Government shut down? What government shutdown?

Retail sales numbers released Wednesday by the U.S. Commerce Department showed that American consumers increased their spending in October. This came despite a federal government shutdown that lasted 16 days and brought many government services to a halt.

The four people honored as the 2013 U.S. Professors of the Year recently shared a common experience: how they learned from failure.

Their tales, told to the Chronicle of Higher Education, provide good lessons for students just preparing to start out in their careers.

The four winners were Ann Williams at the Metropolitan State University in Denver, Robert A. Chaney at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio, Gintaras K. Duda at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., and Steven J. Pollock at the University of Colorado in Boulder.

Homebuilders’ confidence in the economy held steady in November, despite the aftermath of a government shutdown and the prospect of more fiscal battles in Washington looming on the horizon.

The National Association of Homebuilders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index was at a 54 in November, according to a report released this week. That’s the same number as for October, which was revised downward from a 55 to a 54.

A better economy – and the appearance of 2014 models on dealership lots – have led to the lowest used car prices in four years.

Drivers who went through the recession and kept their old cars running have now reached a point where they need to purchase new vehicles, according to an article on USA Today. The newspaper reported that lower unemployment rates, an overall better economy, low loan rates and the willingness of banks to lend have also made this an attractive used car buying season.

according to new data from the Institute of International Education (IIE).

The IIE’s annual Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange found that the number of international students in the United States increased to 819,644.

The flow of students out of the United States also hit record levels, according to the study, with 283,000 students from the United States studying aboard.

In another sign of an improving economy, Macy’s reported on Wednesday that profits in the third quarter far exceeded analyst’s expectations.

Most experts had projected a 39-cent jump in Macy’s profits, but instead the retailer reported an increase of 47 cents per share. That’s a 31% jump from profits in the third quarter of 2012.

“We were able to achieve a very successful third quarter of 2013, despite the tepid economic climate,” said Terry J. Lundgren, chairman, president and CEO of Macy’s, according to USA Today.

First Lady Michelle Obama will kick off a new program this week that aims to encourage more low income Americans to pursue a college degree.

Obama launched the program on Tuesday at Bell Multicultural High School in Washington, D.C.

“I’m here today because I want you to know that my story can be our story. The details might be a little different, but so many of the challenges and triumphs will be just the same,” Obama told students at the school, according to the New York Times.

Both online and traditional retailers are gearing up for what is going to be a very important, shortened holiday shopping season.

With the country still moving slowly out of a recession, retailers are looking to make the most of the Christmas shopping season, which traditionally starts the day after Thanksgiving and runs through the day before Christmas.

At the time of the financial bailout in 2008, the number seemed impossibly high: $116 billion.

That’s how much of taxpayers’ money was used to bailout Fannie Mae, the government-controlled mortgage company that was hit hard by the Great Recession last decade.

However, Fannie Mae reported this week that its third quarter profit more than quadrupled this year, meaning it can repay another $10.2 billion of the federal loan it received in 2008. At this pace, the mortgage giant will have repaid most of the loan by the end of this year.

Starbucks has joined a list of companies that have policies in which they are hiring more veterans. The move comes as an increasing number of veterans are returning to the civilian workforce from duty overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Starbucks, which is based in Seattle, announced that it is willing to hire 10,000 veterans and military spouses between now and 2018.