In Brief: U.S. consumer spending rose 0.5 percent in August
WASHINGTON – Americans boosted spending by a healthy amount in August, offering welcome evidence that the economy is on solid footing heading into the final quarter of the year.
Consumer spending rose 0.5 percent in August after showing no gain in July, the Commerce Department reported Monday. About half of the increase was driven by auto sales. It was the best result since spending also expanded 0.5 percent in June.
Helped by strength in wages and salaries, income rose a modest 0.3 percent in August, slightly faster than a 0.2 percent July increase.
Einstein bagel company sold for $364.5 million
LAKEWOOD, Colo. – The owner of Einstein Bros. Bagels and other, similar chains is being acquired by investment group JAB Holding for about $364.5 million.
The Einstein Noah Restaurant Group Inc. also owns Noah’s New York Bagels and Manhattan Bagel, and runs a dough production facility. It has more than 855 restaurants in 42 states and the District of Columbia.
Gates tops Forbes’ list of richest Americans
NEW YORK – Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates topped Forbes’ latest list of the 400 richest Americans for the 21st straight year.
The list, released on Monday, was largely unchanged for 2014 and showed the rich getting richer. The combined wealth of those on the list rose 13 percent to $2.29 trillion, helped by a stronger U.S. stock market.
Gates’ net worth totaled $81 billion, up $9 billion from 2013.
Investor Warren Buffett, the head of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., remained in second place at $67 billion. Oracle Corp. co-founder Larry Ellison also kept his No. 3 spot with $50 billion.
Brothers Charles and David Koch, co-owners of Koch Industries Inc., stay tied for fourth with $42 billion each.
Contracts to buy homes fell in August
WASHINGTON – Fewer Americans signed contracts to buy homes in August, suggesting that real estate sales will remain sluggish over the next few months.
The National Association of Realtors said Monday that its seasonally adjusted pending home sales index fell 1 percent over the past month to 104.7. Higher prices and weak wage growth have limited buying, as the index is 2.2 percent below its level from a year ago.
Macy’s plans to hire 86,000 holiday workers
NEW YORK – Macy’s plans to hire about 86,000 seasonal holiday workers nationwide to bolster its stores, call centers and distribution hubs, a 3.6 percent increase from last year.
The department store chain, which also operates Bloomingdale’s, said Monday that the growth is being fueled by its expanding online business. This year, about 10,000 of the total 86,000 seasonal workers will be based in eight distribution center across the country. Last year, that figure was 7,000, the company said.
Macy’s recently announced new efforts to complete with online rivals. This fall, it’s testing a same-day delivery service for products purchased at Macys.com, bloomingdales.com or on its mobile-enabled websites. Macy’s will offer same-day delivery to customers in eight major U.S. markets – Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New Jersey, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle and Washington, D.C. Bloomingdale’s will offer same-day delivery to customers in four major markets: Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Jose.