US jobless claims hit lowest level since February; productivity strongest in years at Reuters. “The report also showed labor costs, a key focus of the Federal Reserve as it battles to bring inflation back down to its 2% target, rose at a 2.2% annualized rate, a somewhat faster pace than the 1.6% rate initially reported. Nonetheless, the advance was still the slowest since the fourth quarter of 2021.” Read more

 

Appointees of new Texas task force to work on how to prevent organized retail theft at KXAN. “The task force will meet quarterly and make legislative suggestions to prevent organized retail theft, manage the crime’s long-term economic impact and improve consumer protections. “The mob attacks on retail outlets are only part of the problem,” Hegar said.” Read more / Appointee list

 

Kroger, Albertsons plan to offload over 400 stores at Reuters/Yahoo. “…to C&S Wholesale Grocers for nearly $2 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. The deal would give privately held C&S, primarily a supplier rather than an operator of grocery stores, a much more significant footprint. It currently operates about two dozen stores under the Grand Union and Piggly Wiggly brands.” Read more

 

California Bill To Protect Workers From Violence in Wake of Crime Surge Faces Key Vote at Newsweek. “A bill in California that would legally mandate employers to implement a workplace violence prevention plan is just one vote away from becoming law, amid increasing concern about the safety of workers.” Read more

 

78% of consumers say they use debit cards for the majority of their purchases by Kim Souza at Talk Business. “The (J.D. Power) report found consumers on average tend to use at least four different methods of payment at varying times. The report found that 74% said they use cash, 66% use credit cards, 36% that use gift cards, and 28% said they use buy-now-pay-later.” Read more

 

How The HeyDude Guy Became A Billionaire Selling Ugly Shoes by Amy Feldman at Forbes. “HeyDude founder Alessandro Rosano…had tried his hand at other businesses before. But with HeyDude, which makes comfortable slip-on loafers with a so-ugly-they’re-cute look, he hit the jackpot…revenue took off, reaching $581 million in 2021…That December, Rosano agreed to sell the brand to Crocs…for $2.5 billion in cash and stock.” Read more

 

Target children’s clothing section turns into flaming inferno in terrifying scene at NY Post. “Witness Guillermo Santander was with his daughter at the store. He told ABC 7 that he thought it was just a Halloween prop at first, but as he got closer, “we heard a pop which was the sprinkler going off.” “All of a sudden, the flame got bigger,” he told the outlet.” Pics/Video/Read more

 

Texas power grid enters emergency mode Wednesday evening to avoid rolling blackouts by Houston Public Media. “The state’s power grid operator triggered its emergency operations on Wednesday evening, allowing it to call on all available power generation to stay ahead of demand — and bringing it a step closer to a worst-case scenario of ordering rotating power outages.” Read more

 

Gen Z and Millennials Twice as Likely to be Omnichannel Shoppers “51.6% of Gen Z and 47.7% of Millennials plan to spend more for the rest of the year, including the holidays, versus just 29.3% of Gen X and 20.6% of Boomers.” Press release

 

Tesla plans to install 20,000 electric vehicle charging stations across 2,000 Hilton properties in the U.S., Mexico and Canada beginning next year at CNBC. Read more

 

Walmart issues gift cards in Alabama after sales tax overcharge at Fox Business. “The retail chain made the mistake on Sept. 1 after a new law lowered the state’s tax on groceries from 4% to 3%. Attempting to adjust their systems to the new rate, Walmart accidentally charged customers both the old tax rate and the new tax rate at the same time.” Read more

 

People Rely on Laxatives So Much, There Aren’t Enough to Go Around by Rachel Wolfe at Wall Street Journal. “Some people are treating laxatives like a budget Ozempic to feel skinnier, psychologists say. And social media, including TikTok’s popular #GutTok, spreads misinformation around what healthy bathroom behavior looks like, doctors say. Searches for laxative pills on Amazon have more than tripled in the past year, according to analytics company Pattern.” WSJ subs.