Much like discounters, dollar stores had a strong Q3. But good news for Dollar Tree and Dollar General might be a bad omen for the economy.

Dollar Tree’s net sales rose 9.4% year over year (YoY) in Q3, while same-store sales were up 4.2% YoY and net income by 4.8%. The chain raised its annual earnings, profit, and same store sales forecasts. Dollar General likewise raised its guidance for annual profit, earnings, and same-store sales. Its net sales were up 4.6% YoY last quarter, and same-store sales grew 2.5%. Its operating profit surged 31.5% YoY, while its earnings per share rose 43.8%.

Feeling the pinch: Dollar stores have performed well despite the fact that the lower-income consumers who typically patronize them—Dollar General’s core customers have household incomes below $35,000, according to Reuters—are feeling strapped. Dollar General “saw more frequent trips but smaller baskets. And these are all hallmarks of a consumer that is strained,” Mark Malek, chief investment officer at Muriel Siebert & Co., told CFO Brew.

Other retailers, like Walmart, have pointed to the fact that this demographic is struggling, according to Malek, who said the retailer is “talking about clients making value decisions and that is their way of saying that their customers are moving from hard goods, high margin goods” such as toys and clothing toward essentials like food.

Keep reading.—CV

Are master’s and doctorates in accounting “professional” degrees? Not anymore, according to the Department of Education.

The department’s Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) committee recently released draft regulations that specified which graduate degrees count as “professional” for purposes of federal student loans—and accounting wasn’t on the list. Neither were many graduate degrees commonly considered “professional,” such as nursing, engineering, education, and architecture, Inside Higher Ed reported.

The education department’s decision isn’t merely semantic: If it’s finalized, it will affect how much federal aid students are able to receive. Students in the 11 degree fields designated “professional” will be able to borrow up to $50,000 a year and no more than $200,000 in total. For students in other programs, federal loans will be capped at $20,500 per year and a total of $100,000.

Professions fire back: Numerous professional organizations, including the National Academy of Medicine, the American Nurses Association, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the Council on Social Work Education, and the American Institute of Architects, have spoken out against the department’s decision.

Now, accounting organizations have followed suit. The AICPA and state societies of accounting, the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), and the American Accounting Association (AAA), a professional organization representing accounting educators, have all released formal statements in opposition to the decision.

Keep reading.—CV

It appears another Y2K trend is making a comeback: laying off workers right before the holidays.

US-based employers announced 71,321 layoffs in November, an analysis from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas found, marking a 24% increase year over year.

Last month marked the third time since 2008 that layoffs in November exceeded 70,000, with the other two times being in 2008 and 2022. According to the firm, layoffs between 1993 and 2000 remained below 70,000 in November, before spiking between 2001 and 2008. The practice of laying off right before the holidays fell out of fashion during the Great Recession, according to Andy Challenger, the firm’s chief revenue officer.

“It was the trend to announce layoff plans toward the end of the year, to align with most companies’ fiscal year-ends. It became unpopular after the Great Recession especially, and best practice dictated layoff plans would occur at times other than the holidays,” Challenger wrote.

Employers’ renewed holiday ritual hasn’t gone unnoticed, and it’s generated mixed responses online.

Keep reading on HR Brew.—PM

Who said desk calendars have to be boring? Introducing the Morning Brew 2026 Daily Games Desk Calendar. It’s perfect for desks, nightstands, and kitchen counters, so give yourself (or others) the gift of entertaining coffee breaks.