Category Archives: Business/Economics

Business/Economics, U.S.

World War 3, U.S. Economic Front: Job losses & store closings 03 May 2013. Quest for profits destroying data collections companies?

In Washington DC, Rumors bar and restaurant now bankrupt.  Rumors has been in operation for more than 30 years.

In Utah a major mining company, Kennecott, warned of hundreds of layoffs.  At first it was blamed on a landslide at its Bingham Canyon Mine, but company officials also admitted they had to begin “cost cutting” measures.  Kennecott is owned by the British Empire’s Rio Tinto Group.

In New York, employees with The Daily Gazette report more layoffs.  At least ten people let go.  Company officials refused comment.  In Massena, Precious Memories prom dress store out-o-business. The owner blamed the bad economy: “It’s been slowly getting worse and worse for the past two or three years.”-Wendy S. MacCue

AmeriQual, a contracted food supplier for the military, laid off 49 employees in Evansville, Indiana.  It’s blamed on military spending cuts.  However, some locals are saying the taxpayer funded company is just replacing full timers with part time temps, to justify lower pay and no benefits.

In Massachusetts, the bank BB&T announced it is restructuring, which means jobs will be eliminated.  BB&T’s Kelly King said “We recognized the economy is slow and likely will be slow the rest of this year.”

Medtronic ending about 230 jobs!  “Like most companies, we will continue to evaluate our markets and organization structure to look at areas where efficiency can be improved throughout our business.”-Cindy Resman

In Texas, Swiss owned LifeSize Communications laid off about 24 people in Austin.  Company officials gave no reason for the layoffs.

Domestic data collections company, CACI of Arlington, Virginia, warned of hundreds of layoffs.  Company officials said they had to “right size” their operations to remain profitable.

Fred’s discount store closed in Belmont, North Carolina.

Children’s clothing maker Carter’s closing its Shelton, Connecticut, office.  Carter’s, which also makes the Oshkosh B’gosh brand, is consolidating operations to Atlanta, Georgia.

Maine Potato Growers closing their stores in Houlton and Presque Isle.  Company officials blame increased retail competition for forcing them to return to industry sales only.

In Florida, after 31 years Circle K Furniture shut down both its retail stores in Jacksonville.  It’s blamed on the bad economy, and a death in the family was the final straw.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) doesn’t count the hundreds of layoffs involving less than 50 people each, in its mass layoff reports. It also doesn’t count all the little ‘mom & pop’ businesses that shut down.

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

World War 3, U.S. Economic Front: Job losses & store closings 02 May 2013. More Christian schools going down!

Texas based video game maker, TimeGate, now bankrupt.  Apparently they lost a legal battle that’s been raging since 2009.  Bell Helicopter announced it was cutting back on its Fort Worth operations.  140 people out-o-work!  Blamed on expected reductions in orders for the V-22 Osprey tilt rotor aircraft.

Video game make, Glu Mobile, laid off 68 people at its Washington operations.  It has something to do with their new games-as-a-service scheme.   The Sears in the Wenatchee Valley Mall will close in August.   59 people out-o-work.

300 people lost their jobs with Xerox!  Xerox shut down their Coos Bay, Oregon, call center operations.  Company officials blame it on an unnamed client they were serving.

Idaho based paper products company, Boise, will layoff 265 people at their International Falls, Minnesota, operations!  Apparently sales are so bad they have to shut down two production lines by 01 October.

The irony of the bad economy is that Pennsylvania’s Department of Labor and Industry laid off 100 employees!  State officials blame lack of federal funding.  In Sellersville, Teva Pharmaceutical announced it will shut down its research and manufacturing facility by 2017.  472 employees affected!

The California Department of Developmental Services has decided that 54 employees at their Porterville Developmental Center are “surplus” and will be laid off by the end of August.  However, a consultant pointed out that the facility is already short staffed, and the layoffs will make things worse: “It’s very ironic. We already have an issue with massive overtime and staff doing its best to keep the staffing ratio up and running.”-Brady Oppenheim

In Florida, as the shut down of the Crystal River nuke plant continues, Duke Energy forced to layoff hundreds more employees. 585 employees to be let go over the next 12 months!  The nuke plant is being shut down because it was revealed that Duke Energy employees damaged a containment building, then majorly screwed up the repair job.  It would cost $3.4 billion to fix the botched repair.

90 people lost their jobs with BuySeasons in New Berlin, Wisconsin.  It’s blamed on crashing sales.

In New York, the 72 years old Saints Peter and Paul Catholic School in Auburn closed down.  It’s blamed on a drastic drop in student enrollment.  Also, the Rome Catholic High School closed down.  It’s blamed on declining enrollment.  In Henrietta, Tyco Integrated Security is ending operations by October.  132 people out-o-work!

The Ri Ra Irish Pub in Bethesda, Maryland, will close in September.  The owners said it wasn’t worth it to renew the lease.

Stage Stores closing their Mecklenburg County office in Virginia.  112 people unemployed!  The company is consolidating operations to Texas.

In Georgia, the owner of new age book store Trilogy is switching to internet sales only.  The owner is moving to Texas, for family reasons.

The owners of The Little Red Gift Shop, in Ohio, sold out: “The developer building across the street approached us with a good enough offer and we accepted it.”-Betty Donnellan

In Phoenix, Arizona, the Cheuvront Restaurant & Wine Bar closed down.  The owner, a former state politician, hopes to open a new restaurant in the Sky Harbor airport.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) doesn’t count the hundreds of layoffs involving less than 50 people each, in its mass layoff reports. It also doesn’t count all the little ‘mom & pop’ businesses that shut down.

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

U.S. Postal Service: Domestic spies, ID thieves, layoffs, closings & privatization will continue until moral improves!

09 July 2013 (23:37 UTC-07 Tango 08 July 2013)/01 Ramadan 1434/18 Tir 1391/02 Ji-Wie (6th month) 4711

“Whether that is due to health benefits or retirement funding or something that only Congress can control, the bottom line is we are losing $25 million a day.”-Ron Schaer, USPS marketing manager in Portland, Oregon

“There’s a lot of deception going on, it’s being driven by the private sector, which wants to profit off the movement of mail. Part of that profit will come from not having to deal with postal unions.”-John Schwiebert, 18th Avenue Peace House, Oregon

Fact: U.S. Postal Service officials are dictated to by the U.S. Postal Regulatory Commission.  The commissioners are selected/appointed by the President of the U.S., and the U.S. Senate.  They are the ones who determine things such as the price of a postage stamp and layoffs.

Fact: The U.S. Postal Service is not funded with tax dollars (“The USPS has not directly received taxpayer-dollars since the early 1980s with the minor exception of subsidies for costs associated with the disabled and overseas voters.”).  The USPS is funded through postage stamps and other services they provide.  Many times the USPS has asked the PRC for increases in postal rates, because they were not covering operating expenses, but the PRC refused  (that’s right, even though there have been rate increases, they still don’t cover operating costs).  Also, in 2006 the U.S. Congress forced the USPS to pay $5.5 billion per year, for the next 75 years, into accounts controlled by Congress (this is the final straw that broke the financial back of the USPS).

For proof of main stream U.S. news media ignorance about the USPS, recently the Wall Street Journal stupidly stated that “If you’re an American taxpayer, you own it.”  How can that be if the USPS is an independent agency that is not funded with tax money?

In Alabama, a mail carrier was found guilty of stealing people’s identities, and other crimes.  But he was just a part of a larger ID theft ring: “…his criminal organization not only stole innocent people’s identities, filed fraudulent tax returns and received tax refunds not owed to them, but they used Harrison’s position as a mail carrier to steal these debit cards from the mail…”-George L. Beck, U.S. Attorney

According to the New York Times, the USPS has been acting as a domestic spy agency for the U.S. government.  It was revealed when a mail carrier ‘accidentally’ delivered the order to photocopy all letters to a postal customer: “Show all mail to supv for copying prior to going out on the street”

That order was specifically against the postal customer that accidentally received the order.  Independent investigations revealed the USPS is using a Mail Isolation Control and Tracking program to copy at least 160 billion pieces of mail every year.

Of interest is that the USPS has just placed an order for $450000 worth of computer systems from Kansas based company Commtech.  Commtech designs high speed data collections, I mean communications equipment.  The USPS says it could double the order.

In Oregon, a postal carrier was found guilty of stealing $135000 in cash and checks from customers’ mail.  He blamed it on a gambling addiction.

In Texas, a postal employee pled guilty to using postal computers to collect child porn.  And a resident of Coldspring has been charged with murdering a mail carrier.  The suspect complained of slow delivery of his mail.  The carrier was on her cell phone with her son when the suspect shot her.

In Florida, mail carriers report increases in assaults against them.

In Rhode Island, the USPS is investigating why mail for businesses in East Greenwhich has been dumped by the carriers.  A part time carrier has been arrested in connection with the dumping.  The investigation would not have happened if it weren’t for postal customers complaining.

Click pics to make bigger

Here in southeastern Idaho, I’ve watched as the Chubbuck USPS postal station in the Pine Ridge Mall was closed down.   Then I watched as Chubbuck’s independently contracted post office was closed down.  Now I see the staffing at the Pocatello Clark Street post office being reduced, and full timers switched to part time.  This past Saturday I saw the local Postmaster stocking shipping supplies for postal customers.  One source told me that despite locals’ objections to the closing of the area’s only processing center, the Gateway Station in Pocatello will be closed within 18 months.  This means that if I send a letter to Idaho Falls, an hours drive from my location, it will be first sent to Salt Lake City, Utah, and then sent back into Idaho to it’s destination.  Not very efficient or cost saving is it?

Relatives in California have told me of local post offices now operating Saturday hours on Fridays (10:00 hours to 14:30 hours).  It was officially reported that the USPS cut operating hours at their Highland and Calimesa post offices.  Also, full time employees have been replaced with part timers.  In La Jolla the USPS is selling off the historic La Jolla Post Office (National Register of Historic Places), despite protests.  This is odd considering the USPS just held a job fair in San Jose, supposedly to fill 500 positions!

In Indiana, after 17 years of service the USPS will close the postal station in Evansville’s Eastland Mall.  Fordsville will lose its branch PO, meaning the nearest PO will be 10 miles away.

In Massachusetts, the West Lynn PO will probably be closed down, for real this time.

In Hawaii, the Kapolei Post Office will be closed in August.

In Illinois, USPS officials told the Collinsville City Council the 50 year lease on the Collinsville Post Office was up in September, and they were not going to renew.  They said the post office was too big.

In Ohio, the processing center in Toledo will be closed.   By the end of 2014 processing centers in Akron, Athens, Canton, Chillicothe, Dayton, Ironton, Steubenville and Youngstown will be closed.

In New York, the USPS opened a new mini post office (called a village post office), in a mini-mart in Limestone.   In Newburgh, plans to close the processing center in 2014 have been changed.  It’s being closed this year!  Hundreds of jobs affected.

In Kentucky, the USPS opened a village PO in the Harrodsburg Food Center.

In South Carolina, the Asheville processing center will cease outgoing mail handling on 13 July.  Nearly 200 jobs affected.

The USPS will pay millions of dollars to improve worker safety, after they were hit with accusations from the Postal Workers Union and the U.S. Department of Labor OSHA.  This after the USPS signed a contract with Adayana Government Group to provide training for newly appointed Safety Specialists, Managers, Supervisors, and Facility Safety Coordinators. (called operation Safety Boot Camp)

After 50 years of ignoring Cuba, the USPS says it will begin negotiating the possibility of delivering U.S. mail to the communist country.

Beware of the Change of Address scam.  Internet sites are charging people up to $24 to file fake change of address forms.  The USPS does it for free (if you fill out the forms at your local PO).

What about the plan to go to five day delivery week?  At the beginning of the year the USPS was approved to begin a six day package delivery, and five day mail delivery scheme.  In April that plan was put on hold, not “shelved” as so many main streamer news media sites reported.  President Obama’s fiscal 2014 budget proposal allows the USPS to go to a five day delivery schedule.  The U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors (part of the PRC) said “….Congress has left it with no choice but to delay this implementation at this time….The Board continues to support the transition to a new national delivery schedule….”  The Board also lied and stated that “…this new delivery schedule is widely supported by the American public.”

According to Federal News Radio, the USPS is being transformed into something that resembles privatized European postal services: “In regard to partnerships, other posts tend to be more aggressive in what they do with. I think it is something where the Postal Service can catch up by learning from the aggressive actions that some of the European posts are taking, and that might apply to other areas as well.”-Michael Kubayanda, USPS Office of the Inspector General

 

 

Business/Economics, U.S.

World War 3, U.S. Economic Front: Job losses & store closings 01 May 2013.

Aluminum maker, Alcoa, says it will reduce production even more.  Alcoa has already been shutting down operations world wide.  They blame the low price of aluminum.  Reduced production equals more layoffs.

In Rhode Island, Westerly Hospital eliminated 45 jobs.  It’s being blamed on the takeover by Lawrence + Memorial Hospital.

Schumacher Group shutting down its Patient Financial Management Services in Louisiana.  41 people laid off.   Blame Obama/Romney Care (Affordable Care Act).

In California, the not for profit doctor and hospital network known as Sutter Health announced 169 people losing their jobs!  There was no reason given, but apparently the network is consolidating 1000 jobs, so expect more layoffs.  The Paradise Unified School District wants to get rid of at least six jobs.  It all depends on Title 1 federal funds.  In Atascadero, Colby Jack Café & Bakery closed down.  The owners blame the bad economy: “We tried to make it work and couldn’t. We haven’t seen the economy get better.”-Natalie Dorris

The proposed budget for the city of Portland, Oregon, plans 182 layoffs, and increases the water/sewer rates!

Electronics/communications company Harris Corporation wants to layoff 150 people in Brevard County, Florida!  Company officials say they have to cut operating costs.

In North Carolina, Too Big to Jail Bank of America closed down its employee child care center in Charlotte.  In High Point, Tar Heel Lanes bowling alley closed after 42 years of business.  The owners were not able to get  new loans, so now the bowling alley is up for sale.  After 37 years Gaston County’s John Deere dealership, Briley’s Lawn and Leisure, closed down.  Blamed on death in the family.

Ecolab laying off 500 people across the U.S., mainly in Texas!  It’s blamed on restructuring after the takeover of a company called Champion Technologies.

In Maryland, Aramark laying off 202 people!  The dining service company lost a major contract.   In Bethesda, Zen Tara Tea shop shut down.   The owners blamed loss of business on major construction projects in the area.  In College Park, On Cloud 9 clothing store closed up.  Blamed on death in the family.  In Ellicott City, Mumbles and Squeaks toy store closed.  After 21 years the owners decided it was time to retire.

What automotive sector recovery?  In Indiana, Jay Products Company of Portland ceased operations.  61 people out-o-work.  The car parts maker blamed it on a reduction in production in the automotive industry.

In Missouri, the Affton Blockbuster video store closed down.

Update on ESCO Technologies closing its Aclara plant in Solon, Ohio.  At least 79 employees being laid off.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) doesn’t count the hundreds of layoffs involving less than 50 people each, in its mass layoff reports. It also doesn’t count all the little ‘mom & pop’ businesses that shut down.

Business/Economics, U.S.

World War 3, U.S. Economic Front: Job losses & store closings 19-20 April 2013. What automotive sector recovery? NSA domestic spying company hit by spending cuts!

In New Jersey, North Bergen recycling went bankrupt.  Company officials pled guilty to illegal dumping and got hit with massive fines.

AM General laid off at least 350 people in Indiana!  Company officials blame the bad global economy on crashing Hummer/Humvee orders!  Yet, at the same time they claim there is a big demand for their military type vehicle, it’s just that the expected orders haven’t come in.

In Kentucky, automotive parts supplier, GECOM, laid off 85 employees.  Company officials blamed it on “…current and projected business needs…”, adding that for the foreseeable future “…only a handful of employees…” will be kept working.

In Tennessee, Volkswagen laying off 500 people!  Last year VW thought they were going to add 800 jobs to their U.S. Passat factory, but sales crashed!  VW officials say sales are only good in major metro areas, in the rest of the country sales are down.  And in a bit-o-irony, the Department of of Labor and Workforce is restructuring its Career Centers, and as many as 125 people could lose their jobs!

At least 180 people lost their jobs with L3 Communication Systems-West in Utah!  Company officials blamed Department of Defense spending cuts.  Maybe this is a good thing, as L3 is “…a leading provider of networked communication solutions for high-performance intelligence collection, imagery processing and satellite communications for the Department of Defense (DoD) and other government agencies. We provide high-data rate, wideband, secure, real-time communication systems for surveillance and reconnaissance.”  In other words they’re being paid to spy on you!  (for some reason hi-tech spying operations are setting up shop in the heart of Mormon-land, soon the World’s largest personal information collection center will be operational. It’s located in the Utah Army National Guard’s Camp Williams)

Publicly funded (meaning donations) KCET TV, in California, laid off 22 employees and eliminated five vacant positions.  It’s the result of a merger with publicly funded (donations) Link Media.  In June 2012 KCET posted a loss of $7.4 million USD.

More bad news for Disney owned Lucasfilm.  20 more people laid off in what is supposedly the last round of layoffs since the Disney takeover.

In Maine, SPX Communications Technologies ended antenna operations, laying off 57 employees.

The Puma athletic store in Pennsylvania closed down.

In Oregon, The Elephant’s Trunk toy store closed at the Salem Center Mall.

267 people out-o-work in Ohio, after Turf Products closed its Streetsboro operations!  Another 23 people laid off in the company’s distribution center.   Apparently the company made too many products (like lawnmowers) at other factories, and is calling a production halt.  ESCO Technologies closing its Aclara plant in Solon.  The company saw a 85% drop in profits for its 2nd quarter this year.  No word on how many people will be unemployed.

In Little Rock, Arkansas, Faux Pas closed after 20 years in business.  The owners of the fashion store decided it was time to change careers.

Wonderland Books shut down in Connecticut. The owners blamed competition from big name stores and the internet.

In Mississippi, Bayside Furniture & Appliances shut down.  The longtime family owners (since 1970) blamed the bad economy.

After 64 years Smith’s Gardentown Farms closed in Wichita, Texas.   The family owners blame the long drought, and hope to re-open when the rains return: “The drought has everyone worried. I think there were some misunderstandings about the [city’s] watering rules, but the drought is a reality. Much of our business depends on selling bedding plants in the spring to help get us through the summer and into the fall. Business has just been way off because people are guarded about the future, and rightfully so.”-Steve Smith

In New Mexico, the Albuquerque Public Schools District has lost $100 million since 2010, and is now looking at closing down several schools.  The district has already laid off 1000 employees since 2010!  One plan is to get rid of Middle schools (Junior Highs).  The irony is that the district just built two new schools!

The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) doesn’t count the hundreds of layoffs involving less than 50 people each, in its mass layoff reports. It also doesn’t count all the little ‘mom & pop’ businesses that shut down.

 

 

 

Business/Economics, U.S.

World War 3, U.S. Economic Front: Job losses & store closings 18 April 2013. Thousands of people losing their jobs!

Just one day after announcing 300 layoffs in California, Washington based (HQ now in Illinois) Boeing announced that 1700 engineering jobs will be eliminated by the end of the year!   This affects Boeing’s Commercial Airplane unit.   Boeing officials also revealed that they’ve laid off 700 people in other positions since October 2012, and that “…we will continue that effort.”

Cessna Aircraft has warned union employees in Kansas, that some of them will be out-o-work soon.  Company officials blamed the bad economy: “Cessna continues to operate within a challenging economic environment and is experiencing a slower-than-expected recovery….”  The QuikTrip store in the Sprint Center closed down.

The Asada restaurant in Laguna Beach, California, went bankrupt.   The company said the restaurant will stay open, the bankruptcy is to “preserve the business”.  The restaurant owes debts, wages and back rent.  The rent is $21630 per month.   In Modesto, the Memorial Medical Center laid off 39 office employees.  The hospital has consolidated its administrative operations.  In San Jose, two Bay Area Family Fitness centers shut down.  They had opened just 18 months prior!

IBM (International Business Machines, a U.S. company that got its start cataloging concentration camp victims for the NAZIs) warned of major layoffs.  Company officials blame their crashing sales on the bad economy.

In Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia School District is warning of massive job and program cuts, because it is short $304 million for the 2014 school year!

In New Hampshire, The Telegraph laid off about 24 employees, right before the newspaper was taken over by The Ogden Newspapers.

Too Big to Jail, Ohio’s KeyCorp (KeyBank) will increase layoffs and close at least 30 branches around the U.S.  In Youngstown, Cafe Cimmento closed down. The owner said his son left the Cafe for a better paying job.   7-Eleven closed three stores near Ohio State University.

In Cave Junction, Oregon, Rough & Ready Lumber closed down.  The owners of the saw mill blame a lack of logs coming from federal forests.

The Newsland store in Westminster, Colorado, shut down.   It’s the owner’s fifth and final Newsland store.  He started the magazine/book stands 28 years ago.   He blames electronic devices.

In Michigan, Why Not Costumes shut down after 26 years of business.  The owner blames the bad economy.  She’s put the business and her home up for sale.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) doesn’t count the hundreds of layoffs involving less than 50 people each, in its mass layoff reports. It also doesn’t count all the little ‘mom & pop’ businesses that shut down.

Business/Economics, U.S.

World War 3, U.S. Economic Front: Job losses & store closings 17 April 2013. More education cuts! More hospital cuts no thanks to Obama/Romney Care!

Boeing laying off as many as 300 people in California!  Boeing has come up with a way to make satellites more efficiently.  The layoffs affect operations in El Segundo, Torrance, Seal Beach and Huntington Beach.

In New Jersey, the newest and most financially troubled Revel casino laid off 83 employees.  Atlantic City’s bad economy just can’t support 12 casinos!

In Minnesota, Creative Memories made it official and went bankrupt, for the second time in five years. At least 163 people to lose their jobs!

Reinsurance company, PartnerRe, will layoff 140 people despite reporting a profit for its fourth quarter!  Company officials say they’re trying to make the company more efficient (make more profits for the stockholders).  Reinsurance is basically insurance on the policies insurance companies sell to you.

Military contractor, Concurrent Technologies Corporation, laid off 19 workers at its Cambria County, Pennsylvania operations.  Company officials blame government spending cuts.  Reading Eagle, owner of Reading Hospital, laying off 210 medical staff, plus eliminating another 181 jobs through attrition!  Officials blame the Obama/Romney Care (Affordable Care Act) cuts to Medicare/Medicaid!

In New London, Wisconsin, Saputo Cheese laid off 22 employees due to changes in factory set up.

The Head Start education program in Lorain County, Ohio, laid off four employees.  Officials blame federal funding cuts.  In Columbus, the Flow Skatepark closed down.

In New York, the General Brown Central School District considering cutting or eliminating 21 positions.  The district is dealing with a $1 million USD budget gap.  Bus company, Mile Square Transportation, laid off 102 employees!  The company shut down its Peekskill facility, after the local Peekskill City School District dropped their contract.

The Mat-Su Borough School District, in Alaska, is reviewing next school year’s budget and 44 people could lose their jobs.  It has something to do with state mandated teacher to pupil ratios.

In Florida, Lee County School District laying off 100 people!  Federal funding cuts are being blamed.  Pierce Manufacturing laid off 33 employees and warned of more layoffs to come.  It’s part of layoffs announced last year, due to Oshkosh shutting down its ambulance production.

In Texas, Pratt & Whitney ended its Port San Antonio maintenance operations, and laid off 125 people!  Company officials called it a “business realignment”.  Also in San Antonio, the Zuni Grill closed down.  The Skillman and Abrams store in Lake Highlands shut down.  Reports blame competition from a Super Target, and Super Walmart.

After 57 years of operations, Ponticello’s restaurant closed up in Missouri. The owner retired, saying he wanted to quit before the economy got worse.

In Maine, the Sea Grass Bistro closed.  The owner jumped ship for a job with a private club.

In Kentucky, Indigo Casual Gourmet Cafe in Fort Mitchell closed.  20 employees affected.

Home decor retailer, Kirkland’s, closed its White Marsh Mall store in Maryland.  It’s blamed on the bad economy.

In Illinois, U.S. Cellular closed a store in Evanston.  Apparently the company is focusing on rural markets.

200 Fresh & Easy stores in the United States to be closed and sold off!  The United Kingdom based owner, Tesco, says the economy is so bad they’re losing money on almost every store!  5000 people affected!

The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) doesn’t count the hundreds of layoffs involving less than 50 people each, in its mass layoff reports. It also doesn’t count all the little ‘mom & pop’ businesses that shut down.

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

World War 3, U.S. Economic Front: Another $20 million lost by Coldwater Creek! Blames it on climate change and shuttered stores!

29 June 2013 (21:41 UTC-07 Tango 28 June 2013)/20 Sha’ban 1434/08 Tir 1391/22 Wu-Wu (5th month) 4711

The Idaho based women’s clothing retailer, Coldwater Creek, just keeps bleeding out cash!  For its most recent quarter, which ended in May, Coldwater Creek lost $19.4 million USD.

Executives headquartered in Sandpoint blamed it on climate change and the fact that they’ve closed so many stores: “Our first quarter results were impacted by unseasonable weather throughout the quarter….”-Jill Dean, CEO

Coldwater Creek closed two retail stores in the last quarter, along with one factory store.  Company officials don’t expect any good news when this current quarter ends, either.  Amazingly, Coldwater Creek (CWTR) stocks are selling for about $2.50 per share, despite being downgraded to neutral by investment bank B. Riley!

To try and become more efficient, Coldwater Creek just spent money on a Oracle Retail Merchandise Planning and Optimization program: “Ultimately, this should lead to further reductions in aged inventory and allow us to increase our full price selling, making us more productive and profitable.”-Jim Bell, CFO/COO

They say the program will let them better forecast what women want to buy (by spying on customers’ shopping habits).

Business/Economics, U.S.

World War 3, Economic Front: Hawaii’s first Kmart for sale! California Kmart closing!

28 June 2013 (10:51 UTC-07 Tango)/19 Sha’ban 1434/07 Tir 1391/21 Wu-Wu (5th month) 4711

In California, a Fairfield Kmart that opened in 1969 will close in September.  Sears Holdings does not want to renew the lease.

In Honolulu, the building housing the first Kmart in Hawaii up for lease.  The Kmart is still operating, but local news media did not get any comment from Sears Holdings about the future existence of the store.

Here’s the updated list of U.S. Sears/Kmart store closings since the end of 2011:

Arizona: Scottsdale Sears/Great Indoors, Chandler Sears/Great Indoors.

Alabama: Gadsden Kmart (50 jobs lost), Mobile Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Auburn Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Anniston Kmart (no word yet on how many jobs lost).

California:   El Monte Sears (at least 40 jobs lost. Damien Arrula, El Monte’s economic development director, said the store manager had lied about what was going on: “The general manager of the store had just indicated to me that they were remodeling.”), two San Diego Sears (at least 80 jobs lost), Pleasant Hill Kmart (more than 50 jobs lost), Torrance Kmart, recently revealed Fairfield Kmart (63 jobs lost).

Colorado:  Broomfield Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Glenwood Springs Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Lone Tree Sears/Great Indoors, Longmont Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Pueblos’ South Side Kmart (52 jobs lost),  Denver Kmart (number of jobs lost have not been made public at this time, but could be at least 40).

Georgia: Macon Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Buford Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Douglasville Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Atlanta Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Columbus Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Jonesboro Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Cartersville Kmart (74 jobs lost).

Guam:  Sears Hometown Store.

Florida: Fernandina Beach Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Callaway Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Orange City Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost),  Deland Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Stuart Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), West Palm Beach Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Port St. Lucie Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Crystal River Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), New Smyrna Beach Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Saint Augustine Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Pompano Beach Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost),  Jacksonville Kmart on 5751 Beach Boulevard (71 jobs lost), second Kmart in Jacksonville on 4645 Blanding Boulevard (83 jobs lost), Ocoee Sears (102 jobs lost), Pensacola Kmart on Airport Boulevard closed in 2011, Pensacola Kmart on Mobile Highway closed in February 2013 (69 jobs lost),  Pensacola Kmart on East 9 Mile Road will close in May (73 jobs lost), Hialeah Kmart (67 jobs lost), Bonita Springs Kmart (67 jobs lost), Mount Dora Kmart (100 jobs lost), Lake Mary Kmart.

Hawaii: Honolulu Sears (owned by GGP, 372 jobs lost!!!),  Kauai Sears (41 jobs lost), recently revealed Iwilei-Honolulu Kmart for lease (no confirmation of store closing).

Vacant bedroom/bathroom section.

One corner of the half vacant Chubbuck, Idaho, Sears. No official closing announcement was made.

Idaho: Lewiston Sears (at least 60 jobs lost).  No official announcement, but it’s painfully obvious the Chubbuck Sears going’ down. Or, maybe it’s preps for Shop within a Shop, or one of those domestic spy data storage centers?

Indiana:  Anderson Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Saint John Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Indianapolis Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Richmond Sears (49 jobs lost).

Illinois:  Alton Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Melrose Park Sears parts and repair center (50 jobs lost), Zion Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Oak Lawn Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), McHenry Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Peru Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Lombard Sears/Great Indoors (at least 40 jobs lost), Fairview Heights Kmart (81 jobs lost), Freeport Kmart (45 jobs lost), Pontiac Kmart (more than 47 jobs lost), Homer Glen Kmart (82 jobs lost), Streator Kmart (45 jobs lost), Lombard Kmart (70 jobs lost), Naperville Kmart (98 jobs lost), Calumet Sears (164 jobs lost), two Sears stores in Grand Crossing area of Chicago (247 jobs lost!), Mount Vernon Sears (68 jobs lost). 58 Chicago area stores up for lease or sale.  By the way, Illinois elected officials gave Sears Holdings/Hoffman Estates a $150 million USD tax break to keep their headquarters in the state.  The tax break was not tied to any promise not to close stores.

Iowa:  Cedar Rapids Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Davenport Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Burlington Kmart (50 jobs lost), Coralville Sears (94 jobs lost, this is a store sold to GGP earlier in the year).

Kansas: Lawrence Sears (at least 40 jobs lost).

Kentucky: Middlesboro Sears (in September 2012 the Sears store re-opened under independent ownership, official grand re-opening scheduled for November), Winchester Kmart (back in May, Rankin Paynter bought out what was left of the inventory and gave it to charity), Hazard Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost).

Maine: Lewiston Sears (60 to 70 jobs lost).

Maryland: Ellicott Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Gaithersburg Sears/Great Indoors.

Michigan: Novi Sears/Great Indoors, Brighton Sears Grand/Essentials,  Harper Woods Sears Full line, Monroe Sears Full line, Adrian Sears Full line, Washington Township Kmart, Chesterfield Kmart, Woodhaven Kmart, Flint Kmart (46 jobs lost), Gaylord Kmart (48 jobs lost).

Minnesota: Willmar Kmart, Duluth Kmart, New Hope Kmart, White Bear Lake Kmart, Bemidji Kmart,  GGP owned Sears Auto Center in the Apache Mall closed (10 jobs lost).

Mississippi: Jackson Sears Full line, McComb Sears Full line, Columbus Sears Full line.

Missouri: Lee’s Summit Sears Grand/Essentials, Saint Louis Sears Full line, High Ridge Kmart (59 jobs lost).

Montana: Missoula Kmart (50 jobs lost).

New Hampshire: Nashau Sears Grand/Essentials, Keene Sears Grand/Essentials,  Portsmouth Kmart (30 jobs lost).

North Carolina: High Point Sears, Moorehead Sears, Rocky Mount Sears, Statesville Sears, Durham Kmart (79 jobs lost), Asheville Kmart (53 jobs lost),  West Smithfield Kmart (59 jobs lost), Winston-Salem Kmart (69 jobs lost), Hendersonville Kmart (58 jobs lost).

North Dakota: Jamestown Kmart (45 jobs lost).

New Jersey:  Lawnside Kmart (about 80 jobs lost).

New Mexico: Las Cruces Kmart (58 jobs lost).

New York: Depew (Lancaster?) Kmart (68 jobs lost).

Ohio: Chagrin Falls Kmart, Springfield Kmart, two Toledo Kmarts, Medina Kmart, Columbus Kmart, Columbus Sears/Great Indoors, Zanesville Sears (67 jobs lost), Trotwood Kmart (71 jobs lost).   Also, Van Wert Sears franchise bought out by Kirk Berryman, owner of Computer & Networking Technologies (CNT), who plans on moving the store to a new location.

Oklahoma: Oklahoma City Sears (98 jobs lost, GGP owned, GGP wants a $2 million sales tax rebate, claiming it’s needed to offset capital investments needed to bring the space up to the standards for potential new tenants).

Oregon: Roseburg Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Tualatin Kmart Center (new property owner from California is tearing everything down for new shopping center, so far no indication the Kmart will be part of the new shopping center), Milwaukie Kmart (61 jobs lost).

Pennsylvania: Upper Darby Sears Full line, Pottstown Sears Full line, Pittsburgh Kmart, Wilkins Sears, Warminster Kmart (85 jobs lost), Shippensburg Kmart (46 jobs lost), Moon Kmart (143 jobs lost).

South Carolina: Sumter Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Orangeburg Sears (57 jobs lost), Columbia Kmart on Fort Jackson Boulevard in 2012, Columbia Kmart on Bush River Road in 2009, Columbia Kmart on St Andrews Road (66 jobs lost), Irmo Kmart (no info on how many jobs lost),  both Greenville Kmarts (140 jobs lost between the two).

Tennessee: Antioch Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Cleveland Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Oak Ridge Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Hendersonville Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Morristown Sears (about 70 jobs lost), Clinton South Kmart.

Texas: Two Sears parts and repair centers closing in The Woodlands (117 jobs lost), rebuild center in Garland (58 jobs lost), Farmers Branch Sears/Great Indoors, Houston Sears Great/Indoors.

Virginia: Norfolk Sears (at least 40 jobs lost),  Midlothian Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Richmond Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Lynchburg Sears (84 jobs lost), Fairfax Kmart (no word on how many jobs lost), Christiansburg Sears (59 jobs lost), Norfolk Kmart on East Little Creek Road (77 jobs lost), Manassas Kmart (71 jobs lost).

Washington: Walla Walla Sears Full line (in August 2012, it was reported that an independent owner of Sears Hometown stores will open a store in Walla Walla), Lacey Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Kelso Sears (47 jobs lost), Lakewood Kmart (59 jobs lost), Bellingham Sears (92 jobs lost),  Seattle Kmart (85 jobs lost), East Wenatchee Sears (59 jobs lost).

West Virginia: Oak Hill Kmart (59 jobs lost).

Wisconsin: West Baraboo Sears (at least 40 jobs lost, local village officials say the store generated 3% of local tax collections), Rice Lake Kmart (about 71 jobs lost).

On top of that, Sears Holdings sold stores to General Growth Properties (GGP), of which it has been reported that most of those stores will be closed.

Here’s the list of 11 Sears stores now owned by GGP:

Iowa: Coral Ridge Mall (it’s official the Sears is closing, see above), and Mall of the Bluffs

Texas: The Woodlands Mall (this does not involve the two repair centers being closed by Sears)

Florida: West Oaks Mall

Utah: Fashion Place, and Provo Towne Centre (note the evil British empire way of spelling town & center. Due to a favorable lease agreement the GGP owned Provo Sears will continue to stay open under Sears Holdings management)

Oklahoma: Quail Springs Mall (it’s official, the Sears will be closed, see above)

Hawaii: Ala Moana Center (will be closed, see above)

Washington: Bellis Fair Mall (Bellingham store, see above)

Minnesota: Apache Mall  (see update above, GGP will close Sears store by 2014)

Illinois: Market Place Shopping Center

 

Business/Economics, International

World War 3, Economic Front: U.S. ally(?) United Kingdom now dealing in Chinese yuan!

23 June 2013 (13:06 UTC-07 Tango)/14 Sha’ban 1434/02 Tir 1391/16 Wu-Wu (5th month) 4711

The Bank of England and the People’s Bank of China have signed a deal in which they will directly exchange their currency, avoiding the use of the U.S. dollar.

The deal maxes out at 20 billion pounds/200 billion yuan (aka RMB).  That’s currently about $30 billion USD.

Bank officials say the deal is an attempt to create financial stability (in other words, the U.S. dollar is becoming too unstable).