📊 Axios PM: Santa forecast

Plus: #Hope | Tuesday, September 13, 2022

Open in app View in browser   Presented By UPS   Axios PM By Mike Allen · Sep 13, 2022 Good afternoon: Today's PM — edited by Justin Green — is 486 words, a 2-minute read. 🚨 Situational awareness: Ken Starr, the prosecutor in the Whitewater probe during former President Clinton's term, has died. He was 76. Go deeper.     1 big thing: Unprecedented shopping season Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios   Retailers are preparing for the first holiday season in years where inflation collides with slowing consumer spending, Axios' Kelly Tyko reports. Why it matters: "There is no recent precedent to learn from," GlobalData managing director Neil Saunders told Axios. 📉 41% of Americans are planning to spend less this holiday season compared to 2021, according to a recent survey by Trustpilot, a consumer reviews platform. 20% plan to reduce spending by more than 50%. Zoom out: Deloitte estimates that overall holiday sales will grow by 4%–6% — less than the current annual inflation rate of 8.5%, Axios' Kate Marino reports. After years of booming, double-digit online growth, this year's sales are expected to rise 9.4% to $1 trillion, Bloomberg reports, citing Insider Intelligence's forecast. Share this story. Go deeper: August's inflation numbers were terrible news for everyone rooting for the economy to come in for a soft landing.     2. #Hope Photo: Gleb Garanich/Reuters In Dnipro, Ukraine, newlywed serviceman Mikhail dances with his bride, Iryna, on an empty stage in a park.     A message from UPS The best drivers get the best compensation     Full-time UPS delivery drivers average $95,000 per year, plus UPS contributes another $50,000 annually to health, welfare and pension benefits. After four years, a full-time UPS driver averages $42 an hour in wages. Learn how UPS delivers careers.     3. Catch up quick Photo: Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images Above: A rehearsal outside the Houses of Parliament for the ceremonial procession to transfer the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II. Coinbase COO Emilie Choi says the country's largest crypto exchange by volume doesn't plan to bring its retail trading fees down to zero, despite speculation that Binance's zero-fee bitcoin trading could launch a pricing war. Go deeper. The owner of the Phoenix Suns and Mercury basketball teams has been suspended for one year and fined $10 million by the NBA after an independent investigation found he engaged in workplace misconduct, including that he "repeated the N-word when recounting the statements of others." Go deeper. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) introduced a bill that would ban abortion nationally after 15 weeks. Go deeper.     4. Parting shot: Latinos reclaim accent marks Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios   Latinos are adopting accent marks in their surnames as a show of pride, Axios Latino's Russell Contreras and Astrid Galván report. Why it matters: Assimilation and technological shortcomings forced many Latinos in the U.S. to ditch accent marks that would normally be in their surnames, changing pronunciation in dramatic ways. Valerie Muñoz, an assistant principal in Kent, Washington, says she started using the "ñ" in her last name in her email signature only in the last year or so. Chris Echeverría, assistant director of government affairs at NYU, says that "working from home since the pandemic and being around family and friends more has reconnected me with my Hispanic roots, so I've used the accent on my last name in social media to signify that personal transformation." "My grandfather changed his last name late in life to something less Latin-sounding because in the '70s he felt discriminated against," Echeverría says. "Adding the accent represents to me all the progress ... Hispanic people have made in America and it makes me proud." Share this story.     A message from UPS The best healthcare package is affordable for everyone     At UPS, our full- and part-time Teamsters-represented employees get healthcare benefits with no premiums and very low or no co-insurance and co-pays. This way, they can focus on the things that matter most. Find out what these benefits mean to our employees and their families.   Thanks to Sheryl Miller for copy editing today's newsletter. Are you a fan of this email format? It's called Smart Brevity®. Over 300 orgs use it — in a tool called Axios HQ — to drive productivity with clearer workplace communications.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. Change your preferences or unsubscribe here.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox.   Follow Axios on social media: