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First Posted: 9/5/2013

Protest in NYC

targets Walmart

Several people have been taken into police custody in New York City while participating in a protest against Walmart.

About 20 employees, former employees and supporters gathered Thursday outside a Manhattan building where a member of the company’s board of directors has an office.

They delivered a petition calling for improved working conditions. It also sought reinstatement of workers they said had been fired for engaging in labor activities.

The company issued a statement calling the protest “a show” put on by union activists from other states. It said the “vast majority” of its workers do not share the protesters’ opinions.

Retailer to drop

Martha Stewart?

J.C. Penney may be ending the tug-of-war with its nemesis for Martha Stewart.

The chain is reportedly dumping the Martha Stewart brand, after sales of the home maven’s goods failed to live up to expectations. The move, reported by the New York Post on Thursday, comes as a judge is expected to rule in a lengthy court battle between J.C. Penney Co. and rival Macy’s Inc. over whether Macy’s has an exclusive right to sell some of her products.

The Post cited unidentified sources as saying that Mike Ullman, a former Penney CEO who returned to the top job this year, made the decision to drop Martha Stewart because of poor sales. CNBC has reported that Martha Stewart is saying that her company has no intentions of ending her deal with Penney. Meanwhile, emails seeking comment from Martha Stewart and Penney on the newspaper report were not immediately returned.

Productivity edges

higher for quarter

U.S. workers were more productive from April through June than previously estimated while labor costs were unchanged.

Productivity grew at an annual rate of 2.3 percent in the April-June quarter, up from an initial estimate of 0.9 percent growth, the Labor Department said Thursday. Unit labor costs were flat in the second quarter, less than the 1.4 percent rise the government had initially estimated.

The combination of stronger productivity and less of an increase in wages should provide assurances to the Federal Reserve that inflation is not a threat.

The revised productivity number reflected the fact that economic output had been revised higher for the second quarter to a growth rate of 2.5 percent. Productivity is the amount of output per hour work.