US retail sales rose 0.4% in August, according to the Commerce Department, beating economists' forecasts for an increase between 0.1% and 0.2%. Growth was fueled by a 1.8% jump in auto sales, a 1.6% increase in online sales and a rise in sales at Home Depot, Lowe's and other home and garden stores.
Sales departments must work to remove any tension between themselves and marketing teams in order to achieve more predictable pipelines, as terms such as "qualified" and "follow up" must be well-defined in order to allow for pipeline visibility, writes Matt Heinz. In addition, sales managers should encourage their teams to focus more on long-term results, which allows for a more nuanced approach to pipeline management.
Students at various Iowa high schools recently learned about the court system from state Supreme Court justices who visited their school, with one school hosting oral arguments of a case during the evening. Chief Justice Mark Cady reviewed several cases with students including a school integration case that started in their city.
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The US budget deficit for fiscal 2019 increased to almost $1.07 trillion in August, the highest amount in seven years, as revenue fell short of expenses by more than $214 billion, according to the Treasury Department.
ALDI has identified 23 products in its Fan Favorites survey and will mark them in stores with a blue heart-shaped logo starting this week. Favorites include several plant-based and better-for-you options such as strawberries, Simply Nature Organic Hummus, Happy Farms String Cheese and Earth Grown Veggie Burgers.
Health care again took center stage in Thursday's night Democratic debate, with former Vice President Joe Biden attacking Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., over the cost of their Medicare for All proposal. Eight of the presidential hopefuls in Thursday's debate support a public option or some sort other policy framework that would maintain a substantial role for private health insurance.
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Some 145 US company leaders, led by Levi's Chip Bergh, have written to the Senate demanding action on gun violence, with signatories including CEOs from WPP, Omnicom, Havas Media, Publicis, Horizon Media, Twitter, Pinterest, Reddit, Uber, Airbnb, Gap Inc., Dick's Sporting Goods, Conde Nast and HuffPost. "[W]e are writing to you because we have a responsibility and obligation to stand up for the safety of our employees, customers and all Americans in the communities we serve across the country," the letter reads.
Target has begun mining its shopper data, which is maintained by in-house media unit Roundel, and is also using social media listening to create compelling messaging that's relevant and helps differentiate the retailer, Roundel's Kristi Argyilan said. The data has also become a valuable revenue generator, with as many as 1,000 businesses ranging from Disney to Coca-Cola utilizing the proprietary information for their branding efforts.
Google Maps has launched an update that displays Narcotics Anonymous, Alcoholics Anonymous and other recovery meetings -- more than 83,000 meetings in more than 33,000 places. The update also helps guide people to anti-overdose medication Naloxone.
Purdue Pharma has agreed to a tentative settlement of some of the lawsuits accusing it of a major role in creating the nation's opioid crisis. The deal, with only about half of the state and local governments that sued the OxyContin-maker, would require Purdue and its owners, the Sackler family, to pay as much as $12 billion through a structured bankruptcy.
Silicon Valley companies such as Amazon, Google and Facebook are likely to jump into the bidding for National Football League TV rights that expire in 2021 and 2022, ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro said, though he expressed confidence his network would retain an NFL deal. Pitaro also pointed to the success of ESPN+, a premium streaming service with more than 2 million subscribers.
The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards has joined 100Kin10, a national network working to prepare 100,000 STEM teachers by 2021. The National Board is among 41 organizations to recently join the network, which has trained 68,000 STEM teachers since 2011.
BP has agreed to sell all its assets in Alaska to a local firm, Hilcorp Alaska, for $5.6 billion. The divestment is part of BP's effort to sell $10 billion of assets to bolster its balance sheet.
American Airlines will host an event at Nashville International airport in Tennessee that gives children with autism and developmental disabilities the chance to simulate air travel. Children will be able to practice a "realistic flight journey," including passing through a security checkpoint and boarding a plane. More than 120 guests are registered to participate.
Asian and Eastern European five-star hotels are generally less expensive than others around the globe -- such as North America's $844-per-night average -- and urban luxury hotels tend to cost less than beach and ski hotels, according to a recent study. Aspen's $2,021 is the priciest nightly average in the world, whereas five-star rooms in Brussels average just $175 per night.