Tuesday☕️

Earth Intelligence

15 Oct 2024 — 5 min read

Trending:

Kmart To close final Store
Fidelity Cyberattack

Markets:

Yesterday’s U.S. stock market:

Yesterday’s commodity market:

Yesterday’s crypto market:

Kmart To close final Store:

Kmart will close its last remaining full-size store in the U.S. this week, marking the end of a significant chapter in American retail history. The Bridgehampton, New York location will close on October 20, 2024, after years of decline for the once-dominant retailer. At its height in the early 1990s, Kmart operated nearly 2,500 stores across the country, making it one of the largest discount retail chains in the United States.
The company’s roots stretch back to 1899, when Sebastian S. Kresge founded S.S. Kresge Corporation, a discount store chain in Michigan. Kresge’s stores grew steadily in popularity, and in 1962, the first Kmart-branded store opened as part of the company’s effort to compete in the growing market for large-format discount retailers. Kmart quickly became a household name, offering a wide range of affordable products and growing rapidly throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
However, Kmart began to lose ground in the 1990s as competition from Walmart, Target, and other big-box retailers intensified. By 2002, Kmart filed for bankruptcy. Although the company emerged from bankruptcy and attempted a revival through an $11 billion merger with Sears in 2005, the combined company struggled to compete in the changing retail landscape. A shift toward e-commerce and ongoing store closures left Kmart with a much-diminished presence in the market. With the closure of its Bridgehampton store, Kmart will now operate only a small number of locations in U.S. territories, marking the near-complete disappearance of the iconic brand from American retail.

Fidelity Cyberattack:

Fidelity Investments recently experienced a significant data breach between August 17 and August 19, 2024, affecting over 77,000 customers. Hackers, posing as new clients, gained unauthorized access to Fidelity’s systems through two fraudulent accounts. Once inside, they were able to retrieve sensitive personal information, including names, Social Security numbers, and driver’s license details. Fidelity detected the breach on August 19 and immediately took steps to terminate the unauthorized access.
Despite the swift action, critical personal data was exposed. In response, Fidelity is offering affected customers two years of free credit monitoring and identity restoration services. The company has advised those impacted to remain vigilant by reviewing financial statements and monitoring credit reports regularly. Fidelity also reassured customers that no direct access to accounts or funds was compromised, mitigating the risk of financial loss.
This breach is the fourth Fidelity has reported in 2024, highlighting the growing cybersecurity threats faced by financial institutions. Fidelity has committed to strengthening its security protocols to prevent future breaches. Nonetheless, the company is facing a class action lawsuit, with affected customers alleging inadequate security measures and delayed notification, further complicating its response to the breach.

Statistic:

Highest temperatures ever recorded:

🇦🇶 Antarctica: 19.8 °C (67.6 °F)
🇮🇸 Iceland: 30.5 °C (86.9 °F)
🇮🇪 Ireland: 33.3 °C (91.9 °F)
🇳🇴 Norway: 35.6 °C (96.1 °F)
🇫🇮 Finland: 37.2 °C (99.0 °F)
🇸🇪 Sweden: 38.0 °C (100.4 °F)
🇬🇧 UK: 40.3 °C (104.5 °F)
🇮🇩 Indonesia: 40.6 °C (105.1 °F)
🇰🇷 South Korea: 41.0 °C (105.8 °F)
🇯🇵 Japan: 41.1 °C (106.0 °F)
🇩🇪 Germany: 41.2 °C (106.2 °F)
🇻🇪 Venezuela: 43.6 °C (110.5 °F)
🇧🇷 Brazil: 44.8 °C (112.6 °F)
🇧🇩 Bangladesh: 45.1 °C (113.2 °F)
🇷🇺 Russia: 45.4 °C (109.8 °F)
🇫🇷 France: 46.0 °C (114.8 °F)
🇳🇬 Nigeria: 46.4 °C (115.5 °F)
🇪🇸 Spain: 47.6 °C (117.7 °F)
🇬🇷 Greece: 48.0 °C (118.4 °F)
🇮🇹 Italy: 48.8 °C (119.8 °F)
🇦🇷 Argentina: 48.9 °C (120.0 °F)
🇹🇷 Turkey: 49.5 °C (121.1 °F)
🇨🇦 Canada: 49.6 °C (121.3 °F)
🇦🇫 Afghanistan: 49.9 °C (121.8 °F)
🇿🇦 South Africa: 50 °C (122 °F)
🇹🇳 Tunisia: 50.3 °C (122.5 °F)
🇲🇦 Morocco: 50.4 °C (122.7 °F)
🇦🇺 Australia: 50.7 °C (123.3 °F)
🇮🇳 India: 51.0 °C (123.8 °F)
🇩🇿 Algeria: 51.3 °C (124.3 °F)
🇲🇽 Mexico: 52.0 °C (125.6 °F)
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia: 52.0 °C (125.6 °F)
🇦🇪 UAE: 52.1 °C (125.8 °F)
🇨🇳 China: 52.2 °C (126.0 °F)
🇵🇰 Pakistan: 53.7 °C (128.7 °F)
🇮🇷 Iran: 54.0 °C (129.2 °F)
🇺🇸 USA: 56.7 °C (134.0 °F)