News

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores said Thursday that it is increasing its annual dividend 21% on the back of strong earnings.

The retailer last month reported a 27% increase in fourth-quarter net income as it benefited from cost-cutting and strong sales overseas. Wal-Mart said it will pay an annual dividend this year of $1.46, up from $1.21. It will pay quarterly dividends of 36.5 cents in April, June, September and January in fiscal 2012, which ends Jan. 31.

Rebecca Van Dyck was named global chief marketing officer of the Levi’s brand where she will be responsible for the development and implementation of fully integrated marketing strategies across all of the Levi's brand's product categories and consumer communication channels. Dyck joins the company from Apple Inc. where she led the worldwide marketing and communications strategies for some of the world's most well-known and admired product launches, including introducing the iPhone, iPad and iPod + iTunes.

The unemployment rate dipped from 9.0% in January to 8.9% in February, according to data released Friday morning by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Construction employment grew by 33,000 in February, following a decline of 22,000 in January that may have reflected severe winter weather, according to the bureau. Within construction, specialty trade contractors accounted for the bulk of the February job gain (+28,000).

WASHINGTON -- The National Retail Federation announced that it welcomed the House of Representatives' vote to repeal a provision in last year’s healthcare reform law that would widely expand the number of IRS 1099 tax forms businesses would be required to file.

Dover, Del. -- The Delaware Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by billionaire Ron Burkle in a lawsuit challenging a poison pill plan adopted by Barnes & Noble after he doubled his stake in the company.

After hearing arguments Wednesday, the court on Thursday affirmed a judge's ruling last year upholding the poison pill plan, which limited a shareholder's stake in the company to 20%.

ATLANTA -- The Home Depot announced that Bill Lennie has been named president, The Home Depot Canada, effective immediately. Lennie will replace Aaron Carmack, who is taking an extended leave of absence to attend to a personal illness.

"We are fortunate to have an executive with Bill's experience and leadership abilities who can quickly step into this critical role," said Frank Blake, chairman and CEO.  "We wish Aaron the best and look forward to his return."

The nation’s second largest dollar store chain may have rejected a buyout offer this week, but it struck a deal of another kind to help it grow sales of private brands.

NEW YORK — EcoTools, an earth-friendly bath and beauty products brand, has made its way to Walmart.

Last month, a variety of EcoTools cosmetic brushes lined the shelves of Walmart stores throughout the country. EcoTools also introduced the EcoTools everyday collection 6-piece brush set exclusively at Walmart. The collection, which comes in a hemp case, includes an angled blush brush, an angle eyeliner brush, concealer brush, eye shading brush and detailer/lip brush. The 6-piece set retails for $10.98.