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Amazon opens Cape Town walk-in centre as strives for market-share
  • January 16, 2025

Amazon opens Cape Town walk-in centre as strives for market-share

U.S. e-commerce giant Amazon.com opened on Thursday a walk-in centre in South Africa that it says will help its independent sellers attract more customers and expand their businesses, while it also seeks to gain market share. For Amazon - which is striving to catch up with market-leader Takealot, owned by Naspers - the centre can increase its product range, increasing potential revenue. More than 60% of sales in Amazon's stores globally are from independent sellers – most of which are small- and medium-sized businesses.

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US retail sales end 2024 on a solid note; labor market healthy
  • January 16, 2025

US retail sales end 2024 on a solid note; labor market healthy

U.S. retail sales increased in December as households bought motor vehicles and a range of other goods, pointing to strong demand in the economy and further reinforcing the Federal Reserve's cautious approach to cutting interest rates this year. The report from the Commerce Department on Thursday prompted economists to upgrade their economic growth estimates for the fourth quarter to just shy of the July-September quarter's brisk pace. It followed news last week of a surge in nonfarm payrolls in December and a drop in the unemployment rate to 4.1% from 4.2% in November.

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LA Fires Test Bond Market Used to Shaking Off Disasters
  • January 16, 2025

LA Fires Test Bond Market Used to Shaking Off Disasters

(Bloomberg) -- There’s a truism in municipal debt: Bonds rarely move on natural disasters. That long-tested concept had held up until fires destroyed thousands of properties in Los Angeles last week. Most Read from BloombergThese Homes Withstood the LA Fires. Architects Explain WhyNYC Commuters Get New Way to Dodge Traffic: $95 Helicopter RidesChicago Agency Pitches $1.5 Billion Plan to Fix Transit WoesWill Americans Ever Lose Their Taste for Telework?Churches, Cinemas — and Moon Artifacts — Top

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Stock market today: Wall Street's momentum slows as U.S. stocks drift
  • January 16, 2025

Stock market today: Wall Street's momentum slows as U.S. stocks drift

U.S. stock indexes are drifting Thursday following a mixed set of earnings reports from Morgan Stanley, UnitedHealth Group and other big companies. The S&P 500 was up 0.2% in early trading. Stocks were holding steadier after shooting higher the day before on hopes that an encouraging report on inflation may convince the Federal Reserve to deliver more of the cuts to interest rates this year that Wall Street loves.

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UK’s Buy-Now Pay-Later Market Booms Ahead of Crunch Year
  • January 16, 2025

UK’s Buy-Now Pay-Later Market Booms Ahead of Crunch Year

(Bloomberg) -- From Apple iPhones to Adidas shoes and Uber Eats takeaways, Britons are using buy-now, pay-later like never before to fund their lifestyles.Most Read from BloombergThese Homes Withstood the LA Fires. Architects Explain WhyChicago Agency Pitches $1.5 Billion Plan to Fix Transit WoesAs E-Bikes Boom in NYC, Some Call for More RegulationsChurches, Cinemas — and Moon Artifacts — Top List of Endangered MonumentsNYPD Reforms Car Chase Policy Amid Rising Crashes, InjuriesThis model, allow

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