Aclass-action lawsuit was filed against Wal-Mart Monday in Chicago federal court. The suit alleges the retail giant, as well as two staffing agencies—Labor Ready Midwest and QPS Employment Group, also defendants—violated federal minimum wage and overtime laws. Plaintiffs in the … [Read more...]
Texas Districts Head to Court Challenging State Education Budget
Texas school districts head back to court this week, challenging the state legislature’s $5.4 billion in education budgetary cuts. The districts will argue before Texas District Judge John Dietz that the remaining system is too inefficient to properly educate students and, in fact, … [Read more...]
Survey Forecasts Economic Growth to Reach 3 Percent in Next Year
Economists believe U.S. economic growth to reach 3 percent by the end of 2013, according to National Association of Business Economics survey results released today. The panel of 44 professional economic forecasters from companies such as Dupont, Ford and JPMorgan Chase—surveyed Sept. … [Read more...]
McDonald’s Posts Weak Third Quarter Earnings
McDonald’s Corporation (MCD) shares fell 4.5 percent yesterday as the fast food giant reported weak third quarter earnings—its worst in nine years. Total third quarter revenues were $7.15 billion, unchanged from last year, however given constant currencies revenues they would have … [Read more...]
Sales of Existing Homes Declines
In a report released by the NAR, a decline in existing homes was reported. This decline in sales of existing homes fell by 1.7%. This down turn is in comparison to the previous month of August to the month of September. … [Read more...]
CFPB Proposes CARD Act Amendment to Help Stay-at-Home Moms
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced its proposal to allow stay-at-home spouses and partners easier access to open credit accounts. The rule would consider shared income from a working spouse or partner when applying for a credit card account. … [Read more...]
AMD Continues Downsizing
Advanced Micro Devices announced a second round of employee downsizing measures. In this announcement, AMD indicated that it will be reducing its workforce by an additional 12,000 employees. This second round of layoffs represents an additional 15% in staffing cuts. This notice of … [Read more...]
Early Release of Google Earnings Shocks Investors, Sends Shares into Tailspin
Twitter was abuzz with the hash tag #PendingLarry today after Google’s quarterly earnings were released with the Securities and Exchange Commission by mistake. Investors quickly took note and Google’s stock dropped almost 10 percent before trading was halted. … [Read more...]
Southwest Airlines Posts Third Quarter Games
For the third quarter, Southwest Airlines Company (LUV) posted profits. … [Read more...]
PepsiCo Reports Higher Earnings
Third quarter earnings for PepsiCo were at a higher level than what was forecasted. These surprising increased earnings over forecast, despite weakened revenue, for the third quarter were due to the U.S. dollar being more robust and the demise of certain businesses. … [Read more...]
Seniors to Receive 1.7 Percent Increase to Social Security in 2013
Seniors will receive an increase to their Social Security in 2013, though not much. The Social Security Administration announced Tuesday monthly benefits will increase 1.7 percent beginning Jan. 1. For the nearly 62 million Americans receiving either monthly Social Security or … [Read more...]
Consumers Buying Power Impacted
For the month of September, consumers in America experienced a decline in their buying power. The primary cause of this negative impact on the consumer's wallet was due to the rapid increase in gasoline prices. Gasoline for the month of September rose in price by 7%. This rise in … [Read more...]
Fed’s Dudley Says Lack of Mortgage Competition Hampering QE3 Benefits
Lack of competition in the mortgage industry is hindering the affects of the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing efforts, a senior Fed policy maker said. In testimony to the National Association for Business Economics in New York City Monday, New York Fed President Bill Dudley … [Read more...]
More Merchants Move to Block Swipe Fee Settlement
A major settlement proposed in July is expected to be submitted to the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn later this week. The $7.2 billion class-action settlement between Visa, MasterCard and U.S. retailers was previously reached following seven years of litigation when retailers … [Read more...]
Economic Growth Outlook Reduced
Due to a reduction in spending by both businesses and consumers, most analysts have reduced the forecast growth outlook for 2013. … [Read more...]
JPMorgan, Wells Fargo Post Third quarter Profits
JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. released third quarter earnings today—the first major U.S. banks to post quarterly figures this month. As analysts expected, both companies posted strong growth compared to weak numbers a year ago. … [Read more...]
PayPal Considers Downsizing
Unconfirmed news indicates that PayPal will announce that they are cutting their workforce by 3%. Because the plans have not been formally announced, the anonymous individual has indicated that this 3% reduction in the workforce is anticipated to range anywhere from 300 to 400 … [Read more...]
Consumer Sentiment Hits 5-Year High, Indicates Economic Growth Sustainable
Consumer sentiment rose nearly five points between September and October, far beyond what analysts forecast. According to the University of Michigan-Thomson Reuters sentiment gauge, the preliminary October reading rose to 83.1 from its final September reading of 78.3. In addition to … [Read more...]
China and Japan Indicate Support for Europe’s Rescue Plan
The second and third largest global financial economies have recently indicated support for Europe's recently rolled out rescue plan. China and Japan, second and third largest economies respectively, have verbally indicated their support to help resolve the European financial crisis … [Read more...]
Third Quarter Increase in Profit for Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo released their third quarter earnings statement showing a 22% increase for the quarter. Wells Fargo has the largest worth of any U.S. Bank and is the nation’s largest financial institution when it comes to mortgages. Driving this strong financial quarter for Wells … [Read more...]
