Thursday’s business headlines
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Here’s a look at Thursday’s business headlines with Jane King.
Tractor Supply Co. buying Midwest farm retailer
Tractor Supply Co. is buying Midwest farm and ranch retailer Orscheln Farm and Home.
Based in Moberly, Missouri, Orscheln farm and home is a 60-plus-year-old family-operated retailer with 167 stores in 11 states, including Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Indiana, Oklahoma, Illinois and Ohio.
Orschelon has nine Indiana locations, including one in Greenfield.
Walmart investor event Thursday
Walmart will hold its investor event today and may talk about price cuts on some products, especially food prices.
Walmart also has a good read on the health of the consumer and will share how its new Walmart+ subscription service is going.
Consumer debt totaled $14.6T at end of 2020
Consumer debt totaled $14.6 trillion at the end of 2020, rising 1.4% in the fourth quarter.
The increase came largely due to a record-breaking rise in mortgage debt, which now totals more than $10 trillion.
Student loan debt saw a modest increase in 2020.
Pay for parking, transit with Google Maps
Google Maps will now let you pay for parking and transit without leaving the app.
Google Maps can already tell you which train to take or map out an optimal driving route.
By bypassing parking meters and train ticket machines, people can save time and also avoid touching public surfaces.
You can help pick Amazon’s next gadget
Amazon is ready to make its next gadget and it’s letting consumers help choose.
The tech giant introduced a new program Wednesday called Build It, where Amazon will present concepts for devices and leave it to shoppers to choose whether they want it built by preordering.
The gadgets include a sticky note printer, a smart nutrition scale and a smart cuckoo clock.