If you're feeling good about the market, you're not alone. Take my hand as we go over some of this week's more uplifting headlines.
1. Amazon hits hire ground
Amazon.com (AMZN -1.14%) turned heads by announcing that it would hire 70,000 temporary workers during the holiday season, 40% ahead of last year's seasonal hires.
Now, this obviously doesn't mean the leading online retailer is expecting sales to grow by 40%. This is merely the uptick in seasonal workers at its distribution facilities beyond the existing full-time crew.
Analysts see net sales climbing 22% during the holiday quarter, and this move isn't a good enough reason to revise that metric higher. But it is once again an encouraging metric that Amazon can use as it seeks out favorable terms to open facilities in new states.
Amazon hires -- and the hires go higher.
2. Facebook finishes your sentences
It may seem creepy at first, but in an ultimately brilliant move Facebook (META 1.54%) is teaming up with a local developer to build a 394-unit housing community that is within walking distance of its corporate campus in Menlo Park, Calif.
Why would a Facebook employee want to rent in a complex with coworkers? Well, rent and real-estate prices have been shooting higher in the area. This gives Facebook a property that it can price accessibly, which is a competitive advantage.
When news of on-campus living spaces arises it's easy to drum up unsavory images of the employee apartments at China's Foxconn where suicides are commonplace. But the $120 million community will be a real standout, complete with a sports bar and doggy daycare.
3. Netflix wants the world and it wants it now
Netflix (NFLX -0.51%) expanded its digital vault this week as it now has the final seasons of The Office and 30 Rock to complete its collection of all of the shows' episodes.
But what fueled another week of fresh all-time highs was a new price target by MKM Partners. The new goal is $370 -- up from $285 -- and a big reason for the revision has nothing to do with the obvious surge in popularity that the leading video service is experiencing closer to home.
MKM Partners feels Netflix's international subscriber tally will be higher than expected when the dot-com darling reports later this month.
4. Global war fair
Shares of Global Payments (GPN -0.63%) moved nicely higher after several favorable developments.
The electronic-payment processor named Jeffrey Sloan as its new CEO, posted better than expected quarterly results, and moved to accelerate its share buyback plan.
Aren't companies announcing stock repurchases or hurrying up the process usually the ones with bad news to offset? Global Payments is giving the market exactly what it craves.
5. This contractor isn't contracting
Global Payments isn't the only company that's buying back shares when the going's good.
SAIC (NYSE: SAI) is returning money to its shareholders in more than one way. The tech contractor is committing to repurchasing 5 millions shares of company stock. SAIC is also initiating a dividend policy. Shelling out $0.28 a share every three months amounts to an attractive yield of 3.3%.
