Correction, crisis, or crash? The Nikkei tanked again today, officially entering a bear market. The Tokyo index tumbled another 6%. That puts its losses at nearly 22% since May 23rd, beyond the 20% that defines a bear environment.
Meanwhile, there's breaking news here at home. Both retail sales for May and the weekly jobless claims were released right as we started streaming live to you at 8:30. Retail sales were up .6% for the month, beating estimates which were for .5%. That's according to the Commerce Department. The Labor Department says there were 334,000 new weekly jobless claims. That also beat estimates which were for 350,000 new claims.
Sticking with the theme of jobs, Wal-Mart (WMT) has quietly put a new hiring policy in place. A Reuters investigation reveals the retail giant has shifted to hiring mostly temporary workers-- something it used to do only during the holiday season. A survey of 52 stores found WalMart hiring only temps at 27 stores. The chain was adding at least
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