Drugmakers rush to test whether vaccines stop coronavirus variant at Reuters. “Ugur Sahin, chief executive of Germany’s BioNTech…said on Tuesday he needs another two weeks to know if his shot can stop the mutant variant of the virus.” Read more

 

Q3 gross domestic product increased 33.4% at Fox News. “A bump of 0.3 percentage points from the second estimate and ahead of the 33.1% that analysts surveyed by Refinitiv were expecting.” Read more

 

Britain tells shoppers food is plentiful but supermarkets fret about next week at Reuters. “Interior minister Priti Patel said Britons should not be concerned despite Tesco and Sainsbury’s, Britain’s two biggest supermarket groups, raising the alarm on Monday that gaps could start to appear on fruit and vegetable shelves within days. Freight from France is being disrupted as part of a wider suspension of travel links with Britain to try to curb a new faster-spreading strain of COVID-19.” Read more

 

…UK strives to end French ban on trucks at AP. “Given that around 10,000 trucks pass through the Dover every day, accounting for about 20% of the country’s trade in goods, retailers are getting increasingly concerned if there is no resolution soon.” Read more

 

Container Store Group, Inc. names Satish Malhotra next CEO “Will succeed Melissa Reiff as CEO and President on February 1, 2021…Malhotra most recently served as the Chief Retail and Operating Officer for Sephora.” Press release

 

Shopper traffic to stores on the final Saturday before Christmas dropped 40.9% from a year ago, according to RetailNext at CNBC. “That wasn’t as steep of a decline as Black Friday, when traffic fell 48%.” Read more

 

Hiring Frenzy for Pharmacists as Covid-19 Vaccines Roll Out at Wall Street Journal. “The job market for pharmacists has been bleak for years…“I’m not really interested in going back just to give shots,” said Michael West, a pharmacist who was laid off with a severance package in July from Walgreens in North Carolina. Pharmacies “made these cuts and now they’re begging for people to come back,” he said.” WSJ subs.

 

Apple targets car production by 2024 and eyes ‘next level’ battery technology at Reuters. “Central to Apple’s strategy is a new battery design that could “radically” reduce the cost of batteries and increase the vehicle’s range, according to a third person who has seen Apple’s battery design.” Read more

 

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Walmart, Thrive launch health and behavior program at Talk Business. “Walmart and Thrive created Thrive ZP, which includes the Thrive ZP Challenge and the Thrive ZP Stars program. The 21-day challenge has been relaunched with an expanded prize pool of $1 million per year.” Read more

 

Hugh Jackman Beats Ryan Reynolds in Sam’s Club Contest at Comicbook. Read more

 

Companies Have Promised $35 Billion Toward Racial Equity. Where Is the Money Going? at The Wall Street Journal. “At Walmart, CEO Doug McMillon said he has identified a team of seven people, including himself, to track and report on progress on the company’s racial equity and diversity initiatives.” WSJ subs.

 

Barnes & Noble Education shares spike on investment from Fanatics, Lids at NY Post. “Billionaire Fanatics owner Michael Rubin, who is also a co-owner of the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils, said Fanatics will take the lead on running the college bookstores e-commerce business while Lids will lend its merchandising expertise to the partnership.” Read more

 

Costco is selling an autographed Ty Cobb baseball bat for $160,000 at M Live. Pic/Read more

 

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