Walmart membership service launches with gas, shopping perks

Earlier this week, Walmart launched a membership service that includes free delivery, a speedy payment option and discounts on gas.

The service costs $12.95 per month and entitles members to a scan-andpay option that lets them pay for items in the store by scanning the barcode, and exempts members from delivery fees.

A 5-cent-per gallon discount on gas is also available to members at Walmart, Murphy USA and Murphy Express gas stations.

A 15-day free trial is available at walmart.com/plus.

L Brands among retailers who aren’t opening for Thanksgiving

L Brands is joining the list of retailers that will keep their stores closed on Thanksgiving.

That means Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works along with Walmart, Dicks, Tjmaxx and other retailers are choosing to allow employees to spend the day with their families.

“Keeping stores closed on Thanksgiving Day will be an opportunity for associates to be with friends and family, and to relax, refresh and recharge before making the final push to Christmas/holiday,’’ the company said in a note to staff members.

Global economy bad but could get worse

The global economy is not doing as bad as previously expected, especially in the United States and China, but has still suffered an unprecedented drop due to the coronavirus pandemic, an international watchdog said Wednesday.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said in a report that the world’s gross domestic product is projected to decline by 4.5% this year — less than the 6% plunge it had predicted in June.

The global economy is expected to rebound and grow by 5% next year, the organization said. Yet the OECD notes that its outlook is “subject to considerable uncertainty” as the pandemic continues, and assumes that “sporadic local outbreaks will continue” and a vaccine will not be available until late in 2021.

Celebrities protest Facebook over hate, disinformation

Kim Kardashian West, Katy Perry, Leonardo Dicaprio and other celebrities took part in a 24-hour Instagram “freeze” Wednesday to protest what they say is parent company Facebook’s failure to tackle violent and hateful content and election misinformation.

Hollywood stars and influencers are lending their backing to the “#Stophateforprofit” movement’s latest campaign. The movement asks people to put up a message highlighting what they called the damage Facebook does but otherwise refrain from posting on Instagram for a day.

Facebook declined to comment.

Strength of consumer spending slips a bit

Americans kept spending in August, but the pace of that growth is slowing as millions of people who lost jobs have now lost a $600 a week boost in their unemployment checks.

Retail sales rose 0.6% last month, the fourth consecutive month of growth, the U.S. Commerce Department said Wednesday, but lower than the 0.9% increase in July. It’s also below the 1.1% increase analysts expected.

Much of last month’s growth came from spending at restaurants and bars, which are just starting to let people in to eat and drink. Sales rose 4.7% at those places, but are still down 15.4% for the year.

Investigation finds no illegal action in Kodak stock deal

Shares of Kodak are sharply higher after an independent legal review found that while there were flaws in how Eastman Kodak issued stock option grants to its CEO just before revealing a major development that sent its stock soaring, no illegality was involved.

In late July, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation signed a letter of intent to potentially give the photography pioneer a $765 million loan to help pay for factory changes needed to make pharmaceutical ingredients in short supply in the U.S.

Shares surged from around $8 to more than $33 each in a day, at one point soaring as high as $60, a price that has not been seen for years at Kodak.

From staff and wire reports