Every morning, we send you a free email packed with Austin news, business, and entertainment. Join 20,000+ readers who wake up to Austonia's newsletter.
Local news and fun, every day 6am.
Featured
austonia newsletter
Most viewed
Two dozen national retailers announced plans to remain closed on Thanksgiving Day, reversing a trend of Black Friday sales starting earlier every year.
Black Friday holiday sales start earlier every year with many retail stores opening on Thanksgiving night to give shoppers a head start.
Well, finally, we can point to a positive change resulting from the pandemic. Austin-based coupon consolidator RetailMeNot compiled a list of two dozen national retailers that do not plan to open on Thanksgiving day, mostly in response to a lack of demand. RetailMeNot survey results suggest 88% of shoppers do not plan to do in-store shopping for Black Friday deals.
Not surprisingly, it was Walmart that started the trend of opening before Black Friday. But it was also the mega big-box retailer that first made the call to close its 4,000 U.S. stores—including seven in Austin—on Thanksgiving this year.
Here are the other national businesses keeping doors closed on Turkey Day 2020 (Nov. 26 this year):
- Academy Sports + Outdoors
- Bath & Body Works
- Bed Bath & Beyond
- Best Buy
- BJ's
- Boscov's
- Costco
- Dick's Sporting Goods
- Foot Locker
- GameStop
- The Home Depot
- JCPenney
- Kohl's
- Lamps Plus
- Macy's
- Office Depot/OfficeMax
- REI
- Simon Property Group
- Target
- Ulta
- UnderArmour
- The Outlet Resource Group
- Walmart
- Williams-Sonoma
However, many stores are still opening for Black Friday in-person sales—but not as many as usual. RetailMeNot compiled a list of national shops that have confirmed plans for the biggest shopping day of the year. Many business chains are letting local stores make the call based on COVID-19 spread in their respective area.
- Austin officials say reopening roll back is the next 'logical step ... ›
- Everything we know about COVID-19 in Austin right now - austonia ›
- Hope to enjoy Thanksgiving? Then skip Halloween in Austin ... ›
- Poll: What does your Thanksgiving look like? - austonia ›
Popular
Elon Musk has proposed once again to buy Twitter for $54.20 a share.
The news that Musk is offering to carry on with the $44 billion buyout was first reported by Bloomberg. Now, a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission shows Musk made the proposal in a letter to the tech giant on Monday.
The New York Stock Exchange temporarily halted trading in Twitter stock twice Tuesday, first because of a big price move and the second time for a news event, presumably the announcement of Musk's renewed offer.
While the per share offer price on this latest proposal remains the same as the original offer, it’s unclear if Musk has made other term changes or if Twitter would reject it. According to other reports, a deal could be reached this week.
The stock closed at $52.00/share Tuesday, indicating market uncertainty around the $54.20 offer.
After Musk informed Twitter of plans to terminate the original agreement in July, Twitter sued. A trial has been expected in Delaware Chancery Court on Oct. 17.
With the proposition of a buyout on the table again, it revives the question of whether Musk might move Twitter from San Francisco to Central Texas.
He’s done so with some of his other companies. Tesla’s headquarters in southeast Travis County had its grand opening earlier this year and tunneling business The Boring Company moved to Pflugerville. At least two other Musk companies, SpaceX and Neuralink, have a Central Texas presence without being headquartered here.
Technology journalist Nilay Patel this afternoon voiced concerns that owning Twitter and Tesla together could be problematic for Musk, as his Tesla manufacturing facilities in Germany and China are both in countries that have disputes with Twitter over content moderation and censorship.
Telsa shares fell after the Twitter news became public, before rallying to close up, at $249.44.
- Elon Musk challenges the Kremlin to a fight on Twitter - austonia ›
- 8 Austin Twitter accounts you should follow - austonia ›
- Elon Musk succeeds in buying Twitter for about $44 billion - austonia ›
- A man near Austin offers land for Elon Musk to move Twitter - austonia ›
- If Elon Musk's deal works out, will Twitter move to Austin? - austonia ›
- Elon Musk says rumors about his travel are a security issue - austonia ›
While searching for a place to live, Austin renters will face monthly rates of nearly $3,000, a recent guide from rental marketplace Dwellsy shows.
The median rent in August this year was $2,930, a more than 86% increase since August 2021. That’s $820 more than the nationwide median asking rent in August and puts Austin just below the Bay Area, Boston and New York for large cities with the most expensive asking rent.
“Within this group, Austin, TX stands out for the highest increases in asking rent, which has nearly doubled since this time last year,” the study notes.
Outside of those large cities, however, others are seeing even higher rent spikes. Metro areas that ranked above Austin in one-year increases include those like Kansas City, MO with a 112% change in rent since last August and Tucson, AZ with a 124% change.
The data reflects large apartment communities, single-family homes and 2-6 unit buildings.
- How Austin rent stacks up against other major cities - austonia ›
- Austin had the second-highest jump in one-bedroom rents in U.S. ... ›
- 'Boomtown' Austin could soon end as rent, renewal rates soar ... ›
- Austin's rent jumps higher than almost any other U.S. city as rental ... ›
- Austin tops Texas cities for rent growth in 2021 - austonia ›
- Austin rents continue post-COVID rise thanks to homes frenzy ... ›
- Guide to where to rent in Austin's neighborhoods - austonia ›
- The cost of living is rising but Austin is outpacing the country - austonia ›
- Airbnb for dogs app lets locals rent yard space for pets - austonia ›
- After COVID lull, Austin sees biggest year-over-year rent increase ... ›
