Macy’s to hire fewer holiday workers
Symbol | Price | Change | %Change |
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M | $15.76 | 0.04 | 0.25 |
Macy’s plans to hire 41,000 full- and part-time seasonal workers for the upcoming holiday season, down from last year.
In 2021, the department store chain said it would hire 76,000 full- and part-time colleagues at its Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury stores, call centers and distribution and fulfillment centers, including 48,000 for the holiday season.
This year’s announcement did not mention any permanent positions. However Macy’s did say: “In 2021, more than 10,300 seasonal colleagues earned permanent positions throughout the holiday season.”
Walmart launches Walmart Land and Walmart’s Universe of Play on Roblox
Symbol | Price | Change | %Change |
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WMT | $128.54 | -1.52 | -1.17 |
RBLX | $37.66 | 2.12 | 5.97 |
Walmart is launching
two new immersive experiences in the metaverse mega-platform, Roblox. Called Walmart Land and Walmart’s Universe of Play, the spaces offers unique interactive content and entertainment for customers, bringing to life the best of Walmart’s ‘isles’ in a virtual world.
Walmart Land brings fashion, style, beauty and entertainment items directly to the global Roblox community of over 52 million daily users.
Walmart’s Universe of Play includes immersive games, rewards and virtual adventures.
Breaking News
Stocks drift lower as week begins, recession fears mount
U.S. stocks kicked off the week on a down note as recession fears mount ahead of a round of fresh economic data due this week including the final read on 2Q GDP. Overseas the spiraling British pound added more strength to the U.S. dollar. In commodities, oil ticked up to the $79 per barrel level.
Investors are also watching the Dow Jones Industrial Average which briefly hit a bear market on Friday. Level to watch: 29,439.72
Dow Jones Averages.
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29517.34
Stock futures trade lower to start the week
U.S. equity futures traded lower on Monday. following another brutal week for stocks.
The major futures indexes suggest a decline of 0.1% when trading begins on Wall Street.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Friday briefly hit a bear market before bouncing back slightly from a 700-point drop. The average is now sitting at the lowest level since November 2020. This as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite wrapped the second straight week of losses, retreating to June lows.
Oil prices fell for a second day on Monday on fears of lower fuel demand from an expected global recession sparked by rising worldwide interest rates and as a surging U.S. dollar limits the ability of non-dollar consumers to purchase crude.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures traded around $77.00 a barrel.
Brent crude futures traded around $85.00 a barrel.
Asian shares tumbled and the British pound sank further on Monday, reflecting pessimism over efforts by central banks around the world to curb inflation.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 shed 2.6%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gave up 0.4% and China’s Shanghai Composite lost 1.2%.
Wall Street ended last week with widespread selling, leaving major indexes with their fifth loss in six weeks.
The S&P 500 sank 1.7% on Friday, to 3,693.23, its fourth straight drop. The Dow, which at one point was down more than 800 points, lost 486.27 points, or 1.6%, to close at 29,590.41. The Nasdaq fell 1.8% to 10,867.93.
British pound falls to four decade low
Sterling tumbled to a four decade low on Monday on speculation the new government’s economic plan will stretch its finances to the limit.
The pound dipped as low as $1.0349 per U.S. dollar early Monday, but then rebounded to $1.0671, down 2.3%.
The Euro also touched a fresh 20-year low against the dollar on simmering recession fears, as the energy crisis extends toward winter amid an escalation in the Ukraine war.
Sterling fell 3.61% on Friday.
Gasoline rises for a sixth straight day
The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in the U.S. is gaining ground.
Monday’s price rose to $3.725, up from Sunday’s $3.417 a gallon, according to AAA.
The price started rising again in the past week, after declining for nearly100 days in a row during the summer driving season.
That makes it six straight days of increases that began on Wednesday morning, when the price ticked up to $3.681 per gallon from $3.674 the previous day.
The average price a week a go was $3.678. A year ago it was $3.188.
Amazon to hold mid-October sale event
Amazon will hold another Prime Day-like shopping event in October.
The company is the latest major retailer to offer holiday deals earlier this year to entice cautious consumers dealing with tighter budgets.
The event will reportedly be held October 11 and 12, according to the Associated Press.
The event will mark the first time Amazon is holding a major sales event twice in a year and follows its annual Prime Day in July.
It signals a recognition from Amazon that it needs to provide more deals to cash-strapped consumers in what’s expected to be a challenging holiday shopping season for retailers.
Oil prices fall on recession fears
Oil prices fell for a second day on Monday on fears of lower fuel demand from an expected global recession sparked by rising worldwide interest rates and as a surging U.S. dollar limits the ability of non-dollar consumers to purchase crude.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures traded around $77.00 a barrel.
Brent crude futures traded around $85.00 a barrel.
Both contracts slumped around 5% on Friday to their lowest since January.
The dollar index that measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies climbed to a 20-year high on Monday. A stronger greenback tends to curtail demand for dollar-denominated oil since buyers using other currencies must spend more to buy crude.
Reuters contributed to this post.
Cryptocurrency prices for Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin traded mostly higher Monday morning
Bitcoin was trading around $18,000, after a week that saw it lose 3%.
For the month, the cryptocurrency was off more than 6% and down more than 59% year-to-date.
Ethereum was trading around $1,200, after a week in which it lost 3%.
Dogecoin was trading at 6 cents after a week in which it gained more than 6%.
Read More: STOCK MARKET NEWS: Stocks drift as recession fears rise, gas ticks up, Macy’s holiday