Walmart adds specialty auto store to website
Walmart will add a specialty auto store to its website in a partnership with Advance Auto Parts.
The rollout expected in early 2019 will feature the aftermarket automotive parts, accessories and maintenance items sold at Advance Auto Parts stores.
Walmart has been acquiring and partnering with other companies aggressively in recent months to further build its omnichannel strategy, including e-commerce intimate retailer Bare Necessities and online plus apparel brand Eloquii.
"This year, we've been incredibly focused on building our offering on Walmart.com to ensure we have the specialty assortment that our customers are looking for," said Phillip Oaks, vice president and group general manager of retail merchandising for Walmart e-commerce.
The new products will add to Walmart's tire, lube and battery services at more than 2,500 Walmart Auto Care Centers.
"This is an exciting partnership for both Advance and Walmart customers," said Tom Greco, president and CEO of Advance Auto Parts. "At Advance, we are absolutely committed to building a best-in-class omnichannel experience and Walmart is an undisputed omnichannel leader."
Home sales slow to 3-year low
U.S. home sales fell for the sixth straight month in September, a sign that housing has increasingly become a weak spot for the economy.
The National Association of Realtors said Friday that sales declined 3.4 percent last month, the biggest drop in 2 years, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.15 million. That's the lowest sales pace since November 2015.
Hurricane Florence dragged sales in North Carolina, but even excluding the storm's effects, sales would have fallen more than 2 percent, the NAR said. After reaching the highest level in a decade last year, sales of existing homes have declined steadily in 2018 amid rapid price increases, higher mortgage rates and a tight supply of available houses.
"Housing is no longer a tail wind for the economy, but the headwinds are blowing very gently," said Michelle Meyer, an economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Housing will likely weaken further in the coming months. September's weakness came before mortgage rates jumped further this month to their highest levels in seven years. Sales fell 4.1 percent in September from a year ago.
"Without a doubt there is a clear shift in the market," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors.
Domino's drivers win wage lawsuit
Pizza delivery drivers for Domino's Pizza won $850,000 in an unopposed settlement to a wage lawsuit this week in federal court.
Domino's and other defendants in the suit are obliged to pay $850,000 to legal class members who submit a claim form and release, according to the motion for final settlement approval approved this week by U.S. District Judge Walter Rice.
According to Rice's court order, the money is allocated to class members so that they will receive reimbursement of up to 30 cents per mile that they drove working for Domino's. The settlement is meant to be based on reimbursing class members for the difference between a 45-cent "compromise reimbursement rate" and the average 30 cents members were actually paid, plus an equal amount to account for damages, the order says.
About 411 drivers have submitted claims, the court said. The order says class members will receive an average of about $2,068 each, although individual awards will vary based on miles driven.
According to Rice's filing, the corporate Domino's defendants - Domino's Pizza Inc., Domino's Pizza LLC and Domino's Pizza Franchising LLC - alleged that they did not employ the plaintiffs, arguing instead that franchise defendants did.