Here's a quick look at a few of the headlines making news this morning.
Toys R Us has jobs for 45,000
Toys R Us plans to hire 45,000 seasonal workers at its stores and distribution centers this holiday season, the company announced today. This is up 12% from the 40,000 it hired last year. The company said the increase is driven partly by the addition of positions to help fulfill orders from its "newly enhanced omnichannel offerings" that include buying online and picking up in the store. The company is also offering free layaway and "hot toy reservation" programs. Last year, about 15% of holiday workers stayed after the season ended.
Home prices rise
Home prices in a 20-city index increased 1.2% in July from the year-ago period, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices released today. The 20-city composite showed a 1.6% increase month-over-month. "All 20 cities and both Composites were up on the month for the third time in a row," said David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, in a press release. "The news on home prices in this report confirm recent good news about housing."
Foxconn factory back to work
Foxconn has reopened a factory that was shut down over the weekend because of a brawl involving hundreds of workers. Close to 2,000 workers were involved and 40 were hospitalized, according to a Bloomberg report this morning. The plant in Taiyuan, China, was shut for about a day. A company official said the impact on its tech customers won't be significant. "This factory mainly does a lot of components, auto electronics, consumer electronics and precision molding," Bloomberg quoted a company spokesman as saying. "If we lose just one day, I don’t expect it will impact any finished goods significantly and, with overtime, we could make up any shortfall."
