[1/2]LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK, Nov 30 (Reuters) - As holiday shoppers return items purchased during Black Friday and Cyber Monday online shopping sprees, more U.S. retailers could tell them to keep items that cost more to ship back than they are worth.This year, 59% retailers offer so-called "returnless" or "keep it" policies for unwanted products whose returns costs exceed their value, according to returns services firm goTRG, which surveyed 500 executives at 21 major retailers, including Walmart (WMT.N) and Amazon.com (AMZN.O).Last year, 500 retail executives said 26% of companies had such...…[1/2]LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK, Nov 30 (Reuters) - As holiday shoppers return items purchased during Black Friday and Cyber Monday online shopping sprees, more U.S. retailers could tell them to keep items that cost more to ship back than they are worth.This year, 59% retailers offer so-called "returnless" or "keep it" policies for unwanted products whose returns costs exceed their value, according to returns services firm goTRG, which surveyed 500 executives at 21 major retailers, including Walmart (WMT.N) and Amazon.com (AMZN.O).Last year, 500 retail executives said 26% of companies had such...WW…

By , , LONDON/LOS ANGELES/MADRID (Reuters) - The $1 trillion container shipping industry is in a slowdown. Literally.Some shipping lines, whose retail customers are being hammered by the coronavirus pandemic, are reducing sailing speeds and taking longer routes around Africa, avoiding Suez canal passage fees, according to the companies and ship-tracking specialists.The new tactics not only save on costs, but also help adapt to the needs of cash-crunched retailers - among their biggest customers - who are stuck with huge inventory surpluses thanks to COVID-19 store closures and a collapse in...…By , , LONDON/LOS ANGELES/MADRID (Reuters) - The $1 trillion container shipping industry is in a slowdown. Literally.Some shipping lines, whose retail customers are being hammered by the coronavirus pandemic, are reducing sailing speeds and taking longer routes around Africa, avoiding Suez canal passage fees, according to the companies and ship-tracking specialists.The new tactics not only save on costs, but also help adapt to the needs of cash-crunched retailers - among their biggest customers - who are stuck with huge inventory surpluses thanks to COVID-19 store closures and a collapse in...WW…

By LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - United Parcel Service and FedEx on Friday shot down social media calls that they step in to deliver mail-in ballots from the U.S. Postal Service, which is warning states of potentially “significant” delays.“State ballots must be postmarked to be considered valid and only the USPS has lawful postmarking status. Therefore UPS, FedEx and other private parties cannot technically be involved in shipping ballots,” UPS told Reuters in a statement.“FedEx does accept individual ballots, and we advise that customers planning to return their ballots via FedEx should closely...…By LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - United Parcel Service and FedEx on Friday shot down social media calls that they step in to deliver mail-in ballots from the U.S. Postal Service, which is warning states of potentially “significant” delays.“State ballots must be postmarked to be considered valid and only the USPS has lawful postmarking status. Therefore UPS, FedEx and other private parties cannot technically be involved in shipping ballots,” UPS told Reuters in a statement.“FedEx does accept individual ballots, and we advise that customers planning to return their ballots via FedEx should closely...WW…

By , , DETROIT/LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. distribution of Moderna Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine began on Saturday, with more than 3,700 sites due to start receiving and administering shots as soon as Monday, vastly widening the rollout started last week by Pfizer Inc.Amid record coronavirus infections and deaths, Moderna has already moved vaccine supplies from its manufacturing plants to warehouses operated by distributor McKesson Corp.Workers on Saturday were packing vaccines into containers and loading them on trucks, U.S. Army General Gustave Perna said during a news conference....…By , , DETROIT/LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. distribution of Moderna Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine began on Saturday, with more than 3,700 sites due to start receiving and administering shots as soon as Monday, vastly widening the rollout started last week by Pfizer Inc.Amid record coronavirus infections and deaths, Moderna has already moved vaccine supplies from its manufacturing plants to warehouses operated by distributor McKesson Corp.Workers on Saturday were packing vaccines into containers and loading them on trucks, U.S. Army General Gustave Perna said during a news conference....WW…

By LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Deliveries of holiday gifts purchased online at major retailers could get delayed by something far more critical - COVID-19 vaccines.Slideshow Pharmaceutical companies including Pfizer and Moderna as early as mid-December could begin sending inoculations to U.S. healthcare workers and nursing home residents.FedEx and United Parcel Service could make space for those shipments on cargo planes by bumping off packages from Amazon.com, Walmart, Target and other retailers.“FedEx is prioritizing vaccines,” company spokeswoman Bonny Harrison told Reuters.While vaccines...…By LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Deliveries of holiday gifts purchased online at major retailers could get delayed by something far more critical - COVID-19 vaccines.Slideshow Pharmaceutical companies including Pfizer and Moderna as early as mid-December could begin sending inoculations to U.S. healthcare workers and nursing home residents.FedEx and United Parcel Service could make space for those shipments on cargo planes by bumping off packages from Amazon.com, Walmart, Target and other retailers.“FedEx is prioritizing vaccines,” company spokeswoman Bonny Harrison told Reuters.While vaccines...WW…

By , LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Toilet paper aisles are emptying again as COVID-19 curfews and shutdowns in states from California to New York send pandemic-weary shoppers on a new scramble for essentials.Walmart on Friday said it was “seeing pockets of lower than normal availability” for toilet paper and cleaning supplies in some communities as infections rage virtually unchecked across most of the United States.As of Friday afternoon, 22 states have imposed restrictions aimed at decreasing spread of the virus - giving rise to a new round of panic buying from shoppers and purchase...…By , LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Toilet paper aisles are emptying again as COVID-19 curfews and shutdowns in states from California to New York send pandemic-weary shoppers on a new scramble for essentials.Walmart on Friday said it was “seeing pockets of lower than normal availability” for toilet paper and cleaning supplies in some communities as infections rage virtually unchecked across most of the United States.As of Friday afternoon, 22 states have imposed restrictions aimed at decreasing spread of the virus - giving rise to a new round of panic buying from shoppers and purchase...WW…

By , The push reveals a lack of infrastructure to support a super cold vaccine campaign, including equipment to store millions of doses of Pfizer’s vaccine at temperatures of minus 70 degrees Celsius (minus 94°F), significantly below the standard for vaccines of 2-8 degrees Celsius (36-46°F).Some specialty freezer makers warn of months-long waits for units.It also marks widespread wariness of the advice from the CDC, which on Aug. 26 urged healthcare providers not to purchase ultra low temperature (ULT) freezers, saying it was working on solutions for Pfizer’s “very complex storage and...…By , The push reveals a lack of infrastructure to support a super cold vaccine campaign, including equipment to store millions of doses of Pfizer’s vaccine at temperatures of minus 70 degrees Celsius (minus 94°F), significantly below the standard for vaccines of 2-8 degrees Celsius (36-46°F).Some specialty freezer makers warn of months-long waits for units.It also marks widespread wariness of the advice from the CDC, which on Aug. 26 urged healthcare providers not to purchase ultra low temperature (ULT) freezers, saying it was working on solutions for Pfizer’s “very complex storage and...WW…

By , The push reveals a lack of infrastructure to support a super cold vaccine campaign, including equipment to store millions of doses of Pfizer’s vaccine at temperatures of minus 70 degrees Celsius (minus 94°F), significantly below the standard for vaccines of 2-8 degrees Celsius (36-46°F).Some specialty freezer makers warn of months-long waits for units.It also marks widespread wariness of the advice from the CDC, which on Aug. 26 urged healthcare providers not to purchase ultra low temperature (ULT) freezers, saying it was working on solutions for Pfizer’s “very complex storage and...…By , The push reveals a lack of infrastructure to support a super cold vaccine campaign, including equipment to store millions of doses of Pfizer’s vaccine at temperatures of minus 70 degrees Celsius (minus 94°F), significantly below the standard for vaccines of 2-8 degrees Celsius (36-46°F).Some specialty freezer makers warn of months-long waits for units.It also marks widespread wariness of the advice from the CDC, which on Aug. 26 urged healthcare providers not to purchase ultra low temperature (ULT) freezers, saying it was working on solutions for Pfizer’s “very complex storage and...WW…

By , (Reuters) - Voters in trend-setting California backed a ballot proposal by Uber and its allies that cements app-based food delivery and ride-hail drivers’ status as independent contractors, not employees, according to a projection by data provider Edison Research.Victory in the most expensive ballot contest in state history is a rebuke to state legislators and allows Uber, Lyft and allies to set the employment terms of the gig economy that they helped create. Some had threatened to leave California, their home market, if they lost.The measure, known as Proposition 22, marked the...…By , (Reuters) - Voters in trend-setting California backed a ballot proposal by Uber and its allies that cements app-based food delivery and ride-hail drivers’ status as independent contractors, not employees, according to a projection by data provider Edison Research.Victory in the most expensive ballot contest in state history is a rebuke to state legislators and allows Uber, Lyft and allies to set the employment terms of the gig economy that they helped create. Some had threatened to leave California, their home market, if they lost.The measure, known as Proposition 22, marked the...WW…

By LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Coronavirus survivors are gathering online Sunday to honor the more than 207,000 U.S. lives lost in the pandemic and call for a national strategy to halt its relentless march.The National COVID-19 Remembrance event is organized by Covid Survivors for Change and endorsed by more than a dozen groups, including many that support Americans reeling from the swift and lonely deaths of loved ones or battling lingering health issues from their infections.Billed as the first national memorial service, it will be livestreamed from Washington, DC just days after President...…By LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Coronavirus survivors are gathering online Sunday to honor the more than 207,000 U.S. lives lost in the pandemic and call for a national strategy to halt its relentless march.The National COVID-19 Remembrance event is organized by Covid Survivors for Change and endorsed by more than a dozen groups, including many that support Americans reeling from the swift and lonely deaths of loved ones or battling lingering health issues from their infections.Billed as the first national memorial service, it will be livestreamed from Washington, DC just days after President...WW…