• From the Associated Press:
"More Americans filed for jobless claims last week, but the labor market remains broadly healthy in the face of retreating inflation and elevated interest rates.
Applications for unemployment benefits rose by 13,000 to 231,000 for the week ending Nov. 11, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That's the most in three months.
"Jobless claim applications are seen as representative of the number of layoffs in a given week."
• From the Boston Globe:
"ButcherBox, the meat delivery company headquartered in Watertown, wants to put food not just onto dinner plates, but also into dog dishes.
"Looking to continue a blistering run of growth — from zero to $540 million in just eight years — the company began selling dog treats earlier this year under the brand ButcherBox for Pets. Founder Mike Salguero says they’re planning to launch dog kibble in early 2024.
"Moving into pet products is a way to sell more to the roughly 40 percent of ButcherBox customers who own dogs, said Salguero — and a way to use parts of the cows and chickens it buys that people don’t eat. (Many food companies, such as Perdue Farms and Newman’s Own, also sell pet food.)
"It’s also a strategy to cope with a consumer who is simultaneously getting more frugal about the groceries they buy while eating out more than they were in the thick of the COVID pandemic. Salguero said that 2023 will be ButcherBox’s first year when revenues will shrink; the company laid off 15 employees last week. After the cuts, it will still employ 200 people."
• Published reports say that Tesco is testing scan-free checkout technology at one of its West London stores, an Express GetGo unit, saying it wants to provide customers with a more “seamless and convenient” shopping experience.
Unlike other GetGo stores where Tesco requires customers to have a mobile app that allows them entrance and egress, and enables them to pay for their purchases, this store does not require people to have the app - ceiling cameras and weight sensors track customer movement and the products they put in their basket. When they get to checkout, they're presented with a list of the items they want to pay for, and they pay using traditional methods.
