- Belgian retailer Delhaize Freres et Compagnie-Le Lion SA announced that it will begin offering banking services -- including savings accounts and hospital insurance -- in a test that will take place in 15 of its Belgium stores.
- The Japanese c-store industry reported that December same-store sales fell one percent, the eighteenth consecutive monthly decline. Annual same store sales at Japanese c-stores were down 1.8 percent, while total sales were up two percent. Analysts blame the continuing softness in the industry on economic uncertainty.
