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The Morning Ledger: Consumer Spending Lifts U.S. Retailers |
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An employee scans a customer's purchases at a Walmart store in Secaucus, N.J., U.S.
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Good morning. Executives at U.S. retailers, from Walmart Inc. to Nordstrom Inc., are benefiting from strong consumer demand, as the robust U.S. economy is spurring people to shop, report the WSJ's Suzanne Kapner and Sarah Nassauer.
Spending power: Buoyed by rising wages and employment as well as tax cuts, Americans are spending more on products as diverse as jeans, handbags and wall paint. That has translated to rising sales at not just Walmart and Nordstrom, but also Home Depot Inc. and Coach owner Tapestry Inc.
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Competing on all fronts: Retailers that pulled out of the slump have had a sharp focus on their core customers, plowing money both into their physical stores and websites. They have become smarter about how they manage their inventory, leaving them with fewer surplus goods and markdowns at the end of a season. And they have secured more exclusive brands that can’t be found elsewhere.
Amazon effect: But traditional retailers are still facing challenges from Amazon.com Inc., whose rapid growth and discounting has squeezed industry profits. Analysts also caution that potential tariffs could force retailers to raise prices and eventually crimp demand.
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The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Indicators are due out at 10 a.m. E.T.
Deere & Co. reports earnings today.
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Google CEO Sundar Pichai has told employees the company isn’t close to launching a search engine in China despite its push to expand there. PHOTO: JASON LEE/REUTERS
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Google Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai defended to employees the internet giant’s controversial push to do more business in China but said the Alphabet Inc. unit is “not close to launching a search product” in the country.
Chip maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc. is expected to cut into Intel Corp.’s stranglehold on the data-center business in the coming year.
Tesla Inc. has backed away from an agreement to buy all the output from a solar-panel factory it operates with Panasonic Corp., the Japanese firm said, another sign of the uncertain outlook for Tesla’s solar business.
Symantec Corp. is facing a threat from activist investor Starboard Value LP, which has taken a position in the cybersecurity company and privately nominated five directors to its 11-person board in July, the hedge fund said in a securities filing.
Foxconn Technology Co. will work with the city of Zhuhai in China’s Pearl River Delta to build a semiconductor plant, people familiar with the matter said Friday.
Wendy’s Co. sold its remaining stake in Inspire Brands Inc., the owner of Arby’s and Buffalo Wild Wings, back to the company for $450 million, reports CNBC.com.
J.C. Penney Co. lowered its full-year earnings outlook after the retailer reported a wider loss and lower sales.
A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S said it will seek a separate listing of its drilling unit next year, aiming to generate cash proceeds of around $1.2 billion, as the Danish freight carrier continues to reshape itself into a global supply chain player, reports the Financial Times.
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SEC regulators are asking Tesla board members for details about their conversations with Elon Musk. PHOTO: PETER PARKS/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission began investigating last year whether Tesla Inc. misled investors about its Model 3 car production problems, according to people familiar with the matter.
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The U.S. Federal Reserve on Thursday released Santander Holdings USA lnc. from oversight restrictions imposed in 2015, when the bank was sharply rebuked for failing to meet regulatory standards across several of its business operations.
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The new U.S. special representative for Iran said Thursday the Trump administration is prepared to impose sanctions on all countries that buy oil from Iran after a deadline in November, including top importer China.
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President Trump called on his attorney general to sue opioid makers, his latest move in an administration-wide effort to combat the painkiller epidemic that caused a record number of deaths in the U.S. in 2017.
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A federal judge rejected large parts of a nearly $4 billion government lawsuit alleging satellite-TV giant DirecTV engaged in deceptive advertising.
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.’s generic version of Mylan NV's EpiPen injector device for life-threatening allergic reactions, which has seen price increases of 548% over the last decade.
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62% |
The share of companies that plan to raise wages this year in response to the new U.S. tax law, according to a survey of senior finance executives by CFO Research and Prudential Financial Inc.
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Hershey Co.’s finance chief Patricia Little is leaving the candy maker at a time of rising costs and changing consumer tastes toward healthier snacks, reports CFO Journal's Nina Trentmann.
The maker of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Kisses said Thursday its chief financial officer intends to retire from the company in the spring of 2019, roughly four years after she took the job in March 2015. She joined from workforce-solutions provider Kelly Services Inc. and before that served at Ford Motor Co.
“Patricia has been instrumental in helping create a more profitable and sustainable international business model,” said Hershey CEO Michele Buck in a statement.
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President Trump speaks at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., U.S., August 2018. PHOTO: CAROLYN KASTER/ASSOCIATED PRESS
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President Trump told trade negotiators to take the time they need to strike an attractive deal on overhauling the North American Free Trade Agreement and sought to put pressure on Canada, which isn’t participating in the latest talks between the U.S. and Mexico.
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U.S. housing starts grew 0.9% in July from the prior month, a modest rebound after a big June drop but significantly weaker than the 8.3% Wall Street had expected.
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The number of Americans filing applications for new unemployment benefits fell by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 212,000 in the week ended August 11, continuing to hover near historic lows.
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An unprecedented run of orders for big rigs has pushed the backlog at truck factories to nine months, according to industry analysts, the largest since early 2006.
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Concerns about the impact of U.S. protectionism on global trade kept the Bank of Mexico on guard as it left interest rates unchanged earlier this month, according to minutes released Thursday.
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Every weekend we select a handful of in-depth articles we think are worth a bit of your time, either because they peel back the layers on a compelling business story, or somehow make us look at business in a different light.
China's quest to build the world's largest high-speed rail network fuelled demand for concrete, steel and other industrial commodities in the years after the financial crisis. But they have also saddled China Railway and other state-owned enterprises with huge amounts of debt, reports the Financial Times.
Working from home can be a coveted perk, allowing you to opt out of rush-hour traffic and eliminate the tedious banalities of office life. But it can also cut you off from the spontaneous interactions that can spark new insights. Harvard Business Review explains how to avoid loneliness when working from home.
Europe has good universities, transit systems and more than twice the population of the U.S. Nevertheless, the continent lags behind in the world of consumer technology, writes Bloomberg Businessweek.
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Hamilton Beach Brands Holding Co., the Glen Allen, Va., appliance maker said Chief Financial Officer James Taylor will retire at the end of 2018. He had been at the company for 35 years and CFO since 2013.
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Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, a U.K. bank, appointed Katie Murray as interim CFO to replace outgoing finance chief Ewen Stevenson, effective October 1. Ms. Murray is currently deputy chief financial officer. Mr. Stevenson will step down from the bank's board and as CFO on September 30 to become CFO at HSBC Holdings PLC. A search for a permanent successor is under way, RBS said in a statement.
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