Current Events in July 2017

Amazon's third annual Prime Day is Tuesday, but just like Black Friday, things get started early. Sales available exclusively to Prime Members in 13 countries get started tonight.

Meanwhile, other retailers aren't just standing idly by. Toys R Us has announced all customers -- and its press releases emphasizes "all customers" -- will get 20% off the list price when they order online over a 36-hour period.

The sale, at Toysrus.com and Babiesrus.com, coincidentally, starts at 6pm ET tonight, three hours earlier than Prime Day, on thousands of products.

Walmart is not running any special promotion designed to go head-to-head with Prime Day, but its website is promoting a big sale on electronics, with savings of up to $30 on Google products.

The same is true for Best Buy, which is simply running its normal weekly specials on its website, including $150 off on an LG 55-inch 4K Ultra HD television set.

Preview of Prime Day deals

Meanwhile, Amazon has taken the wraps off some of its featured Prime Day deals. On Amazon products, you can save 50% on an Amazon Echo and get $15 off the smaller Amazon Dot.

Deals on TV sets include the newly released Element 55-inch 4K Ultra HD smart LED TV for $399.99; 25% off select TCL smart TVs, starting at $119.99 for a 28-inch model; $99 for a 32-inch 720p TCL TV; and a 40-inch 1080p TCL TV, for $199.99.

Other offerings include:

• 40-50% off on Prime Exclusive clothing, handbags, and more

• 30% off on select clothing, shoes, and more for men, women, kids, and babies

• One carat diamond stud earrings for 499.99 or ½ carat diamond stud earrings for $239.99

• 70% off on select Samsonite two-piece spinner sets

• 40% off on select furniture, mattresses, and rugs

• 20% off on nursery essentials

• $100 off on the Bissell multi reach cordless stick vacuum

The deals are only available to consumers who are members of Amazon Prime. The company says last year's Prime Day was its biggest single sales day ever, eclipsing Cyber Monday.

For some time now, consumers who needed a certain kind of service – ranging from automotive needs to computer and electronic assistance -- could visit Amazon and check out listings provided by third parties. Now, the online retailer figures it’s time to start offering services of its own.

According to a Recode report, Amazon will now be hiring and maintaining its own tech expert employees to assist consumers with setting up and installing smart home systems and other electronic gadgets in their homes. These employees will also be available for free 45-minute Alexa smart-home consultations, where consumers can ask questions and receive recommendations based on their needs.

The new offering caters to a growing interest for in-home services and smart home electronic features. Amazon will be charging $99 for installation services on products like the Ecobee4 – an Alexa-enabled smart thermostat – but multi-device setups and installations that take longer than an hour may be more expensive.

Experts point out that the new initiative finally brings it in line with services provided by other retailers. Best Buy’s “Geek Squad” has been around for nearly 15 years and similarly offers free smart-home consultations and paid in-home installation services.

The in-home services are currently available in seven markets in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Jose, and Orange County, Calif. Consumers who want to browse Amazon’s services and schedule an appointment can do so through the company’s website here.

There's good news for people looking for a job, or hoping to change jobs.

Last week's release of the June employment report showed strong job creation, and a survey by employment site CareerBuilder suggests that trend will carry through the rest of the year.

The survey found 60% of companies plan to hire full-time, permanent employees in the second half of 2017, a double-digit increase from last year.

Thirty-six percent of companies said they plan to hire permanent part-time employees between now and the end of the year, while 42% revealed plans to hire temporary, or contract employees. In all three categories, hiring is expected to increase over last year.

Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder, says the hyper-partisan political atmosphere may be having a polarizing effect, but it hasn't distracted businesses from their growth plans. He says it's good news if you're looking for a job.

"Job seekers stand to benefit not only from having more options, but also from the growing intensity in the competition for talent,” Ferguson said. “Employers are moving quickly to recruit candidates and they are willing to pay more across job levels.”

There's greater competition for talent

How much more? If you're a job seeker, Ferguson says you don't need to be shy when discussing salary. Among a group of hiring managers spotlighted in the survey, 72% said they believe it will be necessary to pay higher wages to attract the right talent – even for entry-level employees.

Not surprisingly, information technology (IT) is the area where expected hiring is the greatest. But manufacturing, healthcare, and financial service jobs are also expected to be plentiful.

Areas where employers say they plan to take on additional personnel include skilled trades, software as a service, cybersecurity, sales, talent management, managing and interpreting Big Data, social marketing, and e-commerce.

In terms of geographic breakdown, more than 50% of all companies in each region of the country plan to add personnel between now and the end of the year, but the West leads the country with 67%.

General Motors is recalling 768 model year 2016-2017 Buick Envisions.

An accessory NSV Universal Tablet Holder may have been installed incorrectly onto the front seat head restraints, preventing the head restraint posts from fully engaging in the seat back.

If so, the head restraints would fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 202a, "Head Restraints."

If the head restraint posts are not fully engaging in the seat back, the head restraint may loosen or dislodge, increasing the risk of injury in a crash.

What to do

GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the head restraints and tablet holders for the correct installation, reinstalling them as necessary, free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule.

Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300. GM's number for this recall is 17239/17258.