The coronavirus fallout is changing the landscape for the travel and retail industries, with tourism demand slumping and personal consumption hurt by the avoidance of nonurgent travel outside home. Hotel operator Hoshino Resorts Inc. is sponsoring the restructuring of White Bear Family Co., a travel agency based in the city of Osaka. The headwinds from COVID-19 led the operator of the Shirokuma tour to go bankrupt with debts of ¥27.8 billion last month. Behind the bailout is Hoshino Resorts' bid to tap the domestic travel market, as government-imposed entry restrictions have nearly wiped out foreign tourists from Japan. Hoshino Resorts Chief Executive Officer Yoshiharu Hoshino is confident about expanding its business during these tough times.

In a prior post I outlined some thoughts on the outlook for the data analytics sector and referenced a database I prepared of analytics companies. At the time the list comprised about 400 names categorized into a number of sectors and segments. I've continued to update the list since that time and it now comprises about 800 companies. It can be referenced via logging in at my website. How has the list changed?

"While school district consolidation is often associated with anticipated cost savings and tax reductions, it is a very complex process, involving multiple contributing factors, like changes in state funding, additional expenses necessitated by salary equalization, and capital costs," the report said. "Consolidation can lead to higher costs for districts, both on the short term ... and longer term."

The original plan to create one Connecticut Community College with 12 separate campuses within a year has been rejected as unrealistic by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. The Connecticut Post reports the Board of Regents for Higher Education agreed unanimously on Thursday to pursue that effort over five years. The consolidation plan calls for the 12 colleges to be grouped into three regions. System President Mark Ojakian says the goal of the plan is to save money and improve the experiences for the 4,900 students in the state's community colleges.

Rebecca Holcombe announced Tuesday she will be stepping down, as she has been meeting with districts that do not want to merge. Vermont Public Radio reports the secretary is supposed to decide if dissenting boards can remain independent in a statewide report due June 1.