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A new study on the success rates of college students takes into account the attractiveness of the student. Those who were found to have above average looks ended up having a better chance of earning a four-year degree than those who were found to be less attractive.

The study s being published online this week in a book called “Physical Attractiveness and the Accumulation of Social and Human Capital in Adolescence and Young Adulthood,” co-authored by Rachel Gordon, a professor of sociology at the University of Illinois-Chicago.

Retail sales increased in November, according to the Commerce Department, with increased purchases of automobiles and other goods.

Sales increased 0.7%, which was the largest gain in five months. Sales increased 0.6% in October. Economists had predicted, on average, about a 0.6% increase in November.

The amount of retail sales – $432.3 billion – is 4.7% higher than November 2012, according to the Commerce Department.

The idea that attending business school is only worthwhile if you can get into the top 5 business schools is antiquated thinking, according to data gathered by a website that focuses on business schools and business school graduates.

Poets & Quants recently released data showing that many schools – including far lesser known schools than Harvard and Stanford – offer students an excellent chance to get a job upon graduation.

In another sign of the leveling playing field between men and women in the business world, Mary Barra was named this week as the new chief executive of General Motors Company.

She will be the first female CEO at a major, global car company. Barra will replace retiring chief executive Dan Akerson.

According to an article from Bloomberg Businessweek, Barra, 51, started her career on the General Motors factory floor as an intern 30 years ago. In her current job – senior vice president for global product development – Barra manages product development and quality of all GM cars, a position she has held for 22 months.

Although the issue of student debt has become part of the national debate on higher education, statistics show that high loan debt is not an issue affecting every area of the country.

A study this month from the Institute for College Access and Success reported that there is a disparity in loan levels depending on location in the country and the institution.

Generally speaking, those in the East and Midwest borrow far more money than those in the South and West.

Employers added 203,000 jobs in November, far more than the 180,000 expected by economists, according to numbers released Friday by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The numbers from the federal government capped a week of positive news that included numbers from payroll company ADP that showed private companies added more jobs and numbers showing the gross domestic product had grown faster in the third quarter of 2013 than any time since the beginning of 2012.

The U.S. economy grew at the best rate in a year and half in the third quarter of 2013, which ended in September.

Revised numbers from the U.S. Department of Commerce show that the nation’s gross domestic product expanded by 3.6%, a number that easily beat the prediction from economists of a 3.1% growth rate.

The number is the highest since a 3.7% expansion in the first quarter of 2012.

Numbers from the private sector are again demonstrating the irrelevance of the October government shutdown to the nation’s private business sector.

The private sector added 215,000 jobs in November, far more than the 185,000 jobs anticipated by most economics, according to ADP, the payroll processing company. It’s the most jobs added in a one-month period in the last year.

Amazon will slowly phase in its plan to deliver products by using a drone, a technology most Americans still associate with use in covert military missions rather than dropping holiday gifts on the front porch.

The revelation of the drone delivery system, unveiled on a segment of “60 Minutes,” has generated a lot of talk both in the public and in the business community. That buzz, according to a column from Forbes, was part of the marketing plan all along.

General Motors (GM) – as well as most major car companies – are offering a discount on car purchases for college students, allowing them to purchase vehicles for thousands of dollars less.

The offer is extended to college students, recent college graduates and current nursing school and graduate students, according to the GM website.