10TH ANNIVERSARY MODEL | Apple set to unveil iPhone 8 in major product launch

CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA — A decade after then-CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone, Apple Inc on Tuesday is set to introduce a completely redesigned top-of-the-line iPhone along with two other new phones, as well as a big upgrade to the Apple Watch and a higher-definition Apple TV.

The splashy launch event will take place at the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple’s new Apple Park “spaceship” campus – widely considered to be the final product designed by Jobs, who died in 2011.

The new products and the holiday shopping season that follows are the most important for Apple in years. The company has sold more than 1.2 billion iPhones over the past decade and ushered in the era of mobile computing, but last year suffered a substantial decline in revenue as many consumers rejected the iPhone 7 as being too similar to the iPhone 6.

Apple hopes the new high-end phone, expected to be called the iPhone X, will silence critics who say the company has lost its innovation edge. It features an edge-to-edge display with richer colors and facial recognition to unlock the phone without the need for a fingerprint reader or physical home button.

The two other models, expected to be called the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, are intended to update the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. They could also include some new features, such as a glass back similar to the iPhone 4 that would help facilitate wireless charging.

The phones are expected to come with a steep price tag. Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi predicts the top-end model will cost $899, though other analysts expect it to cross the $1,000 threshold. That compares to a top base price of $769 for the iPhone 7 Plus prior.

Much of that added costs is driven by more expensive parts, like a higher-resolution display, 3D sensors and more memory capacity. “Some of these components are just darned expensive. There’s just no doubt about that,” said Brian Blau, an Apple analyst at Gartner.

Watch for wireless networks

Analysts also expect Apple to reveal a new Apple TV that operates at higher resolution than its previous set. The higher resolution could play into Apple’s efforts to court Hollywood, which have shifted into a higher gear recently with two high-profile executives hired away from Sony.

The company is also expected to reveal more details about the HomePod, its voice-activated home speaker that competes against Amazon.com Inc’s Echo devices and the Google. Home speaker. Apple announced the HomePod in June and said it will ship in December.

Lastly, Apple is expected to announce a new version of the Apple Watch. Previous versions of the watch had to be tethered to a user’s phone in order to receive send or receive data, but the new version is expected to connect to wireless data networks just like a phone.

Apple does not say how many Apple Watches it sells. Gene Munster, a veteran Apple watcher and analyst with Loup Ventures, believes the watch could double or even triple in sales because of the new connectivity.

But even a huge boom in one product will not move the company’s financials like the iPhone, which accounted for 63 percent of Apple’s $215 billion in sales last year. Even if Apple crushes rivals like Fitbit Inc and Garmin in smart watch sales, Apple remains the iPhone company.

“It’s a really big deal for the wearables category for Apple, but it’s not a big deal for the company,” Munster said.

source: interaksyon.com

Investors eyeing retail stocks revival unlikely to be cheered by holiday shopping

SAN FRANCISCO - The holiday shopping rush that kicked off on Friday is unlikely to bring much cheer to investors looking for a revival in retail stocks.

After months of uninspiring sales growth and recent disappointments from Macy's and Nordstrom, shareholders of apparel sellers have had little to be thankful for and face a challenging holiday season.

Those stocks have reflected a shift by consumers away from discretionary items like designer-label clothes and cosmetics toward smartphones, televisions, home goods and travel, as well as an ongoing migration to online spending.

Early indications suggested this year's holiday season was off to a slow start. Crowds were thin at U.S. stores and shopping malls in the early hours of Black Friday and on Thanksgiving evening, as shoppers responded to early holiday discounts with caution.

Macy's stock has plummeted 39 percent this year while Nordstrom is down 22 percent and Tiffany & Co is 23 percent lower - all far worse than the benchmark S&P 500 index's 1-percent gain.

On the other hand, Home Depot has surged 29 percent in 2015 and discount store Dollar Tree is up 6 percent.

The S&P 500 retail index .SPXRT has risen 27 percent this year, with much of that gain driven by its largest component, Amazon.com, which continues to undercut brick-and-mortar rivals and has seen its stock more than double this year.

Earnings expectations vary for the holiday shopping quarter; Lowe's on average is expected to grow its earnings by 29 percent from a year ago while videogame store GameStop is seen growing earnings by 9 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Gap Inc., which warned this month about weak sales and a strong dollar, is seen posting a 24 percent drop in fourth-quarter earnings.

"You really have to bifurcate between the largely apparel retailers and hard-goods retailers," said Anthony Chukumba, an analyst at BB&T Capital Markets.

His top picks include discount retailer Big Lots as well as Best Buy, which specializes in the electronic goods consumers are buying these days and also has a compelling valuation at 12 times expected earnings. By comparison, Nordstrom trades around 17 times earnings and Target has a price-earnings ratio of 15.

Polls going into holiday season have been mixed: A Reuters/Ipsos survey found more people planned to cut holiday spending than to boost it, while Gallup reported Americans plan to spend an average of $830 each on gifts this season, up from $720 a year ago at this time.

U.S. retail sales edged up a meager 0.1 percent last month after staying unchanged in both September and August, according to the Commerce Department.

FBR technology analyst Daniel Ives and his team planned to visit at least 25 Best Buys and other big-box stores over the weekend in New York and other major cities to gauge consumer appetite for Microsoft's Xbox One game console and Apple's smartwatch, launched in April.

"It's not quantitative, but it gives you anecdotal data points that become part of the mosaic of your thesis about whether to be bullish or bearish on trends, names and products," Ives said.

Since 2008, early sales estimates following Black Friday and Cyber Monday have had little or no bearing on retail stock performance for the holiday quarter, according to a report by LPL financial.

The short-term performance of stocks in the week after Thanksgiving has also been similarly inconsistent.

For the past three years, Wal-Mart Stores has lost as much as 3.9 percent or gained as much as 2.6 percent in the week following Black Friday, according to Thomson Reuters data.

By comparison, the S&P 500 has been flat to up 0.5 percent in the week following Black Friday for the past three years.

Amazon.com's stock performance in the week following Thanksgiving has been even more erratic. It lost 8 percent last year, lost 2 percent in 2013 and jumped 5 percent in 2012.

source: interaksyon.com

The gadgets to bring home this Christmas

While the merriment and cheer abound, finding that perfect gadget to give is by no means a walk in the park.
Well, if that “walk” means a stroll through your neighborhood mall or shopping lane, it can even be more perilous and confusing, as you may not have even the slightest idea of the ONE gadget that should take your loved one’s breath away.

With a deep pocket at your disposal, you can search for these luscious items on anyone’s Christmas wish list — a rundown of sure fire first rate gadgets, so you won’t think twice on what to give to the naughty or nice.

Dell XPS 12
Who would not get their hands on this versatile hybrid laptop that doubles as a tablet (depending on your mood)? The Dell XPS 12 is a gorgeous eye candy with a 1080p 12” display that provides an awesome visual treat whenever you turn it on. This display flips backward within its bezel and transform into a 12”, 3.2 lb. tablet you can easily carry and use anywhere. It has 9 hours of battery life, comfortable keyboard, and a large touchpad.

Jabra Solemate Mini
This incredible piece of Bluetooth speaker perfection is even smaller than your average soda can yet the sound (and bass) is as big as it gets. It has an eye-catching design and long battery life. Called the Solemate, particularly because it resembles a sneaker, is arguable one of the best in its crop with its surprisingly solid sound despite its size. And it can be water-proof as well with its “sound bag” accessory, which is its splash-resistant cover and protective carrying case.

Samsung Note III with Gear
What else can you want for Christmas other than a smart watch that can make or receive calls? Packaged as the Gear that accompanies the Samsung Note III, the smartwatch is a revolution in itself as it became the first commercially available wearable gadget. Still pricey and a bit too dependent on the Note III, Gear is still a fun item to see beneath the Christmas tree as it gives you the distinction of being the first to adopt and use. And of course, there’s the impeccable Note III to boot.

iPad Air
Think about Apple’s mouthwatering gadgets since the Macintosh days and how its innovative flair had made the magic even spellbinding, one product after another, the evolution of one of its sterling accomplishments, the iPad, is no surprise. The iPad Air is again the toast of the 10” tablet town, offering the thinnest and lightest form factor in the market, owing the idea to what they did to their robust line of laptops — the MacBook Air. Its incredible performance cloaked by the biggest corporate brand in America is something no one can afford not to consider during the Holidays.

LG G2
This Korean behemoth — after Samsung — surprised us with its G2 phablet that made us who first saw it want to take home right away or maybe place in a gift bag for Christmas. It’s because of camera features you can’t see in any other mobile phone products in the market; the rear button is engaging, allowing you to take pictures properly instead of the front button that could you to hit delete more than just simply carrying on with the next object to shoot. It’s incredibly powerful 2.2 GHz processor and 32-GB memory allows superior multitasking — like checking e-mails while watching a video.

Google Nexus 7
Google is now making smartphones? Yes, largely through ventures and acquisitions (Motorola’s handset business). But this particular product is one of the search giant’s successful forays into mobile device manufacturing in this venture with Taiwan-based Asus. The Nexus 7 is gorgeously crafted with a comfortable soft touch black plastic and weighs lighter than most 7” tablets in the market. It also offers “retina-class” 1920×1200, making it the highest among any tablet existing today, plus top-of-the-line multimedia features—from the camera to the speakers. Surely, it’s something you’d want to show on the Christmas dinner table to your Holiday visitors.

Sony PlayStation 4
The latest coming of Sony’s legendary game console was stuff of incredible hype leading to its eventual release last October. It is seen as everything better than its predecessors, including compact chassis, matte-black and glossy panels, and improved DualShock gamepads with new elongated handles, a large 2” x 1” touchpad, with new share, and options buttons. And above all, it’s considered the most powerful next-gen console, and the only one with an internal power supply. It has upgraded Blu-Ray support and USB ports on the console and DualShock gamepads.

Beats Mixr by Dr. Dre
This piece of headphone design genius makes another rousing success with Mixr. Beats by Dr. Dre came up with another version of its phenomenal product in response to a demand fromk a prominent user, David Guetta, for the “lightest and loudest” headphones. And it did not fail him. Indeed, the beats are more defined, surely enlivening bass hunters everywhere. But the most compelling feature — the headphones’ design that allows incredible comfort, with pivotal earcups, and, yes, you’d look great wearing it over your head.

Dell SS240T
Do you want to look like you’ve stepped out of a Hollywood movie? Well, a touchscreen monitor like the Dell SS240T will surely make you one. Instead of using a mouse to select menus or desktop items to drag, all you need is your finger. Yes, dragging, say, a Photoshop-enhanced image onto my Microsoft Word application was like placing a real photo into a real notebook. And well, movies like The Minority Report always come to mind. But then again, would you want a monitor that works like a tablet — with all the touching, pointing and dragging—and discard the mouse? If you’re a movie fan like me, then it’s one great Christmas present.

MacBook Pro 15-inch with Retina Display
It is considered by critics as the “best laptop” in the world. Who wouldn’t want that for Christmas? The MacBook Pro 15-inch with Retina Display is indeed in a class of its own. With its formidable quad core Intel Core i7 processing power, with 256 GB storage (expandable to 1 terabyte) and 8GB of RAM, advanced graphics and video features, and 2880×1800 pixel display with 220 pixels per inch Retina display, this business performance laptop is more than just Apple’s centerpiece mobile product, it improves your productivity, and yes, defines your life wherever you go.

source: interaksyon.com

Apple offers free OS upgrades for life

SAN FRANCISCO — Apple Inc on Tuesday offered free upgrades for life on its operating system and business software, and unveiled thinner iPads and faster Mac computers ahead of a competitive holiday shopping season.

The debut of the one-pound iPad Air and MacBook Pro with sharper ‘retina’ display repeats a pattern of recent launches with improvements in existing lines rather than totally new products, and Apple shares fell 0.3 percent for the day.







Apple said upgrades to its Mac operating system and iWork software suite, which compete with Microsoft Corp’s Excel, Word and other applications, will now be offered for all MacBooks and Mac computers.

That brings Apple’s model of free system software upgrades on phones and tablets to the computer market, where Apple is still the underdog to Microsoft’s Windows.

Apple may be trying to safeguard its grip on mobile software as Microsoft revs up its Windows-powered Surface Pro, which runs applications, such as Word or Excel, that are the standard for business customers, analysts said.

“We are turning the industry on its ear, but this is not why we’re doing it,” Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook told media and technology executives at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center.

“We want our customers to have our latest software.”

The market is awash in inexpensive tablets running Google Inc’s Android software, but the company may be focused on fending off a threat from the high end.

“In the tablet PC market, they do think Microsoft is a bigger threat than Android,” said Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi. “The iPad Air will compete with Surface Pro, not some rinky-dink Android tablet.”

Gartner estimates that Apple’s share of the global tablet market will slip to 47.2 percent in 2014, with Android-based tablets just overtaking Apple’s this year. The IT research outfit expects Microsoft tablets to grab 3.4 percent of the market this year, double the 1.7 percent forecast for 2013.



Pressure

Microsoft gets 65 percent of its Windows revenue, which totaled $19.2 billion last fiscal year, from PC manufacturers which put the system on its machines, and 35 percent from other sources, chiefly people and businesses buying its software separately to install themselves.

The latest version of Windows, when bought separately to install on an old computer, starts at $120 for a home version and goes up to $200 for the full ‘Pro’ version. The latest Windows 8.1 upgrade was free for customers running Windows 8.

Apple’s product launches on Tuesday were evolutionary, with the new iPads equipped with faster processors and better screens. Cook, at an industry conference in May, had hinted at “several more game changers” from Apple which could include wearable computers, but had not given a time frame.

“As always with Apple, expectations on systematic breakthrough hardware innovations are irrational,” said Forrester analyst Thomas Husson said. “Apple is good at inventing new products and at maximizing profitability of its product range over time through software innovations and clever marketing.”

Apple’s new iPad Air – its full-size tablet – is about 20 percent thinner than the previous generation of tablets, weighs one pound and starts at $499. It will go on sale on November 1.

The iPad mini now has a “retina” high-resolution screen and starts at $399, compared with $329 for the previous mini model. The two new tablets would face stiff competition, with Microsoft, Nokia and Amazon.com Inc all plugging rival devices in coming months.

Apple also showed off a new Mac Pro, a premium and high-powered cylindrical desktop computer that will be assembled in United States. It had shown the computer at a previously event.

For the first, Apple will launch the new iPads simultaneously in the United States and China, its biggest market, which is also a key growth region.

Apple, which jumpstarted the tablet computing market in 2010 with the first iPad, has already come under increasing pressure from cheaper devices ranging from Amazon’s Kindle Fire to Samsung Electronics Co Ltd’s Note.

But while Apple is ceding market share to rivals, its superior library of apps and content should safeguard its lead for years to come, analysts say.

Longer term however, investors hope to see real device innovation from a company that has not unveiled a new breakthrough product in years.

Cook on Tuesday dismissed the competition as directionless.

“Our competition is different: they’re confused,” he said. “Now they’re trying to make PCs into tablets and tablets into PCs. Who knows what they’ll do next?”

“We have a very clear direction and a very ambitious goal. We still believe deeply in this category and we’re not slowing down on our innovation.”

source: interaksyon.com

Apple to introduce new iPads on October 22 — AllThingsD

SAN FRANCISCO — Apple Inc intends to introduce its latest line-up of iPads on October 22, tech blog AllThingsD cited sources familiar with the company’s plans as saying, meaning Apple would be updating its tablets in time for holiday shopping.

New versions of the iPad, which will go up against Amazon.com Inc’s latest Kindle Fire tablets and other gadgets made by Samsung Electronics, are expected to feature lighter, thinner designs and more powerful processors.

Supply chain sources told Reuters last week that Apple may run into a shortage of so-called “retina” displays for the iPad mini, a smaller version of the tablet that helped popularize the product in 2010. That could in turn limit supply of the gadget during the crucial season.

Apple declined to comment about AllThingsD’s report, which added that the company may also devote some time to detailing new Macintosh computers.

The iPhone-maker has come under pressure over the past year to preserve market share and bolster sales against rivals that are rapidly raising specifications and lowering prices.

Amazon’s new 7-inch Kindle Fire is priced from $229 for 16GB wifi-only models, while Google Inc’s second-generation Nexus 7 offers a similar screen size and storage capacity at the same price.

In comparison, the cheapest model in Apple’s current 7.9-inch iPad Mini lineup with 16GB of storage starts at $329.

source: interaksyon.com

Microsoft, Google in catfight over online shopping

WASHINGTON — Just in time for the holidays, Microsoft and Google have become embroiled in a bitter dispute over who is the fairest of them all for online shopping, stepping up the battle between the tech giants.

Microsoft threw the first punch when it launched a campaign for its Bing search engine “to highlight Bing’s commitment to honest search results.”

The campaign also seeks “to help explain to consumers the risks of Google Shopping’s newly announced ‘pay-to-rank’ practice,” a Microsoft statement said.

Microsoft created a Web page called “Scroogled,” which points out that its rival has reversed course on its pledge at the time of the Google stock offering to avoid paid ad inclusion for search results.

“Google Shopping is nothing more than a list of targeted ads that unsuspecting customers assume are search results,” Microsoft claims.

Google announced earlier this year it would revamp its product search to become a shopping service with paid listings. This eliminated merchants which opted not to pay, including some notable ones like Amazon.

Google said it completed the transition October 17 in the US, and will be rolling out the same model in Britain, Germany, France, Japan, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Brazil, Australia and Switzerland.

“We think this will bring the same high-quality shopping experience to people — and positive results to merchants — around the world,” a Google blog posting said.

Microsoft is promoting its campaign online and offline with ads “demonstrating why consumers should be concerned and helping them take action” on the Google shift, a Microsoft statement said.

“We’re also calling on Google to stop this ‘pay-to-rank’ system for their shopping results and give shoppers what they expect — an honest search.”

Google maintains that merchants cannot improve their rank simply by paying more, and that sellers who have a financial stake in the results will keep their information up to date.

“Google Shopping makes it easier for shoppers to quickly find what they’re looking for, compare different products and connect with merchants to make a purchase,” said an email from a Google spokeswoman.

But some analysts say both companies are less than transparent about how their shopping engines work, and that Microsoft is not without blame.

Danny Sullivan, analyst with the website Search Engine Land, said of the Microsoft effort: “Great campaign, if it were true. It’s not. Bing itself does the same things it accuses Google of.”

Sullivan told AFP that “at least Google has the fine print that you can read; Microsoft doesn’t have it at all.”

Microsoft, according to Sullivan, excludes new merchants from Bing search results if they don’t pay for inclusion with its partner, Shopping.com, even though this is not fully transparent to consumers.

“Payment is a factor for ranking,” in Bing, said Sullivan, who maintains that Microsoft’s campaign is misleading.

Microsoft said its own shopping results through Bing are not influenced by payment.

“Bing includes millions of free listings from merchants and rankings are determined entirely by which products are most relevant to your query,” said Stefan Weitz, senior director at Bing, in an emailed statement.

“While merchants can pay fees for inclusion on our third party shopping sites and subsequently may appear in Bing Shopping through partnerships we have, we do not rank merchants higher based on who pays us, nor do we let merchants pay to have their product offers placed higher in Bing Shopping’s search results.”

Sullivan argues that Google, ironically, may have moved to paid listings to deflect attention from regulators and others who complain it had been skewing its search results.

“If you have people complaining you search results are unfair, you can turn them into ads,” he said.

But Sullivan noted that Google merely adopted the same policies of most shopping sites, which use paid listings even if they appear to be an impartial search.

The overall message from the latest row, according to Sullivan: “You need to shop around. Use multiple search engines. All of them that suggest that they are gathering stuff from across the Web but may not be doing that.”

source: interaksyon.com

Online sales jump on Cyber Monday, eBay shines

SAN FRANCISCO — Online sales jumped on Cyber Monday, sending e-commerce retailers’ shares higher and suggesting strong growth from earlier in the holiday shopping season is continuing for now.

Sales on eBay Inc’s online marketplace were particularly strong and Amazon.com Inc continued its rapid holiday shopping season growth, according to early Cyber Monday data released by e-commerce firm ChannelAdvisor.





EBay’s shares climbed 4.9 percent to close at $51.40. The stock hit an intra-day high of $51.78, the highest level since early 2005. Amazon’s shares gained 1.6 percent to $243.62.

Cyber Monday has been the biggest online shopping day in recent years, as workers return to offices and use computers to make holiday purchases. ComScore expects online sales to hit a record of about $1.5 billion by day’s end.

Online sales were up 25.6 percent as of 3:00 pm EST on Monday, compared with the same period a year ago, according to International Business Machines Corp which tracks transaction data from 500 U.S. retail websites. In 2011, Cyber Monday year-over-year growth was 15 percent by 3:00 pm, IBM said.

Strong online sales growth on Thanksgiving Day and “Black Friday” sparked concern that shoppers were just buying earlier, threatening revenue later in the season.

“So far, that is not the case,” said Jay Henderson, the strategy director for IBM Smarter Commerce. “Extending the shopping season has really just fueled additional online spending rather than cannibalizing days later in the season.”

ChannelAdvisor said client sales – or sales generated by third-party merchants using the company’s software – soared 57 percent on eBay.com early on Monday, compared with the same period in 2011.

The growth rate was five times higher than during the same period last year, said ChannelAdvisor, which helps merchants sell more online.

“The early eBay numbers are impressive,” said R.J. Hottovy, an equity analyst at Morningstar. “They put together an effective marketing plan across several channels this holiday season – online, television and print.”

EBay has been trying to move away from its online auction roots, emphasizing new items selling at fixed prices to better compete with Amazon.

“The numbers suggest they’re having success reintroducing consumers to the ‘new eBay,’” Hottovy said.

PayPal, the payments division of eBay, said the volume of mobile transactions it processed by 2:00 pm EST on Cyber Monday almost tripled versus the same period last year.

Client sales on Amazon.com were up 52 percent during the first part of Cyber Monday, ChannelAdvisor also reported.

“Amazon continues to look impressive to us since it is building on top of large numbers,” said Scott Tilghman, an analyst at Caris & Company.

Discounts

Online retailers held back some of their best promotions and biggest discounts until Cyber Monday, which helped spur sales, IBM’s Henderson and ChannelAdvisor’s Wingo said.

Amazon offered $30 off its 7 inch Kindle Fire tablet, which usually sells for $159. The deal was only available on Cyber Monday and was still available at 5:00 pm EST.

EBay promoted Cyber Monday deals on iPads, made by Apple Inc, and Nook devices from Barnes & Noble.

These types of discounts attract shoppers to Amazon and eBay’s websites, where they may purchase other items too, Wingo explained.

‘WII U’ sells out

EBay has also benefited as some hot holiday items sold out this year at some retailers. When that happens, shoppers often turn to eBay, where third-party sellers are usually still offering the items at higher prices.

Nintendo Co Ltd said on Monday its new “Wii U” video game consoles sold out at retailers in the United States.

The devices were still available on ebay.com on Monday at 10 to 20 percent above the suggested retail price, according to Jesse Divnich, an analyst at video game research firm EEDAR.

Margin question

Despite strong sales data, analysts are concerned that heavy discounting may pressure retailers’ profit margins, online and offline.

The average online order size on Cyber Monday was $130.30 as of 3:00 pm EST. That was down from almost $200 during the whole of Cyber Monday last year, according to IBM.

Online order sizes are shrinking as consumers buy more digital goods, such as e-books, music and video, which generally cost less. However, discounting is also pressuring order size and that could feed through to lower margins, Morningstar’s Hottovy said.

EBay margins should be relatively well protected because the company charges a commission on sales by third-party merchants and retailers.

Amazon operates like this, but, unlike eBay, the company also has its own product inventory so it may be exposed to margin pressure, according to Colin Sebastian, analyst at R.W. Baird.

source: interaksyon.com

Best Credit Cards for Holiday Spending

Figuring out how you will pay for holiday purchases is as important as selecting the right gifts. For example, if you prefer to spread out payments, a no-annual-fee card with a 0% introductory interest rate could be just the thing.

Citibank offers three no-fee cards with a 0% rate on purchases and balance transfers lasting from 15 to 18 months. (You pay a 3% balance-transfer fee.) The Citi Diamond Preferred card (full rate: 11.99% after 18 months) provides access to person­alized concierge services that can help you book hotel rooms and flights. The Citi ThankYou card (full rate: 12.99% after 15 months) awards one ThankYou point for every $1 spent. Points may be redeemed for gift cards, travel rewards or cash. The interest rate on the Citi Simplicity card (full rate: 12.99% after 18 months) won’t increase even if you pay late.

If you pay off your entire balance each month, you may prefer a rewards card that offers a 0% intro rate plus a 5% rebate on varying categories of purchases. The new no-fee U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature card (0% for six months, then 13.99%) allows cardholders to select two purchase categories each quarter for which they will earn 5%. You may also choose a category that will earn you 2%. All other purchases earn 1%. The no-fee Discover More card (0% for 15 months, then 10.99%) offers a 5% cash-back bonus on purchases in categories that rotate quarterly. With the no-fee Chase Freedom card (0% for 15 months, then 12.99%), you earn 5% on up to $1,500 spent on airline fares and hotels -- and at Best Buy and Kohl’s through the end of December.

source: kiplinger.com

Target Rolls Out QR Codes for Holiday Shopping

The anonymity of online shopping will soon be available in real time.

Starting Oct. 14, Target will tag the top 20 toys of the season in its stores with QR Codes. Perfect, the company says, for secretive mobile shopping.

All shoppers need to do is download the Target app and scan whichever marked toy they’d like to buy. They can opt for free shipping, too.

source: mashable.com