BENTONVILLE, ARK. — Walmart (NYSE: WMT) has reported that its third-quarter e-commerce sales grew 79 percent from the same period a year ago. Comparable sales, defined as those from stores that operated during the entire 12-month fiscal year, went up 6.4 percent. The Bentonville-based retailer’s revenue during its fiscal third quarter reached $134.7 billion, a 5.2 percent increase over the same time period a year ago. Walmart’s third quarter ended on Oct. 31. The company’s stock price closed Monday at $152.69 per share, up from $120.25 per share one year ago.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Office users across the United States added 42 million square feet of office space to the sublease market during the second and third quarters, according to a new report from CoStar Group. As of the end of September, the country’s inventory of office sublease space stood at approximately 157 million square feet, a 44 percent increase from third-quarter 2019. While office users added about 14 million square feet of office space to the sublease supply during the second quarter, growth was even more pronounced during the third quarter, when tenants put some 28.5 million square feet up for sublease. According to a Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas survey, 24 percent of employed Americans were working from home in August due to COVID-19 shutdowns. An additional 18 percent of workers went into the office some days. According to the survey, 8 percent of Americans worked from home full-time prior to the pandemic. CoStar reports that among the biggest users to put sublease space on the market were pharmaceutical giant Sanofi (415,000 square feet in Northern New Jersey); retailer Macy’s (309,660 square feet in New York); insurance company USAA (305,110 square feet in San Antonio); Ebay (212,110 square feet …
LANSING, MICH. — The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) has issued a new emergency order that enacts a three-week pause on indoor social gatherings and other group activities in effort to curb rapidly rising COVID-19 infection rates. Under this order, indoor residential gatherings are limited to two households at any one time. Bars and restaurants will be open for outdoor dining, carryout and delivery only. Gyms will remain open for individual exercise with strict safety measures in place. Casinos, movie theaters and group exercise classes will be closed. Professional and college sports with extreme safety measures in place may continue without spectators but all other organized sports will be prohibited. Colleges and high schools may proceed with remote learning, but in-person classes must end. The order takes effect Wednesday, Nov. 18. MDHHS says the order “is not a blanket stay-home action like in the spring.” As of Tuesday, Nov. 16, there were 251,813 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 7,994 deaths in Michigan, according to the state’s website.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) has urged the U.S. Congress to pass another COVID-19 relief bill, citing a lack of holiday travel plans by most Americans surveyed and a continuation of stymied business travel. Morning Consult conducted a survey of 2,200 adults from Nov. 2 to 4 on behalf of AHLA. The results found 69 percent of adults have no travel plans for Thanksgiving and 72 percent of adults don’t plan to travel over Christmas. According to research from STR, the national hotel occupancy for the week ending Oct. 31 was 44.4 percent, down from 62.6 percent a year ago. On the business travel side, 8 percent of survey respondents said they have stayed in a hotel overnight for work since March. Sixty-two percent of employed respondents said they have no plans to stay in a hotel for work in the next six months. “This holiday season will be an especially difficult time for all Americans, and our industry is no exception,” says Chip Rogers, president and CEO of the AHLA. “Fewer people will be traveling, and business travel remains nearly non-existent. That’s why it’s so important for Congress to pass a relief bill now. …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Initial weekly job claims fell by 28,000 claims to 709,000 for the week ending Nov. 7, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday. The most recent figure marks the lowest weekly claims since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in mid-March. Additionally, the number of claims beat expectations from economists surveyed by Dow Jones, who expected the weekly claims to come in at 740,000. The four-week moving average also decreased, falling by 33,250 to 755,250. Continuing claims dipped by 436,000 to nearly 6.8 million for the week ending Oct. 31. (Data for continuing claims is a week behind.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) found that 80.4 percent of apartment households made a full or partial rent payment by Nov. 6. NMHC surveyed its network of 11.4 million professionally managed units as part of its Rent Payment Tracker metric. The most recent figure is a 110-basis point drop from November 2019, or a decrease of 131,712 households. November fared 100 basis points better compared to October 2020 when 79.4 percent of households made partial or full payment at Oct. 6. “November’s opening rent payment figures show that the additional support apartment residents received over the summer, coupled with generous, innovative approaches put into place by property owners and managers, continue to provide renters with some degree of security against the economic distress facing communities throughout the country,” says Doug Bibby, NMHC’s president. NMHC releases the survey in partnership with apartment management platforms RealPage, ResMan, Yardi, Entrata and MRI Software.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — First-time claims for unemployment insurance totaled 751,000 for the week ending Oct. 31, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week. This is the third straight week the number of jobless claims was below 800,000. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones anticipated the number of workers filing for benefits to total 741,000 for the latest week. The four-week moving average decreased by 4,000 to 787,000. Continuing claims, for which data is a week behind, fell by 538,000 to approximately 7.3 million for the week ending Oct. 24.
LOUISVILLE, KY. — Yum Brands reported third-quarter revenue of $1.45 billion, up 8 percent from the same period a year ago. Taco Bell reported the highest positive year-over-year growth, recording $501 million in sales, a 2 percent increase from third-quarter 2019. Pizza Hut’s sales also grew, reaching $243 million, a 1 percent increase. Though KFC recorded the highest company sales total, reaching $583 million for the quarter, it was still a 4 percent decrease from the $609 million total recorded in the third quarter of 2019. Additionally, Louisville-based Yum Brands sold its stake in GrubHub, a food delivery service, for $206 million. The buyer was not disclosed.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) grew 33.1 percent in the third quarter on an annualized basis. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected growth to reach 32 percent. The third-quarter growth is a stark contrast to the second quarter, when GDP plummeted 31.4 percent due to the coronavirus shutdown. The most recent figure sets the record for post-World War II growth, more than doubling the previous mark of 16 percent set in the first quarter of 1950. The economic surge, though, does not mean the economy is back to its pre-pandemic levels. The U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday that initial unemployment claims for the week ending Oct. 24 reached 751,000. The total is the lowest mark since the onset of the pandemic, but still historically high. Initial claims in February of this year hovered around 200,000 per week. Continuing claims, for which data lags a week, came in at nearly 7.8 million for the week ending Oct. 17, a decrease of 709,000 claims from the previous week.
MINNEAPOLIS — Ahead of the holiday shopping season, Minneapolis-based Target Corp. is adding more safety measures for shoppers in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Customers can download the Target app to utilize contactless payment options and employees throughout the store will have handheld checkout devices to make purchases more convenient. Shoppers can even reserve a spot in line by checking on their specific Target store on the website. Target is also doubling the number of curbside pickup parking spaces. Customers can show their barcode through the car window and maintain social distance. Target also announced that it would award more than 350,000 team members another $200 bonus. This includes hourly team members in stores, distribution centers and contact centers. It also includes seasonal hires.