At the checkout: Average supermarket prices fell 2.2% in September from a year ago, the most since late 2009, USA Today reports. Supermarket prices been down on an annual basis for 10 straight months, the longest such streak since 1959-60, new Labor Department figures show. IHS Global economist Chris Christopher says the decline is good for middle- and low-income households, which can use the savings to buy more groceries. They also benefit from the oversupply of beef, poultry, pork and grains. However, the falling prices at the checkout are spreading hardship across the nation’s farm belt and hammering the earnings of grocery chains. Supermarkets, which operate on thin margins, are also getting squeezed. Read the full story.
Flipping the switch: Oil companies should brace themselves for rapid advancements in battery technology, which could bring more electric cars to the market and drive down the demand for oil, according to a new report from Fitch Ratings Limited. FuelFix.com reports the oil industry—already reeling from an oil glut—could see the demand for oil peak sooner than the 2030s if the battery technology makes an expected leap forward and the adoption of electric cars spikes. The report predicts that the number of electric vehicles on the road will increase slowly, in part because today’s cars can last up to 20 years. Read the full story.
Losing out: The shift to online shopping that has crushed U.S. department stores in recent years now threatens the investors who a decade ago funded the vast expanse of brick and mortar malls. Reuters reports weak September core retail sales indicated that hundreds of billions of dollars in commercial real estate loans—more than one-quarter of which went to finance malls a decade ago—are due to refinance between now and the end of 2017. Wells Fargo estimates that about $38 billion of these loans were taken out by retailers, bundled into commercial mortgage-backed securities and sold to institutional investors. About half of all CMBS maturing in 2017 could struggle to get financing on current terms. The blame, Reuters says, lies with online shopping and widespread discounting, which have shrunk profit margins and increased store closures, making it harder for mall operators to meet their debt obligations. Read the full story.
