US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has informed Congress the US plans to fix its trade imbalance by negotiating separate trade agreements with the EU, the UK and Japan. The trade deficit has been increasing since President Donald Trump took office.
⋅ Reuters
Tougher regulations and a "robust banking market" have made it harder for financial technology startups to gain revenue share in the US market than the UK market, according to a report from Accenture. While 19% of US financial institutions are new entrants, they account for 3.5% of revenues, compared to the 63% of new entrants taking 14% of revenues in the UK, notes the report.
A US District judge on Tuesday allowed to take effect borrower defense rules meant to grant student-loan relief to students defrauded by colleges. Judge Randolph Moss denied a request to delay implementation of the rules after he ruled in September that it was illegal for US Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to delay them.
⋅ Reuters
The World Economic Forum has ranked the US as the most competitive economy, ousting Switzerland from a nine-year run atop the ranking. The ranking system was overhauled this year to focus on technology-driven growth expected in the future.
⋅ Eater
Shake Shack is entering Mexico City next year and plans to have 30 locations in Mexico by 2028. The chain is working with Mexican hospitality group Grupo Toks to grow in the country, and also plans to expand to mainland China with a Shanghai location next year.
A study in BMC Health Services Research showed that the lack of interoperability in EHR systems could hinder the adoption of such technologies and affect patient care improvements. Researchers found that hospitals are more likely to exchange clinical summaries with other facilities in the region if they use the same vendor, driven by the ease of communication between their EHR systems.
Mobile advertising investment will account for 43% of all US ad spend by 2020, hitting $113.21 billion to TV's $69.52 billion, and will take a larger share than all traditional media combined, eMarketer predicts. "Even the strongholds of TV, such as live sports and news, are starting to move online, and people are consuming them on the go through mobile devices," says eMarketer's Martin Utreras.
Target will open a small-format store in South Burlington, Vt., this week, marking the retailer's first store in the state and giving it a presence in all 50 states. Target will also open seven other small-format stores this week, giving the company 83 stores with its smaller footprint.
In the largest settlement to date for a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act breach, Anthem will pay the federal government $16 million for its 2015 breach that affected almost 79 million people. Data targeted included Social Security numbers, birthdates, addresses and names.
A synthetic DNA vaccine that targets glycoproteins on the surface of the Ebola virus immediately stimulated a strong immune response in monkeys that continued for a year after the last dose, researchers reported in the Journal of Infectious Diseases. The vaccine was delivered directly into the skin.
⋅ Variety
Hulu CEO Randy Freer recently said that the service may offer smaller bundles of programming that would include news and sports while limiting cable content to on-demand shows. The move could let Hulu eliminate network carriage fees and attract customers looking for cost-friendly options.
Hurricane Michael's destruction across Florida, Alabama and Georgia caused $3 to $5 billion in damage, according to CoreLogic. In Panama City, Fla., where the hurricane struck with Category 4 conditions, about 5,200 residential and commercial structures were damaged along with thousands more across the region.
The American energy trade gap has diminished considerably over the past 10 years, with the value of energy imports only about 1.5 times higher than exports in 2017, compared with the 2003-2007 period when imports were running 10 times greater than exports in value, according to the US Census Bureau. Crude oil is still the biggest energy import into the US, while petroleum products represent the primary export at 70% of the total value of 2017's US energy exports.
A survey by The GO Group LLC found 48% of air travelers are somewhat distressed about Wi-Fi security, and 19% are very concerned. The survey found 25% of travelers aren't concerned about Wi-Fi security, and 9% hadn't considered the issue.
⋅ Skift
Whether the wellness trend is a worthwhile investment for hotel companies was debated by hospitality executives at the recent Global Wellness Summit in Cesena, Italy. A key problem that emerged is the executives see a lack of real metrics to quantify the monetary value of wellness.