December started this week. Retailers have less than a month to post sales results that will be the most important in years. Shopper activity will be affected by inflation and a slowing economy, although no one knows how much. There are only 21 shopping days until Christmas, so waiting for […]

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Employment Situation Summary for November. The unemployment rate nationwide was 3.7%, the same as in October. The economy added 263,000 jobs which was more than expected. One trend was the same as it has been since the BLS started to release the data. […]

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (CBRL) said it delivered first quarter topline performance and operating income results in line with the company’s expectations. Adjusted operating income was $30.0 million, compared to $46.1 million, a year ago. Cracker Barrel comparable store restaurant sales increased 7.1%, for the quarter. Comparable store […]

Retailers Dollar General Corp. (DG) and Big Lots, Inc. (BIG) reported Thursday results for the third quarter, with profit at Dollar General increasing from last year, while Big Lots reported a sharply wider loss than last year. The bottom line at both the retailers missed analysts’ estimates. In pre-market trading […]

Eurozone inflation moderated for the first since the middle of 2021 driven by a marked slowdown in energy price growth, however the European Central Bank is expected to deliver another interest rate hike next month given the sticky core inflation. Inflation slowed more-than-expected to 10.0 percent in November from 10.6 […]

Households hoping for instant cost-of-living relief from Labor’s new industrial relations legislation, now set to become law, will be sorely disappointed. If you listen to business lobby groups, of course, we’re all about to get pay increases so big they will bankrupt many businesses. But truth is often the first […]

As the cost of living continues to rise, making a bit of extra money in addition to your main career may be looking like an attractive prospect. Colloquially known as a “side hustle”, these secondary “jobs” can take on all sorts of forms, from renting out your car while you’re […]

HP Inc. (HPQ), the PC and printer business of the former Hewlett-Packard Co., on Tuesday reported results for the fourth quarter, with company posting a small loss for the quarter. Moving ahead, the company announced plans to lay off up to 6,000 employees in order to cut costs. HP reported […]

I have long been fascinated by how we humans make decisions across various domains of our lives, from the micro decisions which affect our weight and bank balances to, on a grander scale, the pursuit of optimal public policymaking. My interest has often been sparked by an observed tendency in […]

Thailand’s economy expanded at the fastest pace in more than a year in the third quarter on the back of strong private consumption and investment, official data revealed on Monday. Southeast Asia’s second largest economy grew 4.5 percent from the last year, following second quarter’s 2.5 percent expansion, the Office […]