Welcome to Five at Five, your late look at the day’s payments and commerce news. Today’s coverage includes a new smartphone forecast and Alexa’s ambition to become a nurse. American Express has a new dispute partnership, retail sales are sluggish and the curtain is closing on Sears.
Apple iPhone Demand Slumping in China; Could Hurt Results
According to Goldman Sachs Analyst Rod Hall, the smartphone market in China has shown some improvement during the second quarter. Still, his forecast for third-quarter sales at Apple predicts a decline of 15 percent on a year-over-year basis.
Amazon Files Patent to Enable Alexa to Detect Illness Via Voice
The company recently filed a patent in which Alexa can determine different things about a person based on their voice.
American Express, Ethoca Team to Solve Disputes Between Merchants, Cardholders
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The companies said the partnership is aimed at helping American Express merchants and cardmembers in the U.S. to more quickly resolve disputes related to card purchases.
Retail Sales Reach $509B in September
Falling short of economists’ expectations, retail store and restaurant sales grew by only 0.1 percent from August to September to reach a seasonally adjusted figure of $509 billion.
Sears Files for Bankruptcy; to Close 142 Stores
Sears listed $6.9 billion in assets and $11.3 billion in liabilities. The bankruptcy filing is the culmination of years of effort on the part of Sears and CEO Eddie Lampert to turn the company around.
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