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1. China's Economic Hopes Pinned to Lunar New Year Travel Demand
China's economy slowed sharply to end 2022 with one of its worst performances in roughly 50 years, but officials are hopeful Lunar New Year travel demand will be a needed boost, Reuters reports.
For the first time in nearly three years, the Chinese economy could benefit "from hundreds of thousands of people a day spending more as they return to China's hinterland," the news outlet reports.
The potential downside is that families, migrant workers, students and others traveling from cities in China that were heavily affected by COVID-19 could end up taking the virus back to their hometowns, NBC News reports.
2. December US Retail Sales Fall 1.1%
Retail sales in the U.S. fell 1.1% in December, indicating late-year cooling in demand for goods after strong spending for most of 2022, reports the Wall Street Journal.
The consumer-price index declined a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in the same month, numbers from the Labor Department show.
"While December is an important month for the holiday shopping season, some retailers discounted heavily and early to clear excess stock from their shelves and warehouses, which analysts said pulled gift shopping into October. High inflation also prompted consumers to hunt for bargains," the news outlet reports.
3. Hotel Tech Trends to Watch
Technological improvements the hotel industry has talked about for years, including automation and robotics, could soon become a more widespread reality for hotels as owners and operators look to improve efficiency, reports Hotel News Now's Sean McCracken.
"Aimbridge Hospitality is investing in emerging technologies that are intuitive and enable a better guest and employee experience," Aimbridge Hospitality Chief Information Officer Andrew Arthurs said in an email interivew. "We are making strategic investments in the areas of robotic process automation, employee-facing tech and business intelligence. There are exciting advances in AI and we’ve had some success working with our partners to leverage AI to create more personalized communications to our guests and for our associates, streamlining routine tasks."
4. Businesses Assess Proposed Ban of Noncompete Clauses
Businesses and lawyers are now assessing how the the Federal Trade Commission's proposed ban of nearly all noncompete clauses in employment contracts could affect worker mobility, wages and future compensation agreements, the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Employers have operated with an understanding that they can protect their interests through noncompetes,” said Matthew Durham, a Salt Lake City-based attorney with Dorsey & Whitney LLP who advises companies on employment matters. “What you’re seeing, reflected in the FTC proposal and elsewhere, is a growing hostility to the idea that there should be those kinds of restrictions, and it’s changing the environment that employers have been comfortable with in the last number of years.”
5. United Airlines Reports Strong Fourth Quarter
United Airlines reported a profit of $843 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, up more than 30% from pre-pandemic levels, and earned full-year profit of $737 million, the Wall Street Journal reports. The airline projects revenue in the first quarter to be 50% more than the same period in 2022.
"Rival airlines including Delta Air Lines and American Airlines have also said resilient demand has led to stronger-than-expected revenue gains in the final months of the year. Delta Chief Executive Ed Bastian said last week that he has never seen a better backdrop for the industry," the news outlet reports.