Will Store Closures Help J.C. Penney Bounce Back?

J.C. Penney announced that it planned to close 130 to 140 stores as well as two distribution centers in the coming months. The struggling retailer follows in the footsteps of Sears and Macy’s , both of which have plans to shut stores to cut costs as shoppers move away from mall-based retailers.

Modell’s Takes a Swing at Amazon With Online Presence

Modell's CEO Mitch Modell on the state of brick and mortar, the GOP's Obamacare replacement and the impact of a higher minimum wage. Are online retailers such as Amazon permanently changing the landscape of retail in America? Modell’s CEO Mitch Modell says for some consumers, the brick-and-mortar experience remains valuable.”

U.S. Senate resolution aims to let ISPs share your private data without permission

A resolution introduced in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday aims to roll back privacy rules for broadband service providers that were approved by the Federal Communications Commission in October. The rules include the requirement that internet service providers like Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon should obtain “opt-in” consent from consumers to use and share sensitive personal information such as geolocation and web browsing history, and also give customers the option to opt out from the sharing of non-sensitive information such as email addresses or service tier information.

US Senate resolution aims to roll back privacy rules for ISPs

A resolution introduced in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday aims to roll back privacy rules for broadband service providers that were approved by the Federal Communications Commission in October. The rules include the requirement that internet service providers like Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon should obtain “opt-in” consent from consumers to use and share sensitive personal information such as geolocation and web browsing history, and also give customers the option to opt out from the sharing of non-sensitive information such as email addresses or service tier information.

Alibaba’s Jack Ma Wants Serious Jail Time for Counterfeiters

Billionaire Alibaba-founder Jack Ma wants China’s top lawmakers to come down harder on fake goods — the very same plea voiced by global brands who’ve accused the e-commerce service of harboring knock-offs. The Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. chairman appealed to the National People’s Congress convening in Beijing this week to penalize counterfeiters as harshly as drunk drivers.

Costco Is Quietly Becoming a Digital Player

In its 2017 first fiscal quarter, which covered the 2016 holiday season, Galanti noted that while overall digital sales had risen by 7% year-over-year, the numbers during the Black Friday period were much better. During the week of Thanksgiving and the two that followed, he said, digital sales had risen by the low-to-mid teens.

Alibaba-Rival JD to Get $2.1 Billion In Finance Arm Spinoff

JD.com Inc. agreed to sell its finance arm for 14.3 billion yuan in cash while retaining a share of its future profits, part of a deal to spin off the fast-growing division and create a strong rival to billionaire Jack Ma’s Ant Financial. The sale and spinoff of JD Finance, a payments and investment business, will be completed by the middle of 2017, the Beijing-based company said Thursday without naming buyers or investors apart from Chief Executive Officer Richard Liu.

Us FCC stays data security regulations for broadband providers

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has halted new rules that would require high-speed internet providers to take ‘reasonable’ steps to protect customer data. In a 2-1 vote that went along party lines, the FCC voted Wednesday to stay temporarily one part of privacy rules passed in October that would give consumers the right to decide how their data is used and shared by broadband providers.

Here’s Why Alphabet May Be the Best FANG Stock to Own

The company’s rock-solid balance sheet, its stranglehold over a lion’s share of the digital advertising market, the possibility of rapid growth in the smartphone space, and the ever-widening Google ecosystem, makes Alphabet an unbeatable proposition . Without a doubt, Alphabet’s real cash-cow is its all-encompassing Internet search engine, Google.

Baidu Hits the Reset Button After Cleaning Up Online Advertising

Baidu Inc. is convinced it’s put the worst of a government-driven internet advertising crackdown behind it after posting quarterly revenue that beat estimates. Sales fell a less-than-projected 2.6 percent in the fourth quarter after China’s biggest search engine raised registration requirements for marketers and cut the number of ads it displays alongside results.

Walmart Surprisingly Didn’t Have an Ugly Holiday Season

Walmart shares climbed by 2.35% to $71 a share in pre-market trading Tuesday after the retail giant reported strong fourth quarter and full-year results. Fourth quarter earnings came in at $1.30 a share on revenue of $133.6 billion, Analysts had estimated earnings of $1.28 a share on sales of $131.1 billion.

Google, Bing Agree to Help U.K. Creative Industries Fight Pirate Sites

A voluntary code of practice is designed to “kick-start collaboration between the parties to demote links to websites that are dedicated to infringing content for consumers in the U.K.” Google and Microsoft’s Bing are two big-name search engines that have voluntarily signed on to a first-of-its kind initiative in Britain aimed at “reducing the availability of infringing content accessed through online search.” The agreement between representatives of rights holders and major search engines was unveiled Monday following a government-chaired series of roundtables.

Industry Pressures Lead to Speculation on Magazine M&A

A number of magazines reportedly are on the block or are attracting interest, including Us Weekly, Time, Playboy and The Hollywood Reporter. It’s hardly page-turning news at this point: Print magazines are under pressure as readers flock to the internet for instant news and entertainment updates.

Visa: Cramer’s Top Takeaways

Visa CEO Al Kelly tells Jim Cramer there’s great opportunity for growth in India and elsewhere in coming years. In an “Executive Decision” segment, Cramer spoke with Al Kelly, CEO of Visa .

Retail Stocks: What to Watch in 2017

Assailed by the relentless and merciless rise of e-commerce, brick-and-mortar retailers are struggling to adapt to an increasingly online world. Will this retail destruction continue in the year ahead? And what are the major retail trends that investors should watch? Read on to find out.

How Wal-Mart Can Take On Amazon Beyond Free 2-Day Shipping

The world’s largest retailer ditched its Amazon Prime-wannabe, Shipping Pass, which offered free three-day shipping for an annual fee of $49, and is instead offering free two-day shipping on all orders of $35 or more. It’s a better deal for customers, as a majority of orders on the company’s website are for more than $35, and Wal-Mart’s success has historically come from offering rock-bottom prices without hurdles such as a membership fee, offering a different kind of value from Amazon Prime.

Amazon and Apple’s Payments Growth Shows PayPal Is Facing Stiffer Competition

Though its shares — and back when it was a part of eBay , eBay’s shares — have dipped a number of times on news that a tech giant is trying to muscle in on its turf, the company has kept delivering 20%-plus payment volume growth like clockwork. But while any talk of a would-be “PayPal-killer” merits skepticism, the company does arguably face a tougher competitive environment than any time in recent history.

Arkansas House passes bill aimed at collecting Amazon taxes

Amazon would be required to tell Arkansas customers they owe the state sales tax under a bill approved by the House Tuesday, one of two efforts by lawmakers to recover millions in tax revenue from the e-commerce giant. The bill approved by the House on a 54-46 vote would also require Amazon and other out-of-state companies without a physical presence in Arkansas to provide a list to finance officials of purchases made by state residents.

Amazon Shares Drop as AWS, Revenue Guidance Miss Expectations

Amazon’s revenue increased year-over-year, but still failed to meet analysts’ expectations during the key holiday shopping quarter. Shares of Amazon were falling 3.8% to $807.41 in after-hours trading on Thursday as the e-commerce giant posted revenue for the fourth quarter of 2016 that missed Wall Street’s expectations.

Teen Retailer Wet Seal Slips Into Bankruptcy

Struggling teen retailer Wet Seal is the latest to file for bankruptcy and plans to close all of its 142 U.S. stores by the end of February. Wet Seal filed for Chapter 11 protection Thursday morning, adding to a growing list of struggling retailers turning to insolvency amid a decline in mall traffic and an overall downturn in the industry.

Top Online Retail Stocks to Buy in 2017

Even after two decades of torrid growth, the rise of e-commerce is still in its early innings. Online sales comprise less than 10% of retail sales, with research firm eMarketer estimating that retail e-commerce sales will increase to more than $4 trillion in 2020, up from about $1.5 trillion in 2015.

Target Slims Down After Less Than Festive Holiday Season

It looks like Target will join the growing list of retailers opting to slim down a bit after a tepid holiday shopping season. Target has canceled Goldfish, an e-commerce start-up launched a year ago, and has killed a prototype for a robot infested store of the future that was scheduled to soon be constructed in Silicon Valley, according to report Wednesday afternoon by Star Tribune .

Wal-Mart Takes Latest Shot at Amazon

Wal-Mart Stores will offer U.S. shoppers free two-day shipping on a minimum order of $35 starting Tuesday, its latest attempt to compete with rival Amazon.com popular Prime shipping program. Free shipping will replace ‘Shipping Pass’, Wal-Mart’s existing two-day shipping program that charges shoppers an annual membership fee of $49.

Walmart’s latest bid to battle Amazon: Free two-day shipping on 2 million items, without a membership

Walmart announced Tuesday that it is now offering free two-day shipping on millions of items on its website when they’re combined into orders that total at least $35, an aggressive play to snatch e-commerce business away from Amazon.com. One of the cornerstones of Amazon’s online shopping dominance has been its Prime program, in which members pay $99 per year for two-day shipping on many purchases.

Smaller states rejoice as Amazon finally collects sales tax

Many online shoppers in the United States have for years had to pay state sales taxes whenever they buy goods from Amazon. But the Seattle e-commerce giant has dragged its feet on collecting sales taxes in small and sparsely populated states where it doesn’t have any distribution centers or corporate offices.

Smaller states rejoice as Amazon finally collects sales tax

Many online shoppers in the United States have for years had to pay state sales taxes whenever they buy goods from Amazon. But the Seattle e-commerce giant has dragged its feet on collecting sales taxes in small and sparsely populated states where it doesn’t have any distribution centers or corporate offices.

Better Buy: Baidu, Inc. vs. Facebook

The divergent fortunes of Facebook and Baidu shares over the past year only reinforce their apparent differences. However, though their core businesses today touch different areas of the global technology market, Facebook and Baidu are united in their ongoing efforts to shape some of technology’s most important future growth markets.

New Fears for Future of Net Neutrality

Ajit Pai, named the new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission by President Donald Trump yesterday, is likely to seek changes to the organization’s stance on Net Neutrality. Pai was one of two commissioners to vote against the FCC’s 3-2 approval of the Open Internet Order in early 2015.