News

New York City -- A federal mediator announced Friday that the union for longshoremen along the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico has agreed to extend its contract for 30 days.

The extension averts a potential strike that could have crippled operations at ports that handle about 40% of all U.S. container cargo, and it comes after the union and an alliance of port operators and shipping lines resolved a royalty payment issue that had held up contract resolution. Exact terms have not been made public.

London -- A report released Thursday by the International Council of Shopping Centers and Path Intelligence showed that U.K. consumers stepped up their pace of holiday shopping over the week ended Dec. 23.

The Path Index—which melds shopping-center footfall and the time spent per visitor into a shopper-hours index—rose by 7.9% from the prior week to its highest reading of 2012 at 151.3 (January 8, 2012 = 100) for the period ending Sunday, Dec. 23.

New York City -- Barnes & Noble reported Friday that its holiday sales will likely miss internal projections as its Nook e-reader performed worse than expected during the holiday selling period.

The book seller also disclosed on Friday an investment by London-based media and education company Pearson of $89.5 million in cash in the e-reader subsidiary, representing a 5% equity stake.

Pearson joins Microsoft Inc. as an investor in the Nook subsidiary.

New York City -- A report issued Thursday by Experian Marketing Services found that online traffic to the top 500 retail sites on Christmas Day 2012 rose 27% compared to 2011.

The top retail sites received more than 115.5 million total U.S. visits, according to Experian. To date the holiday online traffic for the past 7 weeks to retail sites are up 10% for 2012 vs. 2011.

Other report key findings include:
    

New York City -- Online sales rose 22.4% on Christmas Day, according to IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark, which tracks more than 1 million e-commerce transactions a day from 500 U.S. retailers.

The increase was higher than the 16.4% increase in 2011, and provided one bright spot in what has proven so far to be a lackluster holiday shopping season.

Amazon.com, LLBean.com and QVC.com were the top three retailers on ForeSee’s Annual Holiday E-Retail Satisfaction survey.

NORTHFIELD, Ill. — Kraft is gearing up for the New Year with more than 40 new food and beverage choices for consumers.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Lowe’s Creative Ideas magazine is extending its reach into cyber territory to offer consumers home-improvement project ideas for the New Year.

Since its launch in 1998, the nearly 15-year-old magazine has enjoyed what it touts as one of the largest circulations for a free publication nationwide. Evolving with the times, the magazine now has a top-rated free iPad app in the iTunes Newsstand, as well as a robust following on Pinterest and more than 1,000 how-to videos available online at YouTube.com/Lowes.

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. — Whirlpool brand's Whirlpool Gold Gas and Electric Ranges with TimeSavor Convection cooking systems earned the Good Housekeeping Seal from the Good Housekeeping Research Institute.  

Whirlpool’s TimeSavor Plus True Convection cooking system and AccuBake temperature management system work together to circulate hot air over, under and around food, which allow the range to cook and bake dishes evenly.

New York City -- Cache said Thursday it has launched a new mobile app shopping experience through its partnership with Usablenet, a mobile and multichannel platform company.

Through the mobile app, customers can now receive relevant content and promotions in a user friendly device. This introduction complements Cache's mobile web store and offers the full range of Cache designs.