CBL tileCBL mall sales up last week
CBL & Associates Properties Inc., one of the largest operators of shopping malls nationally, said Wednesday that Black Friday weekend sales and traffic was up at its properties over last year.
In addition to traditional retailers seeing an uptick in sales, photo sales and visits with Santa Claus are up over last year as well, the company said.
“The positive sales reports for the Black Friday weekend from the CBL portfolio are encouraging,” said Stephen Lebovitz, Chattanooga-based CBL’s chief executive officer. “CBL malls across the country are creating an inviting holiday experience.
A preliminary survey released by the National Retail Federation showed that both store and online sales from Thanksgiving through the weekend were estimated to have dropped 11 percent, to $50.9 billion, from $57.4 billion last year.
Caines named as Kenco COO
David Caines has been appointed chief operating officer for Kenco, one of the nation’s largest warehouse and logistics companies..
Caines joined the Chattanooga-based company in 2002, most recently serving as president of Kenco Logistic Services and Kenco Transportation Services. In his new role, he is responsible for all of Kenco’s operating contracts, which encompass more than 100 facilities, 3,500 employees, and 30 million square feet of warehouse space.
“Kenco’s direction is clear,” Caines said. “As a family-owned business with strong core values, Kenco has achieved solid, consistent growth with an evolving suite of logistics services. That’s the base from which I want our team to move forward.”
Productivity grows 2.3 percent in quarter
U.S. workers’ productivity increased in the July-September quarter at a slightly faster pace than previously estimated while labor costs declined for a second straight quarter.
Productivity, the amount of output per hour of work, increased at an annual rate of 2.3 percent in the third quarter while labor costs fell at a rate of 1 percent, the Labor Department reported Wednesday.
In its first estimate, the government had put productivity growth at a slightly slower 2 percent and said labor costs had risen a tiny 0.2 percent. The strengthening of productivity growth combined with a faster drop in labor costs should reassure the Federal Reserve that there is little threat of unwanted inflation pressures harming economic growth any time soon.
Greater productivity is the key factor determining rising living standards. It enables companies to pay their workers more without having to increase prices.
Last week, the government revised GDP for the third quarter up from its first estimate of 3.5 percent to a stronger 3.9 percent. Greater growth in output translated into stronger growth in productivity and lower labor pressures.
Over the past year, labor costs have risen 1.2 percent, a modest increase that is well below the long-run average of 2.8 percent in annual gains.
Abercrombie cuts earnings forecast
Abercrombie & Fitch, like many teenagers it caters to, is struggling to find its niche.
A major overhaul of its business has yet to bear fruit, as sales kept falling in the company’s third quarter and it lowered its full-year earnings forecast Wednesday.
Despite the challenges, many investors were pleased with the earnings beat and sent shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. up nearly 3.5 percent to $28.81.
The teen retailer was once a powerhouse with its preppy, logo-heavy look. But tastes change and teenagers began to favor standing out over fitting in.
The New Albany, Ohio-based company said that its total revenue fell to $911.5 million from $1.03 billion for the quarter that ended Nov. 1. That fell short of the $916.7 million that analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research expected. And sales at stores open at least a year, a key gauge of a retailer’s health as it excludes recently opened and closed stores, fell 10 percent.
U.S. firms add 208,000 jobs
U.S. businesses hired at a solid pace last month, according to a private survey, a signal that Friday’s November jobs report from the government will likely also show strength.
Payroll processer ADP said Wednesday that companies added 208,000 jobs in November, the third straight month that hiring has topped 200,000. The figures suggest that businesses remain confident enough in the economy and their customer demand to add workers despite sluggish growth overseas.
Economists have forecast that the government’s figures will show that employers added 225,000 jobs in November, according to a survey by financial data provider FactSet. The unemployment rate is expected to decline to 5.7 percent from 5.8 percent.
The job gains in the ADP survey were broadly distributed: Construction companies added 17,000, though that was down from 27,000 in October. Manufacturers added 11,000, slightly below the previous month’s total. A category that includes retail, transportation and utility companies gained a robust 49,000 jobs, possibly reflecting hiring ahead of the holiday shopping season.
Fed survey shows economy growing
The U.S. economy kept expanding in October and November, helped by solid gains in consumer spending, manufacturing and overall employment, according to the Federal Reserve’s latest survey of business conditions around the country.
The Fed survey found many areas of strength and for the first time this year, the report did not see a need to qualify its summary of growth by using words like “modest” and “moderate.”
The Fed said that business executives remain optimistic about the prospects for growth in 2015. The gains in economic activity were coming as overall inflation remained subdued although the report did find upward wage pressures for some skilled workers.
The report, known as the Beige Book for the color of its cover, will form the basis for discussion at the Fed’s final policy-making meeting of the year on Dec. 16-17.
Analysts said the views on economic performance suggest the Fed will leave a key short-term interest rate at a record low for the time being. The rate has been near zero since December 2008.
The report said auto sales were particularly strong in the Richmond, Atlanta, Chicago and San Francisco districts.