Dollar General

The holiday shopping season is looking pretty bleak for retailers. Best Buy recently announced that it plans to hire fewer holiday workers than it did last year, and now new data from the consumer research group NPD suggests that Best Buy won't be the only chain stuck in a holiday sales rut.

One of Wal-Mart's problems is the rise of dollar stores, which the Great Recession has rendered trendy: It's hard to resist merchandise priced at just a buck. For investors, not all rock-bottom retailers are created equal. Here's how to shop for these stocks (and stretch your investing dollars in the process).

If you find yourself springing for organic strawberries, only buying soda on sale and walking into a dollar store to stock up on canned goods, you're definitely not alone. Here's how grocery-related businesses are responding to changing shopping behaviors.

Dollar General announced Monday morning that its 2011 expansion plan to open 625 new stores will allow it to hire 6,000 workers this year. The discount retailer plans to add stores in markets across its existing 35-state operating area, as well as in three new states: Connecticut, Nevada and New Hampshire.

A quiet week for earnings, along with new reports on consumer credit, consumer sentiment, economic optimism, wholesale trade, the U.S. trade balance and federal budget balance, should give the stock markets a chance to settle down after last week's volatility.

Thrifty shoppers looking for low prices on basics are frequently passing up the big boxes of Walmart for the tighter aisles of their local dollar stores. The cheaper upstarts have replaced no-name products with nationally known brands and revamped their interiors to lure in a new crop of bargain hungry customers.

Despite continued economic doldrums and the onset of the holiday season, many companies are eager to hire right now. If you're looking for a job, try focusing on seasonal work, discount retailers and tech companies.