1. US Retail Giant Files for Bankruptcy
It’s official. The store that most of us grew up in, pining over the Christmas catalog and circling in red which toys and clothes we’d like for the upcoming holidays, is filing for bankruptcy. US retail giant Sears filed for bankruptcy this morning after years of struggling financially and pulling out empty pockets for a due $134M debt payment. USA Today compared Sears to the current day Amazon: “Like Amazon, Sears used its retailing strength to expand into related industries. It launched its own merchandise brands, such as Kenmore and DieHard, created Allstate Insurance, and even ventured into the stock brokerage and real estate brokerage businesses. At one time, it owned and occupied the tallest building in America, the Sears Tower in Chicago.” At one time, Sears was even the largest retailer and employer, reshaping America by contributing to its suburbanization. Hearts are heavy for this loss, but our Sears family portraits will unfortunately remain.
2. Venmo Adds a Transfer Fee
The popular money transfer app of our time, Venmo, is adding a 1% transfer fee to all quick transfers. Instant transfers quickly move an individual’s balance to their bank account within half an hour via a debit card. So, we recommend switching to the free, standard transfer, a typical 2-3 day window for funds to show up in your account. Curious how many people didn’t know there was anything but an instant transfer and if other money transfer apps will soon pop up. Make sure to switch your settings before Nov. 6th. Go here to learn how.
(Source: CNET, TechCrunch)
3. Lime Gets Defensive
San Francisco-based scooter startup, Lime, is pulling all brakes to incoming competitors in The Golden City. Lime slapped a restraining order against San Francisco after the city denied Lime a permit to scoot in their city. San Fran decided to give the permits to newbie scooter companies, Scoot and Skip, instead. The pilot program gave favor to the two startups as they waited instead of rolling their scooters all across town before a decision was made. *Cough* Lime *Cough*. John Coté, communications director for the city attorney, said, “Lime appears to be playing games. It had weeks to resolve this and instead chose a last-minute motion in an effort to shut down the entire scooter program. Lime fails to admit that its application simply didn’t match those of its competitors.” We’ve got a long way to roll.
(Source: Axios, TechCrunch)
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