Enforcement Agency. Big banks have been hesitant to do business with legitimate cannabis-based companies for fear of running afoul of federal money-laundering laws. That has left dispensaries with few options, including relying on smaller banks and credit unions, which charge higher fees to justify taking on more risk. Dispensaries are then forced to process transactions mostly in cash.

 

New York Post

Reuters

New technology is fundamentally changing both how work is done within tax and finance departments and the nature of those responsibilities. Deloitte’s recent Talent Reimagined publication takes a look at the dramatic shifts under way in how tax work is done as the tax function embraces data management technologies and robotic process automation (RPA), and as investments in technology platforms by external service providers mature to radically alter how tax teams operate.

 

Wall Street Journal