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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.

A new initiative from a Duke University professor – one who is known for challenging higher education traditions – seeks answers to the future of higher education through the use of, among other things, a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC).

When it comes to trying to make a business plan, Hollywood studios should focus more on a handful of movies that have a mass audience rather than a wider range of feature films that serve niche audiences, according to a Harvard professor.

Professor Anita Elberse told Bloomberg BusinessWeek that the recent failure of some big blockbuster movies – such as “Lone Ranger” – does not sway her opinion.

The College Board recently released a report defending its findings that a higher education leads to more pay for American workers.

As a supplement to its 2013 Education Pays report, the College Board – a not-for-profit membership for colleges and universities across the country – addresses criticism that its reports may over-state the benefits of a college education.

The 2013 report finds that those who earn a bachelor’s degree will make 65% more in salary than those with just a high school education.

The U.S. Midwest experienced a surge in business activity in October, with new manufacturing orders hitting the highest level since 2004.

In other economic news, the number of weekly jobless claims fell by 10,000 to about 340,000, according to the United States Department of Labor. The jobless numbers indicate that the government shutdown is no longer affecting the economy as federal workers and government contractors return to work.

Workers with specialized talents in specific fields – including business systems analysts – could see pay increases in the coming year, according to a new report.

The report, by staffing company Robert Half International, bolsters the theory that specializing in a specific area and becoming an expert in that area can lead to better chances for improved pay and promotion.