More than 8 million consumers stopped using credit cards over the past year. The decline stems from a combination of consumer choices and bank actions. An analysis by credit reporting agency TransUnion found that use of general purpose credit cards bearing MasterCard or Visa logos, or issued by Discover or American Express, fell more than 11 percent in the third quarter, compared with the July to September period last year. About 62 million people now have an active card, compared with 70 million a year ago. Many people may have shifted to using debit cards.
WA unemployment checks delayed 2 days
A massive computer programming project is putting a slight delay on some unemployment checks in Washington. The computer work is needed because federal emergency unemployment benefits are ending. State officials scheduled it over Thanksgiving weekend to get plenty of time, but the task was so big that it’s expected to last through Tuesday. The Employment Security Department expects to resume processing weekly unemployment claims again on Wednesday. Washington’s latest unemployment report pegs the state jobless rate at 9.1 percent. More than 300,000 people were unemployed and looking for work last month, and more than 223,000 people were getting unemployment benefits.
Report: Sales flat for holiday weekend
A research firm says major stores took in about the same amount of money Friday, Saturday and Sunday that they did Thanksgiving weekend last year, even though more shoppers came out. ShopperTrak, which is based in Chicago, said Monday that customer traffic rose 2.8 percent, making up for a 1.1 percent decline in 2009, but shoppers were focused on deals. The firm expects holiday sales overall to rise 3.2 percent. Sales for the weekend totaled $20.48 billion, compared with $20.49 in 2009, which was 1.6 percent more than in 2008. Revenue edged up 0.3 percent for Friday, fell 0.9 percent for Saturday and rose 0.5 percent for Sunday compared with 2009.
Kraft seeks arbitration in Starbucks feud
Kraft Foods said Monday that it has launched an arbitration proceeding against Starbucks Corp., which earlier this month said it wants to end its supermarket distribution deal with Kraft. Kraft seeks the fair-market value of the business it has helped develop with Starbucks over the past 12 years, plus up to a 35 percent premium. The business has grown to $500 million in annual sales from $50 million in 1998. r now, Kraft continues to distribute Starbucks bagged coffee, as well as the company’s Seattle’s Best coffee brand, to food retailers. StFoarbucks, seeking fresh sales growth outside its network of 16,850-plus coffee shops worldwide, is looking to take full control of its coffee and bottled-beverage products in supermarkets.
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