Cyber Monday outlook: big deals, record sales
Analysts are expecting an abundance of deals to bring in record online sales this year on Cyber Monday.
Andrew Lipsman, an industry analyst at data tracking firm ComScore, said sales for the one-day shopping event are projected to hit a record $1.2 billion this year.
Almost every major retailer plans on taking advantage of the hottest day to shop online. According to the Shop.org's eHoliday survey, eight out of 10 online retailers will offer promotions on Cyber Monday.
But the deals aren't just limited to Monday. Ahead of the big day, more than 90% of online merchants will be offering promotions over Thanksgiving weekend.
A survey by comparison shopping site PriceGrabber found that 39% of consumers who plan to shop over the four-day Thanksgiving weekend said they intended to do so on Cyber Monday. That's up 2 percentage points from last year.
It's a trend analysts are calling "couch commerce" -- more people want to spend money online from the comfort of their homes rather than head out to the shops.
I braved Black Friday!
Lelah Manz, chief strategist of commerce at Akamai (AKAM), cited the rise of tablet computers in the last year as a major game-changer in e-commerce.
"If you think about when the concept of Cyber Monday was first born, it was a time when people had dial-up access at home -- it was the office place or the workplace where they could access sites," Manz said. "Now everyone has broadband access. People have tablets, they're able to get online earlier and at home, and retailers are trying to capture that mind share."
According to an IBM (IBM, Fortune 500) Coremetrics report, 15% of web traffic in the U.S. in November will stem from smart phones and tablets rather than PC's. In order to tap into that traffic, retailers are rolling out the deals early this year, said Manz.
As valuable ad space is snatched up by major retailers on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, mid-sized retailers are leaking deals ahead of Cyber Monday to get their place in the spotlight too, said Graham Jones, General Manager of PriceGrabber.
7 must-have Black Friday apps
"What we saw last year -- a lot of the medium size retailers, they didn't get in front of the consumers, so they are the ones leaking the deals earlier," Jones said. "The earlier these deals are coming out is a function of the retailers not wanting to be squeezed out of the limelight."
But don't expect the online deals ahead of Cyber Monday to impact the big day. According to a Shop.org survey, nearly 60% of workers will go online to shop for holiday gifts at work, and many of the retailers are waiting for Monday to push out some of the best promotions.
"Consumers have come to expect the absolute best online holiday deals on Cyber Monday," Pam Goodfellow, BIGresearch Consumer Insights Director, said in a release. BIGresearch is a marketing research firm that conducts surveys for the industry trade group National Retail Federation.
Online companies are still placing big bets on Cyber Monday and taking steps to prep for a day when online traffic is expected to spike. OpenSky, an online shopping platform that offers products curated by various celebrities and influential people -- from chef Tom Colicchio to fashion designer Cynthia Rowley -- has been ramping up efforts to make sure the site runs smoothly.
"We're expecting our biggest day ever - we have 10,000 new people joining OpenSky every day and we expect sales to be five times our largest day," said OpenSky Founder John Caplan. "We've made improvements to the site to make it run faster. We've added additional shipping options, gift wrapping, customer service staff and have all hands on deck from now through the holiday."
The company also plans to announce lifestyle guru Martha Stewart as a curator on the site - a move the six-month-old company hopes will boost interest in the biggest online shopping day of the year.
CNN
Oil near US$97 a barrel
Oil rose yesterday in post-holiday, low-volume trading, but was down slightly for the week. The benchmark for crude oil in the US rose 60 cents to settle at US$96.77. It dropped US$1.84 on Wednesday, before markets in the US were closed for the Thanksgiving holiday. Oil had fallen earlier as Europe’s debt crisis continues to undermine confidence the continent will avoid recession next year. In London, Brent crude for January delivery fell US$1.38 to settle at US$106.40 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. Investor concern that fiscal austerity measures aimed at lowering Europe’s debt levels will hurt global economic growth and oil demand has helped pull crude back from above US$103 last week.
Uncertainty about contagion spreading from Greece to Portugal, Italy, Spain and Ireland has begun to undermine confidence in Germany and France. The yield on Germany’s 10-year bond rose above the 10-year UK government bond for the first time since 2009. And yesterday Standard & Poor’s downgraded Belgium’s financial standing, citing the country’s government stalemate and the looming European recession. “The eurozone sovereign crisis is starting to threaten the bond markets of even the most solid European economy — Germany,” Barclays Capital said in a report.
In the US, meanwhile, the average price for a gallon of gas has fallen to US$3.31 (87 cents a litre) from US$3.38 in just a week. The discount is an even heftier 20 cents a gallon (3.8 litres) compared with two months ago. In fact, American shoppers driving from store to store on the first weekend of the holiday shopping season are paying some of the lowest prices for gas since late winter. Even with the recent declines, however, the price of gas is 44 cents a gallon higher than on Black Friday a year ago. Tom Kloza, chief oil analysts at Oil Price Information Service, says Americans are on track to spend US$488 billion on gas this year. That will eclipse the record set in 2008 by US$40 billion. OPIS said last week that US households have spent 8.4 per cent of their income on gasoline this year, up from 6.7 per cent in 2010 and 7.9 per cent in 2008.
The national average for gasoline peaked just below US$4 a gallon (US$1.05 a litre) in May. That may be one reason that malls are bustling this year with shoppers looking marked down cashmere sweaters, videogame consoles, tablet computers and flat-screen televisions. Retailers hope shoppers reinvest their savings at the pump. Kloza estimates that, at current demand, for every 10 cent decline in the price of gas, Americans save a total of US$36 million to spend elsewhere. Kloza says current demand for gas in the US remains “extraordinarily poor.” That’s the main reason why gas prices are dropping even though oil has risen about US$17 a barrel, or 21 percent, in the last two months. In other Nymex trading, heating oil dropped 3.1 cents to US$2.94 per gallon and gasoline futures lost 4.45 cents to US$2.5205 per gallon. Natural gas added 5.7 cents to US$3.665 per 1,000 cubic feet.
AP
Hungary's debt downgraded by Moody's to junk status
Moody's has cut its rating of Hungarian government debt to junk status.
The ratings agency blamed Hungary's high levels of debt and weak prospects for growth, as well as uncertainty about whether the government can achieve its goals for the economy.
The government said the move by Moody's was part of a series of financial attacks against the country.
Earlier, Standard & Poor's decided not to downgrade Hungary until talks with the EU and IMF had been completed.
Last week, the government said it would seek a financial safety net from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, but no new loans.
The Hungarian economy ministry said the Moody's downgrade had "no basis because, despite all the external difficulties, in the past year-and-a-half there has been an expressly favourable change in most areas of the Hungarian economy".
Moody's cut Hungary's debt one notch, from Baa3 to Ba1, which is just below investment grade.
Hungary was given a 20bn euro standby loan by the IMF in 2008 to prevent it having to default on its debts.
But the newly-elected Prime Minister Viktor Orban decided not to renew the standby facility last year.
Mr Orban has followed an unconventional policy of allowing Hungarian households to convert their mortgages - which were predominately taken out in foreign currencies, particularly the Swiss franc, prior to the 2008 financial crisis - back into Hungarian forint at the expense of the banks.
At the same time, he has retaken control of private pension assets, to help pay off public debt.
The government has dismissed the views of the ratings agencies, saying that they are biased against Hungary because its economic policies do not favour banks.
Scotiabank gives $1.2m to Salvation Army Kettle Appeal
The Salvation Army's 2011 Christmas Kettle Appeal has received a $1.2 million jump-start towards its $12-million target from an associated partner, Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank).
Michael Shaw, district vice-president for Scotiabank's northern region, presented the cheque for $200,000 - the second tranche of the funds - to the Salvation Army during the programme's Montego Bay launch at the Second City's Civic Centre last week.
Prior to this, $1 million was donated by Scotiabank during the Kettle's launch in Kingston.
"Scotiabank has always been involved in community activities, and as such, this is another venture that we have done annually. The premier launch is actually in Kingston, but Montego Bay, being the Second City, is also a beneficiary of our philanthropy," Shaw explained.
"As such, we were able to give, this morning, back to these communities in which we live and make our living from, where our own people are from. So it was with great pleasure that we made this donation this morning to the Salvation Army, and we will continue to do so as long as time permits."
Salvation Army advisory board chairperson, Veviene McDonald-Calder, thanked the bank for its assistance over the years.
Demands increasing
"Every year, the demands on the Salvation Army get greater and greater. So we are thankful to you, our supporters, and we'd like to ask you to continue to support the Salvation Army because we have many, many neighbours who are truly in need, and we'd really like to bring some Christmas cheer to them again this year."
This year's Kettle Appeal is being held under the theme 'Christmas: Sharing Love', and will continue until December 24. The donated funds will provide meals and other support for the less fortunate.
The Christmas Kettle tradition began in 1891 when Salvation Army captain Joseph McFee sought to provide a free Christmas dinner to the less fortunate in San Francisco, United States of America.
-Gleaner
Black Friday sales hit record, says report
Preliminary reports for Black Friday indicate that retailers may have seen their strongest sales ever during the all-important kick-off to the holiday shopping season.
Retail sales on Black Friday climbed 6.6% this year to an estimated $11.4 billion, according to ShopperTrak, which tracks foot traffic at malls and stores. Last year, sales climbed just 0.3% to $10.7 billion, which was a record one-day sales amount at the time, according to the company.
"This is the largest year-over-year gain in ShopperTrak's National Retail Sales Estimate for Black Friday since the 8.3 percent increase we saw between 2007 and 2006," said ShopperTrak founder Bill Martin. "Still, it's just one day. It remains to be seen whether consumers will sustain this behavior through the holiday shopping season."
However, sales have been strong throughout the entire month of November with retailers rolling out holiday deals earlier than ever. In the two weeks leading up to the week of Black Friday, retail sales were up 3.6% and 3.8%, respectively, ShopperTrak reported.
"Retailers continue to stretch out Black Friday weekend by enticing shoppers with doorbuster deals weeks in advance," said Martin.
Online sales have also proven to be strong, with many big-box retailers and department stores offering deals online earlier this year.
Black Friday online sales surge 24%
Online sales were up 39.3% on Thanksgiving Day and 24.3% on Black Friday compared to the same days last year, according to IBM's (IBM, Fortune 500) Coremetrics, which tracks real-time data from 500 retailers in the apparel, department store, health and beauty and home goods categories.
"This year marked Thanksgiving's emergence as the first big spending day of the 2011 holiday season with a record number of consumers shifting their focus from turkey to tablets and the search for the best deals," said John Squire, chief strategy officer at IBM's Smarter Commerce division.
Consumers also spent slightly more than they did last year, although they spent most of that money on themselves. According to NPD Group consumers spent about 3% more on purchases during Black Friday. However, about 44% were self purchases up from 33% last year, the research group said.
Pakistan orders Nato and US review after deadly border strike
Pakistan has ordered a review of all co-operation with the US and Nato after the alliance struck a Pakistani army checkpoint, killing at least 24 people.
A committee chaired by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani also decided to cut supply lines to Nato in Afghanistan.
A Nato spokesman admitted it was "highly likely" that Nato aircraft were behind the strike at the Afghan border.
The US has stressed the importance of its relationship and said it fully backed Nato's plan to investigate.
Nato's Brig Gen Carsten Jacobson sent condolences to Pakistan and said the alliance was investigating how the incident occurred.
Ambassador summoned
Mr Gilani called the attack a "grave infringement of Pakistan's sovereignty".
The BBC's Orla Guerin in Islamabad says this could be a very costly mistake by Nato, which relies heavily on the route through Pakistan to supply its personnel involved in the war in Afghanistan.
A meeting of the cabinet's defence committee, convened by Mr Gilani, decided the government would "revisit and undertake a complete review of all programmes, activities and co-operative arrangements with US/Nato/Isaf, including diplomatic, political, military and intelligence".
It "decided to close with immediate effect Nato/Isaf logistics supply lines", according to a statement issued by Mr Gilani's office.
Reports appeared to confirm that Nato traffic was not being allowed through Pakistan's two border crossings with Afghanistan, at Torkham and Chaman.
The committee also said the United States would be asked to vacate, within 15 days, the Shamsi air base, which the US has used to launch drones.
However, our correspondent notes that Pakistan has made a similar demand before and the base may already be empty.
Pakistan's government also summoned the US ambassador.
Late on Saturday, US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton released a statement saying they offered their "deepest condolences for the loss of life and support fully Nato's intention to investigate immediately".
They stressed the "importance of the US-Pakistani partnership, which serves the mutual interests of our people" and pledged to remain in close contact with their Pakistani counterparts, the AFP news agency quoted the statement as saying.
Special forces
The night-time attack took place at the Salala checkpoint, about 1.5 miles (2.5 km) from the Afghan border, at around 02:00 on Saturday morning local time (21:00 GMT Friday).
The Pakistani army said helicopters and fighter aircraft hit two border posts, killing 24 people and leaving 13 injured. Local officials said the two posts were about 300m apart on a mountain top.
Pakistani officials said there had been no militant activity in the area, and most of the Pakistani soldiers were asleep. They also said Nato had the grid references of the posts and therefore should not have fired.
Gen Jacobson said a combined force of Afghan and Nato troops were in the area when "a tactical situation developed on the ground", though he gave no more details.
He said close air support was called in, and "we're aware it's highly likely this caused casualties".
Military sources told the BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Paktika province in Afghanistan that a US-Afghan special forces mission had been in the area, where they believed a Taliban training camp was operating.
They said the mission came under fire from a position within Pakistan, and they received permission from the headquarters of Nato's Isaf mission to fire back.
In a statement, Isaf commander Gen John R Allen said the incident "has my highest personal attention and my commitment to thoroughly investigate it to determine the facts".
"My most sincere and personal heartfelt condolences go out to the families and loved ones of any members of Pakistan Security Forces who may have been killed or injured."
The incident looks set to deal a fresh blow to US-Pakistan relations, which had only just begun to recover following a unilateral US raid that killed Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan in May.
Pakistani troops are involved in fighting the Taliban in the crucial border region area. Hundreds of militants have been resisting attempts by the security forces to clear them from southern and south-eastern parts of the district.
In October, Pakistan's army chief Ashfaq Kayani warned the US against taking unilateral action in nearby North Waziristan.
Washington has for many years urged Islamabad to deal with militants in the area.
Bomb blasts in Baghdad kill at least 15
A series of explosions in and around the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Saturday has killed at least 15 people and wounded more than 20, officials say.
Three bombs exploded in the commercial Bab al-Sharqi district of central Baghdad, killing eight people.
Another two explosions hit a truck carrying construction workers on the road between Baghdad and Falluja.
Violence in Iraq has fallen in recent years, but militants still carry out regular attacks.
"I saw a woman, who was serving tea to customers, lose a leg in one of the explosions," a market vendor near the site of the Bab al-Sharqi blast told the AP news agency.
Fallujah Hospital "received seven bodies and seven wounded" from the truck blast, Dr Omar Delli told the AFP news agency. Two of the wounded later died, he said.
Violence has declined from its peak in 2006-2007, but the attacks have raised concerns over whether the planned withdrawal of US troops will lead to a worsening of the security situation.
The last US troops are due to withdraw from Iraq by the end of 2011.
However, the US and the Iraqi government are in talks over whether to retain a limited American presence into 2012.
BBC
Syria unrest: Arab League drafts economic sanctions
Members of the Arab League have drafted a list of economic sanctions to impose on Syria, after a meeting in Cairo.
The proposals include the halting of dealings with the Syrian central bank, the suspension of commercial flights and a travel ban on senior officials.
Arab ministers are to vote on the proposals on Sunday - the latest move to punish Syria for its continuing brutal crackdown on protesters.
Syria's foreign minister has accused the League of meddling in its affairs.
In a letter to the 22-member organisation, Walid al-Muallem said it was seeking to "internationalise" the conflict.
'Humanitarian corridor'
More than 3,500 people have died since protests against the Syrian government began in March, the UN estimates.
The League threatened Syria with sanctions earlier this month after President Bashar al-Assad repeatedly failed to implement steps to end the violence, including allowing international observers to enter Syria.
The draft document - drawn up by the Arab League's Social and Economic Committee on Saturday and seen by correspondents - requires the support of two thirds of foreign ministers.
It also includes the freezing of all Syrian assets in Arab countries.
The BBC's Jim Muir in neighbouring Lebanon says the guidelines of the sanctions package had already been set by the foreign ministers, so approval is pretty much a foregone conclusion.
Damascus depends on its Arab neighbours for half of its exports and a quarter of its imports, so the sanctions are expected to have some impact.
But our correspondent says Syria can still count on two neighbours - Iraq and Lebanon - not to enforce them fully. Neither country has endorsed the move.
On Saturday, Mr Muallem hit out at the group after it asked the UN to contribute to the proposed observer mission, calling it an invitation "for foreign intervention instead of a call to avoid one".
Soldier burials
Meanwhile, France has suggested creating humanitarian corridors to provide food and medicine to civilians cut off by military operations.
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said the plan fell short of a military intervention but acknowledged that such convoys might need armed protection.
Earlier, Syria buried 22 members of the armed forces, including six elite pilots, killed in various attacks.
Activists say at least 16 civilians were killed on Saturday, most of them in the flashpoint Homs province.
A United Nations human rights panel has expressed alarm at reports it has received of security forces in Syria torturing children.
The Geneva-based UN Committee against Torture says it has received "numerous, consistent and substantiated reports" of widespread abuse in the country.
Reports from Syria are difficult to verify as foreign journalists are unable to move around the country freely.
South Koreans Continue Street Potests Against FTA
At least 2,000 people gathered in South Korea's capital late Saturday to protest parliament's ratification of a free trade agreement with the United States.
Demonstrators in Seoul held lit candles and chanted slogans against the deal which they feel will hurt South Koreans, especially farmers and small retailers. Protesters clashed with police in the city's main square.
Opposition lawmakers joined the rally, denouncing the administration of President Lee Myung- bak and the ruling Grand National Party for pushing the agreement through parliament. Some protesters demanded the president's resignation, accusing him of signing of a deal that favors the United States.
Opponents have staged street protests since lawmakers ratified the free-trade deal Tuesday.
Supporters say the trade agreement will increase South Korean exports and create jobs.
The long-delayed deal was approved last month in Washington after being stalled for four years.
President Lee defended the deal Friday, saying that it was the right thing to do for the country's economic survival. He said lifting trade barriers will create an opportunity to boost South Korea's competitiveness in the U.S. market.
Explosions, Gunfire Reported in Northern Nigeria
Explosions and heavy gunfire were heard Saturday near a police station in northeastern Nigeria, which is home to a radical Muslim sect.
Officials say that gunmen attacked a police station in the city of Geidam in Nigeria's Yobe state, near the country's border with Niger. Witnesses say the attackers also bombed a bank in the area. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Local authorities did not identify suspects in the attack, which is similar to earlier assaults by the radical sect Boko Haram, which seeks to impose strict Islamic law throughout Nigeria. The group has also carried out a wave of bank robberies in the region.
Geidam is the home town of Yobe state governor Ibrahim Geidam.
Boko Haram has taken responsibility for several recent attacks, and for a 2009 uprising in the northeastern city of Maiduguri in which churches and government buildings were attacked. More than 700 people were killed.