Sleep Country USA to open in Everett
Sleep Country USA plans to open its new Everett Mall store on Thursday, the mattress retailer said Monday. The store, the chain’s first in Snohomish County outside of Lynnwood, is located just south of Best Buy in the mall’s new Village addition. Sleep Country, based in Kent, has 49 other stores.
Region’s gas prices above U.S. average
The price of gasoline continues to drift downward, both regionally and nationally, according to AAA. As of Monday, the average cost of regular unleaded fuel in the Seattle-Bellevue-Everett area was $2.77, down 12 cents from a month ago. Nationally, the average price has dropped from about $3 a gallon to $2.62.
Seattle ranks 22nd in transportation
It’s not as prestigious as those “best places to live” rankings, but the Seattle-Bellevue-Everett area ranks 22nd on this year’s list of Top 50 Logistics-Friendly Cities, according to Expansion Management and Logistics Today magazines. Last year, the region ranked 35th. The list, which judges cities’ transportation and distribution infrastructure, judged New York City’s metro area as No. 1. The Mount Vernon-Anacortes area ranked 208th of 362 cities.
Wal-Mart improves worker health care
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced more affordable health care for some of its workers Monday in the latest shot in a battle with critics for the hearts of consumers. The move by the world’s largest retailer comes as the crucial holiday sales season approaches. Analysts say Wal-Mart needs to add about $250 million a day in sales during the holiday season to meet earnings targets and cannot afford to lose ground to an increasingly united front of opponents who want consumers to shun the discounter until it changes its ways. “Consumers increasingly have a conscience and are increasingly shifting to competitors,” said Burt Flickinger, managing director of Strategic Marketing.
T-bill rates rise in Monday auction
The Treasury Department auctioned three-month bills Monday at a discount rate of 3.85 percent, up from 3.785 percent last week. Six-month bills were auctioned at a discount rate of 4.065 percent, up from 4.015 percent last week. For a $10,000 bill, the price for a three-month bill was $9,902.68, while a six-month bill sold for $9,794.49. In a separate report, the Federal Reserve also said Monday that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for changing adjustable rate mortgages, rose to 4.19 percent last week from 4.14 percent the previous week.
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