November 2014

Black Friday became the official kickoff to the holiday shopping season throughout the first decade of the new millennium.  The volume of business conducted on Black Friday became so immense that retailers began launching the sales earlier on Thanksgiving.

However, there are dozens of petitions circling the web demanding that retailers remain closed on Thanksgiving.  Protestors have created Facebook pages that are labeled with headlines like “Boycott Black Thursday” to prevent Thanksgiving retail hours.

The city of Detroit made history in the summer of 2013 after becoming the largest US municipality to seek bankruptcy protection.  In October, officials announced a plan for the city to emerge from bankruptcy protection, but many factors could restrain Detroit’s return to prosperity.

One of the concerns is the city’s very expensive auto insurance rates, which are reported as among the highest in any major US city.  Residents reported to local reporters that they were being quoted rates between $200 and $450 per month, potentially exceeding $5,000 annually.

The mobile payment industry is still in its infant stages compared to traditional credit or debit card payments.  But the successful launch of Apple Pay in October reignited interest in mobile payment technology, and analysts are expecting many shoppers to use Apple or the Google Wallet as their preferred method of payment this holiday season.

Winter has swept through many regions across the country over the past week.  The city of Buffalo in upstate New York bore the brunt of the early winter, but winter weariness is quickly giving way to concerns regarding widespread flooding.

Heavy snow battered the Greater Buffalo Area for three days, accumulating near record amounts of snow.  Meteorologists estimate that over 6 feet of snow fell near Orchard Park, home of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, and over 7 feet of snow was recorded near Wales Park on the southeast outskirts of Buffalo.