By JACKIE CROSBY, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Retail positions for holidays will be hard to come by this year
If you're hoping to pad your wallet by getting a part-time job for the holidays, good luck. Retailers are planning a conservative little Christmas when it comes to hiring seasonal workers.
Keeping young workers often difficult for old firms
They want to work when it's convenient to their lives -- not punch in at some 9-to-5 job and be stuck sitting in a cubicle. They relish a challenge more than a paycheck, and resent it when bosses look over their shoulders or fail to reward them for a job well done.
College debt hangs over young couple
Matt and Eva Johnson considered their college degrees as an investment in a better quality of life. Instead, the $69,000 in debt from their private-school education has become a financial albatross they never anticipated.
Mainstream retailers giving vinyl LP another spin
Nearly killed off a decade ago by compact discs and digital music downloads, the mighty vinyl record is fighting its way back onto turntables across America.Toe-tappers snapped up nearly 1 million records last year, a 15 percent increase and the highest level in three years, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Cash strapped consumers turn to Wal-Mart, not Target
As consumers stare down record prices for gasoline and food, Wal-Mart's low-price image continues to trump Target's trendiness. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced this week that sales at stores open at least a year rose 3.9 percent overall -- 4 percent at its stores and 3.6 percent at Sam's Club outlets.
Spas catering to corporate crowds
The consuming masses may be worried about making ends meet, but the luxury hotel spa industry is finding new ways to attract business. They're reaching out to corporations.
