Beads and booze: Though it doesn’t receive the attention that celebrations in New Orleans get, the Mardi Gras season in Shreveport and Bossier City is just as financially important to the northwest Louisiana communities. As The Shreveport Times reports, four Mardi Gras parades in 2016 brought in a crowd of about 585,000 to Shreveport, with more than 169,000 coming from outside of the area, and an economic impact of more than $16 million. The figures are from a new study commissioned by the Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau. Read the full story.
In and out: Long lines can be a frustration at Wal-Mart, but now the big box retailer has a plan to speed up its in-store shopping experience. The Washington Post reports Wal-Mart is creating express lanes in its pharmacy and money services areas, in which customers will be able to use new functions from the Wal-Mart app as part of the transaction process. Wal-Mart execs hope the new process will get customers in and out of stores more quickly, with “scan and go” capabilities effectively allowing customers to ring up their own purchases with their smartphones and skip the checkout line altogether. Read the full story.
Up and down: The U.S. economy grew at an anemic 1.9% rate in the fourth quarter, unchanged from an initial estimate, although consumers performed better than first thought, The Associated Press reports. The increase in the gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic health, represented a significant slowdown from 3.5% growth recorded in the third quarter, the Commerce Department announced this morning. The government found that consumer spending grew at a faster rate, but spending by state and local governments and businesses equipment purchases were weaker. Read the full story.
