Here’s the plan: Walmart announced this morning plans to spend $1 billion to make changes to how it pays and trains U.S. hourly workers as the embattled retailer tries to reshape the image that its stores offer dead-end jobs. As part of its biggest investment in worker training and pay ever, Walmart officials tell The Associated Press that within the next six months it will give raises to about 500,000 workers, or nearly 40% of its 1.3 million U.S. employees. In addition to raises, Walmart says it plans to make changes to how workers are scheduled and add training programs for sales staff so that employees can more easily map out their future at the company. Read the full story.
Prognosticators of doom: Billionaire Eddie Lampert’s quest to revive Sears Holdings Corp. is looking dubious to credit-swaps traders. Bloomberg reports it now costs more to insure against a Sears default for a year than for five years, a dynamic that indicates traders anticipate a credit event such as a default in the near term. The relationship was reversed as recently as last month, according to prices compiled by CMA in the privately negotiated market for credit swaps. The 129-year-old company, which has lost $7 billion over the past four years, is trying to avoid the fate of RadioShack Corp., another once-iconic retailer that filed for bankruptcy protection this month. Sears has divested assets and received cash infusions from Lampert, one of its largest shareholders. Read the full story.
Off to a slow start: An index designed to predict the future health of the U.S. economy rose in January by the smallest amount in five months, indicating the economy’s momentum may have slowed a bit. As The Associated Press reports, the New York-based Conference Board says its index of leading indicators increased 0.2% in January, the weakest gain since a 0.1% rise in August. In addition, the December increase was revised lower to a 0.4% rise instead of the initially reported 0.5% increase. Conference Board economists say that the lack of strong momentum in residential construction and a weak outlook for new orders in manufacturing pose some downside risks for the economy.
