With most holiday merchandise safely in the country despite significant congestion impacting West Coast ports, import cargo volume at the nation's major retail container ports is expected to continue to slow down this month, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

It's been a year since Target's data breach and retailers are still vulnerable even as the busiest shopping season kicks into high gear, warn security experts, largely due to a lack of focus on asset management.

Sixty-eight percent of small-business owners surveyed recently expressed optimism for the upcoming holiday season as retail sales are poised to increase nationwide.

The Army and Air Force Exchange Service - widely known as the PX or the Exchange - is designed to provide everything a soldier might need or want, tax-free and often at a deep discount: uniforms, tactical gear, recreational sports equipment, vitamin supplements, electronics, furniture, booze, lawn ornaments. It serves 12.8 million customers in 50 states and more than 30 countries. In fiscal 2013 the PX had revenue of $8.3bn and a profit of $332m. About a third of that was reinvested in operations, and the rest - $208m - was plowed into the Pentagon's morale, welfare and recreation programs to provide services like playing fields and on-base Boy Scout troops.