-
Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Feb 11, 2020
February 11, 2020
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. -
As of Monday, there were only 13 confirmed cases of that new coronavirus in the US --but the panic over the epidemic has hit Chinese restaurants in the US hard. The New York Times reports that NYC’s three main Chinatowns --in Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn-- have seen business drop from 50 to 70 percent in the last two weeks. And forget about Chinese restaurants --they're experiencing massive problems as well.
Possible question for your listeners --have you gone to a Chinese restaurant in the past week --and will you?
Excuse the ring: The designer of the world's first hydrogen-powered superyacht now says BILL GATES isn't forking over the $645-million bucks to buy the boat, contrary to the story in the London Sunday Telegraph.
The next Apple iPhone could be a smaller one which would cost around $400 and will reportedly be released in March. Tom's Guide sez the rumored smartphone, the iPhone 9, would be based on the iPhone 8’s body, with a 4.7-inch display, far smaller than the full-screen iPhones like the iPhone X and the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro.
Getting something for that special person on Valentine's Day? The National Retail Federation says folks are planning to spend an average of $196.31, up 21 percent over last year’s previous record of $161.96.
"The unusually large increase in average spending appears to be due to strong consumer finances and a continued trend of consumers buying more gifts, cards, candy and flowers for friends, family, co-workers and pets" according to the NRF.
As far as spending bucks on your spouse --the number one recipient of Valentine's Day goodies-- they estimate you'll fork over an estimated $101.21 this year.
So what gets the most dollars?
- jewelry (given by 21 percent)
- an evening out (34 percent)
- clothing (20 percent)
- candy (52 percent)
- flowers (37 percent)
- a gift card (19 percent)
- or greeting card (43 percent)
Ask a woman what she'd like --gifts of experience such as tickets to an event or a trip to a spa are wanted by 41 percent and planned by 28 percent.
-
-