Are you looking for part time work this Holiday season in retail to pay the bills ? I came across this very good article today rating the best retail places to work for ranked by the online career community website Glassdoor:
http://financiallyfit.yahoo.com/finance/article-113784-11644-4-the-best-retailers-to-work-for
Good Luck-I hope it helps!
In the Markets today:
Blue-chip stocks notched a second straight day of gains as a surge in consumer confidence buoyed investor sentiment.
Dow, S&P up for 2nd day but financials a drag-From Reuters
The Dow and S&P 500 advanced for a second day on Tuesday as consumer confidence data was stronger than expected and investors eyed further progress on a solution to Europe's fiscal mess.
But weak financial shares limited the advance, with the S&P financial index (.GSPF) down 0.4 percent. Shares of Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) dropped 2.7 percent to $5.11, on track for their worst close since March 2009. The Nasdaq also was lower.
"There seems to be some movement on the European front, but things certainly haven't been resolved. Financials are taking a step back, and are kind of keeping a cap on the market as a whole," said Thomas Villalta, portfolio manager for Jones Villalta Asset Management in Austin, Texas.
In a positive sign for the euro zone, Italian bond yields fell from session highs, though they were still at record high rates. In the auction, Italy's government sold 7.5 billion euros of three- and 10-year bonds, close to the upper end of its target range.
In addition, investors also eyed a meeting of European officials in hopes they will make a step forward in resolving the region's debt crisis.
In the United States, the Conference Board, an industry group, said its index of consumer confidence jumped to its highest level since July, handily topping economists' forecasts.
The news followed record Black Friday sales, giving investors hope that the holiday shopping season will be a solid one for retailers.
The Dow Jones industrial average (DJI:^DJI) was up 55.29 points, or 0.48 percent, at 11,578.30. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (SNP:^GSPC) was up 4.14 points, or 0.35 percent, at 1,196.69. The Nasdaq Composite Index (Nasdaq:^IXIC) was down 8.01 points, or 0.32 percent, at 2,519.33.
On Monday, U.S. stocks rebounded sharply from seven days of losses, with the S&P closing up nearly 3 percent.
Weakness in some large-cap Internet stocks weighed on the Nasdaq after strong gains in those stocks on Monday. Amazon.com (NasdaqGS:AMZN) dropped 2.3 percent to $189.62.
AMR Corp (NYSE:AMR) plunged 78.4 percent to about 35 cents a share after the parent of American Airlines filed for bankruptcy protection and named a new chairman and chief executive. The stock was halted more than a dozen times throughout the day.
Top financial story of the day:
U.S. home prices eased, according to S&P Case-Shiller indexes. Separately, consumer confidence hit its highest level since July.
Home prices drop in September, reversing months of gains-From USA Today
Home prices are falling again in most major cities after posting small gains in the summer and spring. The report suggests the troubled housing market remains weak and won't recover any time soon.
The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index released Tuesday showed prices dropped in September from August in 17 of 20 cities tracked. That was the first decline after five straight months where at least half the cities in the survey showed monthly gains.
A separate index for the July-September quarter shows prices were mostly unchanged from the previous quarter.
Many Americans are reluctant to buy a home more than two years after the recession officially ended.
High unemployment, weak job growth and falling home prices have deterred many would-be buyers.
Even the lowest mortgage rates in history haven't been enough to lift sales.
David M. Blitzer, chairman of S&P's index committee, said that while the steep price declines seen between 2007 and 2009 appear to be over, home prices are down from the same time last year and do not show signs of easing.
"Any chance for a sustained recovery will probably need a stronger economy," Blitzer said.
The largest monthly price declines were in Atlanta, San Francisco and Tampa. And prices in Atlanta, Las Vegas and Phoenix fell to their lowest points since the housing crisis began four years ago. Blitzer called the new lows reached in those three cities a "bit disturbing."
New York, Portland, Ore., and Washington were the only cities to show monthly price increases in September.
A majority of the cities tracked by the survey posted modest price increases from April through August, the peak buying months. The monthly changes are not adjusted for seasonal factors.
Even with the gains, home prices were down in all but two major cities in September from the same month one year ago.
Sales of previously occupied home sales are on pace to match last year's dismal figures — the worst in 13 years. Sales of new homes are shaping up to be the worst since the government began keeping records a half century ago.
Some people can't qualify for loans or meet higher down payment requirements. Many with good credit and stable jobs are holding off because they fear that home prices will keep falling.
"Despite record high affordability of real estate, the psychology of home buyers is still being weighed down by economic uncertainty, keeping them on the fence when it comes to buying homes," said Stan Humphries, chief economist at Zillow.com, which measures home values.
Atlanta has been especially hard hit in the past year. Prices there dropped nearly 6% in September and have fallen nearly 10% over the past 12 months.
Since the fall of 2008, one out of every four sales in Atlanta has been a foreclosure, an auction or a bank sale.
Many homes there were built during the housing boom. The city has also been confronted by high unemployment. In September, the unemployment rate was 10.3%— more than a point higher than the national average.
The Case Shiller index covers half of all U.S. homes. It measures prices compared with those in January 2000 and creates a three-month moving average. The September data is the latest available.
Prices are certain to fall again once banks resume millions of foreclosures that have been delayed because of a yearlong government investigation into mortgage lending practices.
Home prices had stabilized in coastal cities the past six months, helped by a rush of spring buyers and investors. But this year, home prices in many cities, including Cleveland, Detroit, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Tampa, have reached their lowest points since the housing bust more than four years ago.
Foreclosures and short sales — when a lender accepts less for a home than what is owed on a mortgage — are selling at an average discount of 20%.
Quote of the Day from Dave Ramsey.com:
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. — John Quincy Adams
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