Consumers are still cautious about the economy, resulting in a sales growth decline this holiday season to 3.7%, down from last year’s 4.1% according to the National Retail Federation. To combat this prediction Wal-Mart has launched their layaway program two weeks earlier than usual, and Target has expanded their price-match guarantee.
Are workers’ compensation costs on the rise? An arrangement for better group health plans might mean exactly that, says new study.
And Blackstone Group, a leading global alternative investment manager and financial advisory firm, has been fined $39 million over fee practices, which isn’t the first time they’ve had to settle with the SEC over their increased authority over the private equity industry.
All this and more in the stories below, here’s today’s roundup…
The Japanese government’s three new economic arrows miss their mark.
The company agreed to plead guilty to violations of a customs law and the Lacey Act, and pay a combined total of $10 million in fines.
The National Retail Federation said that holiday sales should increase 3.7%, to $630.5 billion, this year, a deceleration from 2014’s growth.
An ongoing shift to the “capitation” model for reimbursing medical providers leads them to classify more injuries as work-related.
>> David McCann
The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits was lower than expected.
The settlement with the SEC is the second stemming from the agency’s increased authority over the private equity industry.
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