Behind Amazon’s HQ2 Fiasco: Jeff Bezos Was Jealous of Elon Musk at Bloomberg. “When Elon Musk secured $1.3 billion from Nevada in 2014 to open a gigantic battery plant, Jeff Bezos noticed. In meetings, the Amazon.com Inc. chief expressed envy for how Musk had pitted five Western states against one another in a bidding war for thousands of manufacturing jobs; he wondered why Amazon was okay with accepting comparatively trifling incentives. It was a theme Bezos returned to often, according to four people privy to his thinking.” Tiered subs.

 

US manufacturing activity rebounds in January at CNBC. “U.S. factory activity unexpectedly rebounded in January after contracting for five straight months amid a surge in new orders…The improvement in the ISM data likely reflects ebbing trade tensions between the United States and China.” Read more

 

US construction spending dips 0.2% in December at AP. “The Commerce Department said Monday that the decline was the first monthly drop since a 0.9% fall in June…The fall-off reflects weakness in nonresidential construction, which fell 1.8%…Home building rose a solid 1.4%.” Read more

 

Forever 21 enters deal to sell for $81 million at CNN. “As part of the deal, the struggling fast-fashion retailer would be sold to a consortium made up of mall operators Simon Property Group and Brookfield Properties and brand management firm Authentic Brands Group…Other potential buyers have until February 7 to place bids for the company.” Read more

 

J.C. Penney in danger of being booted from New York Stock Exchange at Fox Business. “…it’s no longer in compliance with (NYSE) listing criteria. Shares are required to maintain an average closing price of at least $1 over a 30-trading day period. The company has six months to regain compliance…J.C. Penney shares have plunged more than 93 percent since March 2016.” Read more

 

Target and Walmart gain (a little) ground in the e-commerce war with Amazon at Fortune. “To better understand who is winning and losing in the e-commerce war, Fortune-SurveyMonkey polled* almost 2,600 Americans between January 4-7…The good news for Walmart and Target is that Amazon Prime members actually bought from them online at a higher rate than people who aren’t Prime members during the 2019 holiday shopping season.” Read more

 

**A message from Sweets & Snacks Expo. Save the date: May 19-21, 2020 at McCormick Place in Chicago. Your year starts here. Website/Register

 

Amazon now has 798,000 employees, up 23% from last year at GeekWire. “Amazon added 48,000 employees over the last three months alone…Amazon is the second-largest employer in the U.S., behind only Walmart.” Read more

 

Payments giant Worldline to buy rival Ingenico in $8.6 billion deal at CNBC. Read more

 

Apple Offering Onsite Device Repairs in Select Cities at MacRumors. “Onsite repairs from Go Tech Services appear to be available in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Houston, and Dallas.” Read more

 

Amazon’s Echo Show can now scan barcodes to flesh out your shopping list at The Verge. Read more

 

Target looks like it could be loser in Casper IPO at CNBC. “At the midpoint of its $17–$19 initial public offering range, the pricing would represent a 37% decline from Casper’s share price at the time Target became an investor in the start-up’s Series C fundraising in 2017. Target also holds $80 million in equity.” Read more

 

Walmart worker takes the temperature of a customer at the entrance of a store in Wuhan at AP. Pic

 

Apple temporarily closes all 42 stores in China until February 9th as coronavirus spreads at CNN. Read more

 

Avocado crime soars as Mexican gangs hijack truckloads of ‘green gold’ heading north at Financial Times via Financial Post. “The rise in avocado-related crime has turned parts of the state into no-go areas even for the police. “We’ve tried to work with the government [to combat crime] but even they are afraid in some areas and don’t dare go in,” said Juan, whose family has two farms near Uruapan, the city at the centre of the state’s avocado production.” Read more

 

Jeff Bezos sued by girlfriend’s brother for defamation at Fox Business. Read more

 

Jeep, Bill Murray win USA TODAY’s Ad Meter with ‘Groundhog Day’ commercial “Part of the mystique of Bill Murray is the fact that he is nearly impossible to contact…”He doesn’t have a phone, doesn’t have an agent, doesn’t have an email,” Fiat Chrysler Automobiles chief marketing officer Olivier Francois told USA TODAY Sports…”He allegedly has an 800 number. You leave a message and maybe he’ll call you back.” Read more

 

Tipsheet Extra

Amazon quietly publishes its latest transparency report

How HBO’s ‘McMillions’ got the story of McDonald’s Monopoly game conspiracy

This new H&M dress is made from wood and recycled jeans

Shaq covers family’s Best Buy purchase after they express Kobe condolences

Walmart’s Super Bowl ad ironically highlights the biggest trends retailers missed

Jeff Bezos cozies up to Lizzo at Super Bowl

Read Tipsheet Extra Stories

 

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