 Average hourly earnings cooled. That has investors looking at prospects for interest rate cuts this year. They're also eyeing department store deals after Saks Fifth Avenue's parent company said it is buying Neiman Marcus and valuing the company at $2.2 billion. It may not be the only deal in sight. Macy's shares rose 9.5% after an investor group that wants to buy the department store chain raised its offer for Macy's again by about $300 million to a total just below $7 billion.