MarketWatch: Amazon announced that it is shutting down its Daily Deals and Amazon Local offerings, a service that rivaled Groupon with online, locally focused coupons. The site and app will cease offering deals on Dec. 18, and the daily email featuring deals ceased Friday, though deals that customers have purchased or buy through Dec. 18 will be honored after that date. Amazon launched the service in 2011 with help from LivingSocial, a Groupon rival in which the Seattle e-commerce giant invested, and eventually grew it to 40 markets.