TeamHealth Holdings News Release (02/12/15)

TeamHealth Holdings Inc. has acquired the operations of Ruby Crest Emergency Medicine, the group that manages and staffs the hospital emergency department for Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital in Elko, NV.

Korn/Ferry International News Release (02/12/15)

Korn Ferry has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Pivot Leadership, a global provider of executive development programs. The transaction is expected to close March 1. The acquisition is expected to be moderately accretive to earnings in the first year of Korn Ferry ownership.

BANK W Holdings LLC News Release (02/13/15)

BANK W Holdings LLC, parent company to regional staffing and recruiting firms KBW Financial Staffing & Recruiting, Alexander Technology Group, and the Nagler Group, has announced the acquisition of Venture Profiles Corp., a recruiter of finance and accounting professionals.

Reuters (02/12/15) Lucia Mutikani

Consumer spending was sluggish last month as retail sales excluding automobiles, gasoline, building materials, and food services increased just 0.1%, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Wall Street had expected a 0.4% increase. Experts believe that Americans are using extra income to pay down debt and add to their savings instead of spending on goods and services.

“There is a risk of a temporary soft patch for the economy as it is somewhat surprising the consumer has stopped spending their savings from gasoline prices,” says Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at MUFG Union Bank in New York.

Bloomberg (02/12/15) Peter Coy

The U.S. economic expansion finally is benefiting workers on the bottom of the ladder, with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting a 6% increase in employment of people without a high school diploma in January on a year-to-year basis, an 18% jump in employment of black teens, and a 20% surge in employment of the disabled. In addition, average hourly earnings climbed 3.4% in the leisure and hospitality sector, compared with an overall labor force gain of 2.2%.

However, experts point out that wages are not growing fast enough, with “usual” weekly earnings up just 0.5% from late 2013 to late 2014 for workers at the bottom of all incomes, compared with a mere 0.4% increase for workers near the top. Experts indicate that employers need to pay more to secure workers for lower-wage jobs.

PR Newswire (02/12/15)

The Deloitte Consumer Spending Index increased in January, reaching its highest level since September 2010. The index, which comprises four components—tax burden, initial unemployment claims, real wages, and real home prices—increased to 4.8 from 4.2 a month earlier.

“The increase is due to positive contributions from all four components of the index,” says Daniel Bachman, Deloitte’s senior U.S. economist. “The sharp drop in unemployment insurance claims is in line with a steady recovery in the U.S. labor market and augurs well for continued increased consumer spending.”

Initial unemployment claims decreased to 291,000 from 299,600 a month earlier, and are down 15.6% from the same period last year. Real hourly wages were up 0.2% from a month earlier and 1.1% from the same period last year.