WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES. ON TUESDAY – WE WERE TALKING ABOUT WALMART’S STRONG THIRD QUARTER AND ITS SELF-DESCRIBED MOMENTUM HEADING INTO THE HOLIDAY SEASON – TODAY TARGET DELIVERED AN OPPOSING TAKE ON THESE LAST THREE MONTHS OF THE YEAR – WITH CNN SAYING THE RETAILER HAS QUOTE “SOUND THE ALARM ON HOLIDAY SHOPPING.”

TARGET OFFERED DISAPPOINTING QUARTERLY RESULTS WEDNESDAY. AFTER LOWERING PRICES ON THOUSANDS OF ITEMS IN RECENT MONTHS TO LURE SHOPPERS —  IT HAS NOW LOWERED ITS EXPECTATIONS FOR THE YEAR. THIS IS IN CONTRAST TO WALMART WHICH RAISED ITS ANNUAL FORECAST JUST 24 HOURS EARLIER.

TARGET’S MOVE COMES AFTER EARLIER THIS YEAR IT TOO HAD RAISED PROFIT ESTIMATES FOR 20-24 CITING THE SUCCESS OF THOSE PRICE CUTS – BUT WITH OTHER FACTORS IN THE MIX – IT WAS NOT ENOUGH FOR THE RETAILER TO KEEP THAT POSITIVE OUTLOOK.

TARGET EXECS POINTING TO CUSTOMERS STILL WARY OF INFLATION AND COSTS AFFILIATED WITH THE DOCK WORKERS STRIKE IMPACTING THE COMPANY’S PROFITS

COMPARABLE SALES – MEANING RESULTS FROM STORES AND DIGITAL CHANNELS OPERATING AT LEAST 12 MONTHS – ROSE POINT THREE PERCENT (0.3%) – WHICH WAS BELOW ANALYSTS’ EXPECTATIONS OF 1 POINT 5 PERCENT.

DESPITE THE LACKLUSTER NUMBERS, CEO BRIAN CORNELL SAYS THE COMPANY REMAINS FOCUSED ON ITS HOLIDAY MERCHANDISING AND MARKETING PLANS.

[BRIAN CORNELL | TARGET CEO]

“And while we’re really excited about them, we’re also focused on controlling what we can control and planning the business cautiously given the volatility we’ve been seeing. While we aren’t happy about the reduction in our outlook for the remainder of the year, we believe we’re managing our business appropriately and we’re helping the team stay agile and ready to respond if we see our business accelerate.”

WHILE TARGET IS LOOKING TO HIT THE MARK HEADING INTO 20-25 – WALMART IS RIDING HIGH WITH THIRD-QUARTER SALES AT STORES OPEN FOR AT LEAST A YEAR GROWING BY 5 POINT 3 PERCENT COMPARED TO LAST YEAR.

TARGET IS HOPING FOR SOME OF THAT MOMENTUM AS IT ADDS MORE SUBSCRIBERS TO ITS TARGET 360 MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM AND CONTINUES TO SLASH PRICES – INCLUDING ON HOLIDAY ITEMS —  LIKE ITS 20 DOLLAR THANKSGIVING MEAL BUNDLE FOR FOUR PEOPLE – WHICH IS 5 DOLLARS CHEAPER THAN LAST YEAR.

TARGET ANTICIPATING SHOPPERS WILL BE HUNGRY FOR MORE SAVINGS THIS HOLIDAY SEASON.

FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS, I’M JACK AYLMER.

FOR MORE OF OUR STORIES – DOWNLOAD THE STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS APP.

[Karah Rucker]

HAVE YOU EVER TRIED LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO WATCH ON TV… ONLY TO FIND YOURSELF SCROLLING…. AND SCROLLING? AND SO YOU PICK UP YOUR PHONE AND START SCROLLING… AND SCROLLING. AND AT THE END OF IT ALL… YOU JUST FEEL KIND OF BORED?

WELL… ACCORDING TO A NEW STUDY… YOU’RE NOT ALONE. IN FACT… YOU MAY BE EXPERIENCING PART OF AN ONGOING BOREDOM EPIDEMIC SWEEPING THE GLOBE.

RECENT DATA PUBLISHED IN COMMUNICATIONS PSYCHOLOGY FOUND THAT THE AMOUNT OF TIME PEOPLE SPEND FEELING BORED HAS INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY OVER THE LAST 15 YEARS. ONE EXPERIMENT TRACKED 100-THOUSAND ADOLESCENTS FOR NEARLY 10 YEARS. IN THE U.S… THE TREND HAS BEEN SLOWLY CLIMBING SINCE 2011, WITH THE ISSUE BEING MORE PRONOUNCED AMONG GIRLS. 

AND IT’S NOT JUST KIDS IN AMERICA. ANOTHER STUDY IN CHINA SHOWED A 14-PERCENT INCREASE IN BOREDOM LEVELS WITH COLLEGE STUDENTS BETWEEN 2009 AND 2020.

SO WHAT’S CAUSING THIS? THE STUDY POINTS TO THE ABUNDANCE OF DIGITAL MEDIA IN OUR MODERN LIVES.

RESEARCHERS BELIEVE SOCIAL MEDIA AND SMARTPHONES ARE CREATING A PARADOX. ON ONE HAND, THEY PROVIDE CONSTANT STIMULATION. BUT ON THE OTHER, THIS OVERSTIMULATION SETS THE BAR SO HIGH THAT TRADITIONAL, LOWER-ENERGY ACTIVITIES LIKE READING OR EVEN FACE-TO-FACE CONVERSATIONS CAN FEEL UNINTERESTING. 

STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT FREQUENT INTERRUPTIONS CAN DECREASE SATISFACTION AND THE ABILITY TO ENGAGE IN A TASK… AND HAVING A SMARTPHONE NEARBY CAUSES LESS ATTENTION IN FACE-TO-FACE SOCIAL INTERACTIONS.

SO… WHAT’S THE SOLUTION? 

EXPERTS SUGGEST THAT EMBRACING BOREDOM MIGHT ACTUALLY BE THE KEY. THE STUDY ENDS WITH THE QUOTE, “IN THIS DIGITAL AGE, LEARNING TO NAVIGATE MUNDANE MOMENTS IS MORE CRITICAL THAN EVER.” SO IF THERE’S A BOOK YOU’VE BEEN WANTING TO CRACK OPEN FOR A WHILE… NOW MIGHT BE THE BEST TIME.

FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS… I’M KARAH RUCKER.

FOR MORE UNBIASED UPDATES AND STRAIGHT FACTS… DOWNLOAD THE STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS APP OR VISIT SAN DOT COM.

[JACK AYLMER]

MICROSOFT UNVEILED A NEW TEAMS A-I INTERPRETER TUESDAY THAT CAN REPLICATE YOUR VOICE IN NEAR-REAL-TIME IN NINE DIFFERENT LANGUAGES.

THE FEATURE IS CURRENTLY BEING TESTED BY A SELECT GROUP OF USERS AND WILL EXPAND TO MORE CUSTOMERS WITH A MICROSOFT 365 COPILOT LICENSE NEXT YEAR.

THE COMPANY TOUTS IT AS LESS EXPENSIVE WAY TO HAVE INTERNATIONAL PHONE CALLS WITHOUT THE EXPENSE OF A HUMAN TRANSLATOR.

HOWEVER, IT’S NOT QUITE PERFECT YET. MICROSOFT ADMITS, THE TEAMS A-I INTERPRETER MAY NOT BE 100 PERCENT ACCURATE.

CRITICS SAY THAT’S NOT THEIR BIGGEST CONCERN.

FEARING THE A-I TECH COULD OPEN A PANDORA’S BOX OF FRAUDSTERS.

SECURITY ANALYSTS WARN OF POTENTIAL HACKERS USING THE TECHNOLOGY.

NOTING AUDIO DEEPFAKES ARE ALREADY A PROBLEM AND IMPERSONATION SCAMS REPORTEDLY COST AMERICANS MORE THAN ONE BILLION DOLLARS LAST YEAR.

THIS YEAR, SCAMMERS USED DEEPFAKE TECH TO SETUP A FAKE TEAMS VIDEO CONFERENCE CALL AND STEAL 25 MILLION DOLLARS FROM A MULTINATIONAL FINANCE FIRM.

AN ANONYMOUS THREAT ANALYST GROUP IS ALREADY SKEPTICAL OF MICROSOFT’S NEW TECH.

POSTING ON X:

“EVER BE NORTH KOREAN BUT WANT TO SOUND AMERICAN? IT’S NOW POSSIBLE.

AND THEIR CONCERNS MAY NOT JUST BE TALK.

A RECENT REPORT BY SECUREWORKS WARNED OF NORTH KOREAN HACKERS APPLYING FOR I-T JOBS AT COMPANIES ACROSS THE U-S, U-K AND AUSTRALIA, IN AN ATTEMPT TO STEAL COMPANY SECRETS.

CYBERSECURITY EXPERTS URGE COMPANIES AND ORGANIZATIONS WORRIED ABOUT IMPERSONATION SCAMS TO OPT OUT OF THE FEATURE AND USE THE GENERIC VOICE SIMULATOR OPTION INSTEAD.

FOR MORE ON THIS STORY– DOWNLOAD THE STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS APP OR VISIT SAN DOT COM.

FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS– I’M JACK AYLMER.

PLENTY OF PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES THREATENED TO LEAVE THE COUNTRY IF DONALD TRUMP WON A SECOND PRESIDENCY.

WELL, HE HAS – AND HOW ONE ITALIAN VILLAGE IS INVITING AMERICANS TO PUT THEIR MONEY WHERE THEIR MOUTH IS… EVEN IF IT’S NOT MUCH.

THE RURAL VILLAGE OF OLLOLI (OH-lo-LIE) ON THE ISLAND OF SARDINIA IS OFFERING HOMES TO AMERICANS STARTING AT ONLY ONE EURO.

THAT’S A DOLLAR AND SIX CENTS TO US.

THE TOWN’S MAYOR TOLD C-N-N THEY’VE BEEN LOOKING TO BOOST THEIR POPULATION… AND IN THE WAKE OF THE MOST RECENT U-S ELECTION – IT LAUNCHED A WEBSITE SPECIFICALLY CREATED TO DRAW IN WOULD-BE AMERICAN EX-PATS.

THE MAYOR ALSO SAID HE’S SET UP A SPECIAL TEAM TO GUIDE INTERESTED BUYERS THROUGH EVERY STEP OF THE PURCHASE – FROM ORGANIZING TAILORED PRIVATE TOURS OF THE AVAILABLE HOMES TO FINDING CONTRACTORS AND BUILDERS AND NAVIGATING REQUIRED PAPERWORK.

YOU CAN FIND A LINK TO MORE DETAILS INSIDE THIS STORY ON THE STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS APP RIGHT NOW.

THE CARMAKER “JAGUAR” ROLLED OUT A RE-BRAND THIS WEEK COMPLETE WITH A NEW LOGO. 

THE NEW LOOK CAME WITH A COLORFUL PROMOTIONAL VIDEO TO INTRODUCE THEIR NEW IMAGE ALONG WITH THE TAG-LINE: COPY NOTHING.

THE BOLD NEW DIRECTION IS GENERATING A LOT OF REACTION – MANY ONLINE CRITICAL OF THE MOVE.  

THE REBRAND IS IN PART AN EFFORT FOR THE AUTOMAKER TO REPOSITION ITSELF AS AN ULTRA-LUXURY EV BRAND. BUT IN THE NEW AD- 

THERE ARE NO CARS IN SIGHT.

TESLA CEO ELON MUSK RESPONDED TO JAGUAR’S POST ASKING “DO YOU SELL CARS?”

THE USE OF ANDROGYNOUS MODELS INSTEAD OF CARS HAS LED TO CRITICISM FROM CONSERVATIVE USERS ON X, WHO COMPARED THE COMPANY TO BUD LIGHT, AND THE BEER BRAND’S TIE-IN WITH TRANS-GENDER INFLUENCER DYLAN MULVANEY.

JAGUAR SALES HAVE BEEN ON THE DECLINE IN THE U.S.

THE BRITISH CAR BRAND TEMPORARILY STOPPED SELLING ITS CARS IN THE U.K. THIS YEAR AND STOPPED PRODUCTION OF ALL THEIR EXISTING CAR MODELS.

JAGUAR SAYS IT PLANS TO DEVELOP A NEW SLATE OF ALL-ELECTRIC CARS, BUT HAS NO EXACT TIME-TABLE ON WHEN THOSE WILL HIT THE MARKET. WITH REPORTS THAT IT WILL STILL BE AT LEAST TWO YEARS BEFORE NEW CARS REACH CUSTOMERS.

FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS, I’M JACK AYLMER.

AND DON’T FORGET TO DOWNLOAD THE STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS APP TO FOLLOW ALL THE LATEST BIG STORIES.