Costco Wholesale Corporation Reports August Sales Results

Second Quarter highlights: •Total revenues decreased 2% to $560.9 million. Comparable company sales decreased 5% following a decrease of 8% in the second quarter last year. •J.Crew sales decreased 7% to $443.1 million. J.Crew comparable sales decreased 8% following a decrease of 9% in the second quarter last year. •Madewell sales increased 19% to $93.1 million. Madewell comparable sales increased 11% following an increase of 3% in the second quarter last year. •Gross margin increased to 38.6% from 35.7% in the second quarter last year. Click Read More below for additional detail.

The planned peak-season pricing, which was approved by the Governors of the Postal Service on Aug. 9, would affect prices on the following commercial and retail domestic competitive parcels: Priority Mail Express (PME), Priority Mail (PM), First-Class Package Service (FCPS), Parcel Select and USPS Retail Ground. International products would be unaffected. Pending favorable review by the PRC, the temporary rates would go into effect at 12 a.m. Central on Oct. 2, and remain in place until 12 a.m. Central Jan. 22, 2023. This seasonal adjustment will bring prices for the Postal Service’s commercial and retail customers in line with competitive practices. details at: https://about.usps.com/newsroom/national-releases/2022/0810-usps-announces-proposed-temporary-rate-adjustments.htm

A new scientific report is in, affirming what most teachers can probably already tell you: Print is vital for effective education. “The argument that reading on paper results in deeper comprehension and retention, concentration, vocabulary building and memory has been given immense weight by a groundbreaking new study,” notes this article from Two Sides NA. “The research examined the results of 54 studies with a total of over 170,000 participants from 19 countries,” the article continues, “and found overwhelming evidence that comprehension of text is much stronger when reading from paper as opposed to a screen, particularly when the reader is under time pressure.” We’ve shared previous research on this topic — studies have shown that reading on paper is better for comprehension and overall learning — but there was a new twist to this study, named E-READ. The four-year study aimed to discover if students learning from digital devices progressed as rapidly as those learning by reading on paper. The results are clear. “Students learning from digital devices only progressed one third as much as they would have done had they been reading on paper,” the article notes.