The Verge
Broadcaster and naturalist David Attenborough’s debut on Instagram last week landed him the Guinness World Record for the fastest time to reach 1 million followers. It only took 4 hours and 44 minutes to obliterate the record previously held by Jennifer Aniston. Since then, his followers have more than quadrupled. “I’m making this move and exploring this new way of communication to me because, as we all know, the world is in trouble,” 94-year-old Attenborough said in his first-ever Instagram video. “Continents are on fire. Glaciers are melting. Coral reefs are dying. Fish are disappearing from our oceans. The list …
Detroit Free Press
Reservations for the Ford Bronco exceeded 165,000 in August, and the automaker is declining to give an update on how soon people will be able to get their hands on the super-hot vehicle. In mid-October, Ford will allow reservation-holders to custom-design their vehicle. Official orders will need to be placed by the end of January 2021, and at that point buyers will select their dealer of choice. “While Ford will do its best to fill as many orders as possible in 2021, some customers may end up getting them in 2022,” according to the Detroit Free Press.
The Wall Street Journal
JPMorgan Chase & Co. will pay $920 million -- the largest fine ever imposed for spoofing, a type of market manipulation, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The company admitted misconduct "tied to
manipulation of precious-metals and Treasury markets," reported
The Wall Street Journal.
Fast Company
In a year when retailers and clothing companies are suffering mightily, American Eagle Outfitters is holding fast. Its Aerie brand posted "a 32% rise in revenue and is on track to open 70 new stores this year," according to Fast Company. "How did AEO become one of the last successful mall brands in America? The answer seems to be the company’s single-minded commitment to its target customer: Gen Z, the oldest of whom are now in their midtwenties."
New York Post
The leader of Neiman Marcus is being criticized for showing off his fancy digs while simultaneously pink-slipping many of the luxury retailer’s employees. Geoffroy van Raemdonck’s Dallas mansion is featured in t
he September issue of
Paper City, a magazine aimed at high-net-worth people. “He either doesn’t care or he’s tone-deaf,” one employee told
The Post. “Everyone is wondering why [he] agreed to show off the house while health care, bankruptcy and layoffs are the main topics for Neiman Marcus.”
Android Central
Amazon is offering a $10 promo credit to use during Prime Day on nearly anything when you spend $10 or more at Whole Foods Market by Oct. 14. This deal is valid on orders made online or in-store. The retailer has a similar offer which can earn $10 when consumers spend $10 at local and small businesses on Amazon.
Nation's Restaurant News
Despite continuing and steady coronavirus infection rates, Indiana and Florida are lifting all restrictions on indoor restaurant dining. “Elsewhere, some states are only just beginning to allow indoor dining, while others are gradually loosening limits on operations, citing declining infection rates,” per Nation’s Restaurant News. “Looking state by state, restaurants are open for indoor dining across most of the country with regulations set to allow for reduced capacity in a few states in the coming weeks ahead.”
BBC
The alcohol industry has turned its attention to female buyers.“In the case of alcohol, say experts, marketing often links drinking to perceptions of what women are seeking; friendship, relaxation and empowerment,” per the BBC. Companies are using empowerment as a form of market segmentation: if only women had the right alcohol drinks, "they could achieve anything," says Anathansia Daskalopoulou, a lecturer in marketing at the University of Liverpool Management School.
NBC News
Wells Fargo & Co Chief Executive Charles Scharf says the bank had trouble reaching diversity goals because there was not enough qualified minority talent. “He also made the assertion in a company-wide memo June 18 that announced diversity initiatives as nationwide protests broke out following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed African-American man, in police custody,” according to NBC.
The Chicago Tribune
With winter approaching, the window for outdoor dining is closing quickly in some parts of the country. Restaurants trying to survive the pandemic are investing in air quality upgrades and other safety features designed to encourage diners to feel safe coming in off the patio. The pandemic has “opened the floodgates to a slew of other products and technologies that purport to destroy the novel coronavirus, and some experts are warning it’s buyers beware,” per the Chicago Tribune.