"Target's Payment Security Firm 'Sloppy' " by Jennifer Bjorhus at Star-Tribune.  "Trustwave Holdings gave Target Corp. the green light on payment card security last September, just weeks before malware installed on the retailer’s networks began sucking up customer information in a mega data heist.  It’s a rough position for a company that built its brand reputation selling payment compliance and security to some of the country’s largest corporations.  But it’s not the first time Trustwave’s been there." Read more   "Report:  Pinterest Drives 10.9% of Its Traffic to Retailers' Sites" by Krystina Gustafson at CNBC.  "Pinterest, which at four [...]

  "Costco:  Peanut Butter from Bankrupt Vendor "not merchantable", 950,000 Jars sent to Landfill" by Jeri Clausing at ABC News.  "After extensive testing, Costco agreed to a court order authorizing the trustee to sell it the peanut butter. But after getting eight loads, Costco rejected it as "not merchantable" because of leaky peanut oil...instead of selling or donating the peanut butter, with a value estimated at $2.6 million, the estate is paying about $60,000 to haul the 950,000 jars of nut butter — or about 25 tons — to the Curry County landfill in Clovis, where public works director Clint [...]

  "Senators Criticize Target on Handling of Breach" by Jim Spencer and Jennifer Bjorhus at Star-Tribune.  "The three-hour hearing was Target’s third trip to Capitol Hill to explain how it got hacked. But Wednesday’s hearing was the first where members of Congress took the company to task for what they considered mistakes."  Read more   Senators Needle Target in Hearing: Senator Rockefeller: Target “fell far short”, "At some point, the CEO and board of directors have to take responsibility." Senator Blumenthal:  “The best technology in the world is useless without good management.”   "Wal-Mart Says Bribe Probe Cost $439 Million in [...]

  "Target CFO back at Capitol Hill Today; Senate Report Unflattering" by Doina Chiacu at Reuters via Chicago Tribune.  "Target Corp missed multiple opportunities to thwart the hackers responsible for the unprecedented holiday shopping season data breach, U.S. Senate staffers charged in a committee report released on Tuesday..."This analysis suggests that Target missed a number of opportunities along the kill chain to stop the attackers and prevent the massive data breach," according to the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee report."  Read more   "Target Re-examining Missed Warnings by Data Security Team" by Paul Ziobro at WSJ.  "With the benefit of [...]

  "Walgreen's:  Q2 Front-End Same-Store Sales +2%; Traffic -1.4%"  "Second quarter sales increased 5.1 percent from the prior-year quarter to a record $19.6 billion, while first half sales increased 5.5 percent to $37.9 billion. Front-end comparable store sales  increased 2.0 percent in the second quarter, customer traffic in comparable stores decreased 1.4 percent and basket size increased 3.4 percent, while total sales in comparable stores increased 4.3 percent.  Read the release   "NSA Leaker Snowden Slams Amazon" at Seattle Times.   "Snowden said he didn’t mean to “single out” Amazon, but then proceeded to do so.“The world’s library is Amazon.com, [...]

  "Target Breach:  Coming to a Theatre Near You" by Jennifer Bjorhus at Star-Tribune.  "Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. confirmed Friday that it is working on a movie based on the security blogger who exposed Target Corp.’s monster data security breach.  No production date has been set, a Sony spokeswoman said, but the cyberthriller will be penned by Richard Wenk, a writer and director whose credits include “The Expendables 2” and “The Mechanic.” He also wrote “The Equalizer,” a not-yet-released movie that has Denzel Washington playing a former black ops commando."  Read more   "Interview with Target Canada President Tony Fisher" [...]

  "Target Canada to open downtown anchor store in 2016" by Francine Kopun at Toronto Star.  "Unlike urban City Target stores in the U.S., it will not be a smaller store with fewer items, but a large location providing discount department store shopping to the tens of thousands of waterfront residents whose closest option today is the Eaton Centre. "It will be one of our largest stores in the entire country,” said Target Canada chief executive officer Tony Fisher, pointing out that the new store will also be easily accessible from the Financial District."  Read more   "Top Ten (and [...]

  "Walmart Testing New Ad Match Program Called 'Savings Catcher' " from ISI Retail Summit.  How it works:  Consumer buys products, enters receipt code online, Walmart looks at ad prices in the area, if there is a lower price Walmart gives a credit to consumer on a Walmart gift card.  Currently being tested in seven cities: Charlotte, Lexington, Atlanta, Minneapolis, San Diego, Dallas, Huntsville. Walmart's Duncan Mac Naughton,  Highlights from Summit: * Walmart has a 41% - 42% share of Bud Light's two new Lime-A-Rita brands (Mango & Rasberry).  A $100 Mil Business across all four sku's. *  Launching an [...]