• From CNN:
"The US economy grew much faster than expected in the third quarter, according to the latest gross domestic product report, which showed GDP rose by an annualized rate of 2.9%.
"That’s an improvement from the initial government reading in October that showed 2.6% growth in economic activity, and better than the Refinitiv forecast of 2.7%. And it’s a marked turnaround from economic contractions of 1.6% in the first quarter of the year and 0.6% in the second.
"The better-than-expected growth came as consumer spending increased more than in the government’s previous reading, while the value of imports was revised down. Imports are subtracted from GDP, which is the broad measure of economic activity within the country.
"The strong reading does not necessarily remove the risk forecast by many economists of the US economy falling into recession at some point in the next year.
"But the stronger-than-expected growth shows the resilience of the economy as it deals with the headwinds caused by the Federal Reserve’s aggressive course of large interest rate hikes in an attempt to slow the economy in order to tame decades-high inflation."
• The Wall Street Journal reports that Macy's, having already committed to rolling out Toys R Us-branded departments in some 400 locations as a way of drawing in shoppers, now will test the opening of Claire’s, a fashion-and-accessories store, inside 21 locations.
The company believes that Claire's boutiques will help attract younger, more diverse customers.
This is becoming common for department stores - Kohl's now has Sephora-branded departments inside more than 600 of its stores and says hat those units are outperforming those stores without Sephora departments.
