Holiday Price War Rages in Real Time

While shoppers jostled and shoved their way through the usual long lines for Black Friday retail deals, a new and more pitched battle was being fought online that promises to redraw how stores plan for their big door-buster specials.

The historical race between e-commerce retailers and their physical-store rivals continues. But in a new development, bricks-and-mortar retailers are turning the tables, using their websites to match rivals’ marquee discounts more aggressively than ever.

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Japan's Masayoshi Son Picks a Fight With U.S. Phone Giants

In Japan, Masayoshi Son is known as the eccentric Internet billionaire who upended the country’s telecom industry. In the U.S., he is about to become the cash-strapped underdog who picked a fight with two corporate giants — AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless.

“It’s like the poor kids fighting against the rich kids,” Mr. Son said recently about the coming showdown. “Sometimes, the poor kids have more guts to fight the uphill battle.”

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