Tag Archives: business

Five Stars: Amazon Takes Down Review Scammers

The Verge reports: Amazon’s top reviewers in the UK appear to have engaged in fraud, leaving thousands of five-star ratings in exchange for money or free products. The company took down 20,000 product reviews following an investigation by the Financial Times. Scams like these typically start on social networks and messaging apps such as Telegram, where companies can meet potential …

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Hedge Fund Founder Charged In Neiman Bankruptcy

Just in from Justice Department: Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and William F. Sweeney Jr., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today that DANIEL KAMENSKY, the founder and manager of New York-based hedge fund Marble Ridge Capital (“Marble Ridge”), was …

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Old Navy To Pay Employees To Serve As Poll Workers

Business Insider reports: With Election Day on the horizon, many companies are giving their employees the day off to vote. But Old Navy is taking a different approach to get employees involved in the democratic process. The retailer announced on Tuesday that it will pay store employees for eight hours who serve as poll workers for the 2020 election. The …

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Alabama Health Department Allows Buffets To Reopen

The Birmingham News reports: On Page 11 of the state’s revised “Safer at Home” Health Order that was issued on Tuesday is a tiny nugget that will make buffet fans – but especially, their owners — rejoice: Effective 5 p.m. Monday, all buffets, salad bars and self-serve drink stations are OK to reopen as long as there is an employee …

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Payless To Relaunch With Hundreds Of Stores [VIDEO]

USA Today reports: Payless is back in time for the new school year with a new website, a new name and plans for hundreds of bricks-and-mortar stores. After emerging from bankruptcy for the second time in January 2020 and shuttering its remaining U.S. stores in June 2019, the footwear retailer’s new website is live at Payless.com. The company announced in …

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AMC Theaters To Begin Staggered Opening Next Week

The Verge reports: AMC Theaters has detailed its plans to reopen movie theaters throughout the US, in addition to a new deadline for its MoviePass-style A-List subscription, in an email sent to customers on Wednesday. Starting August 20th, AMC plans to have more than 100 theaters open, and it says it will continue opening locations “such that about two-thirds of …

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Massive Donation By Kodak Exec Spurs More Questions

Mother Jones reports: In late July, a wild chain of events occurred when the Trump administration decided to give Eastman Kodak, the film giant that went bankrupt in 2012, an unprecedented $765 million government loan through the Defense Production Act. The agreement was officially announced on July 28, but the previous day, the price of Kodak’s stock began to surge, …

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McDonald’s Sues Ex-CEO, Alleges Lying About Affairs

CNBC reports: McDonald’s is suing its former CEO Steve Easterbrook for allegedly lying during the company’s internal probe into his behavior. The fast-food chain’s board announced in November that it had terminated Easterbrook for having a consensual relationship with an employee and tapped Chris Kempczinski as his successor. A probe allegedly revealed that Easterbrook lied to the company and destroyed …

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Amazon Eyes Empty Mall Spaces As Fulfillment Centers

The Verge reports: Amazon has had talks with Simon Property Group about converting some of its mall spaces into fulfillment centers. The conversations started before the coronavirus pandemic, and before the latest wave of bankruptcy filings by mall stalwarts like Lord & Taylor, JCPenney, and Nieman Marcus. It’s a bit of an on-the-nose example of how e-commerce is overtaking the …

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SEC Investigates Kodak Over Stock Surge After Loan

The Wall Street Journal reports: The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the circumstances around Eastman Kodak Co.’s  announcement of a $765 million government loan to make drugs at its U.S. factories, according to people familiar with the matter. News of the loan last week caused Kodak’s shares to rise as high as $60, before falling to about $15 on …

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Investors Rush To Online Car Sellers Due To Lockdown

Reuters reports: After years of being part of a future that never quite arrived, the coronavirus pandemic has put U.S. online car sellers on the map. Investors are buying in. Vroom’s shares are now trading at more than double their $22 launch price on June 8. Carvana’s market value is near that of No. 2 U.S. automaker Ford Motor Co. …

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Lord & Taylor, Men’s Wearhouse Declare Bankruptcy

CNBC reports: Lord & Taylor, one of America’s oldest department stores, has filed for bankruptcy, joining a growing list of stores slammed by the coronavirus pandemic. Tailored Brands, the parent company of Men’s Wearhouse and Jos. A. Banks, filed for bankruptcy as well. Many of the companies that have filed for Chapter 11 in recent weeks were already struggling, but …

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US Mint: Please Use Coins When Making Purchases

Via press release from the US Mint: Simply put, there is an adequate amount of coins in the economy, but the slowed pace of circulation has meant that sufficient quantities of coins are sometimes not readily available where needed. You may be experiencing this in your local communities. We are asking for your help in improving this coin supply issue. …

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Dunkin’ Donuts To Require All Customers Wear Masks

Via press release from Dunkin’ Donuts: From the beginning of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, our priority has been on the safety of our guests, franchisees and their restaurant crew. To help bring consistency to Dunkin’ locations across the country, we will now require that all guests wear a face covering while inside our restaurants beginning Wednesday, August 5. At Dunkin’, …

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Coalition Of Airlines, Retailers, Restaurants, Hospitals Call On Lawmakers For Coronavirus Liability Protections

The Hill reports: Around 480 business groups have teamed up to call on lawmakers to provide liability protections for businesses against coronavirus-related lawsuits in Congress’ next relief package. The coalition, led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, includes the National Association of Manufacturers, Airlines for America, National Restaurant Association, Federation of American Hospitals and the National Retail Federation. They sent …

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Apple To Re-Close Stores In Seven More States

Reuters reports: Apple said it would re-close more than two dozen stores in seven states starting Thursday, including its home state of California, bringing total closures to 77 as coronavirus cases continue to rise. The stores will close in Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada and Oklahoma, it said on Wednesday, when additional stores had already closed in Florida, Mississippi, Texas …

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SCOTUS: Generic Dot-Com Names Deserve Trademarks

Courthouse News reports: The Supreme Court ruled 8-1 Tuesday that companies with “.com” in their names are eligible for federal trademark protection, even if their monikers are otherwise generic. “The appellate court also rejected the PTO’s contention that, as a rule, combining a generic term like ‘booking’ with ‘.com’ yields a generic composite,” Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote for the …

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Plexiglass Becomes The Latest Hot COVID Commodity

Bloomberg BusinessWeek reports: Orders are pouring in from retailers, offices, hospitals, and public transport companies, which are eager to get their hands on protective shields to separate employees from a coughing and sneezing public spreading the coronavirus. Like face masks and disinfectant, Plexiglas became omnipresent almost overnight, a translucent guard between cashiers, bus drivers, and receptionists on one side and …

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Segway Ends Production Of Its Namesake Vehicle

USA Today reports: Segway, which boldly claimed its two-wheeled personal transporter would revolutionize the way people get around, is ending production of its namesake vehicle. The Segway PT, popular with tourists and police officers but perhaps better known for its high-profile crashes, will be retired on July 15, the company said in a statement. The transportation revolution that inventor Dean …

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Apple To Re-Close Stores In Four States Amid Spikes

CNBC reports: A total of 11 Apple stores will close in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Arizona starting on Saturday. Customers who have products in those stores for repair will have the weekend to get their devices back, Apple said. All of the stores had been re-opened since Apple initially closed them in March. “Due to current Covid-19 conditions …

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