5 posts tagged “recession”
Court filing shows bankrupt electronics retailer seeks approval to sell merchandise in its remaining 567 stores.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Bankrupt electronics retailer Circuit City Inc. said Friday it has asked for court approval to close its remaining 567 U.S. stores and sell all its merchandise.
The company said it has 34,000 employees.
"We are extremely disappointed by this outcome," James Marcum, acting CEO for Circuit City, said in a statement. "We were unable to reach an agreement with our creditors and lenders to structure a going-concern transaction in the limited timeframe available, and so this is the only possible path for our company."
In a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Circuit City - the No. 2 electronics retailer after Best Buy (BBY, Fortune 500) - said it had reached an agreement with four companies to start the liquidation process.
The company said the sale would begin Saturday and run until March 31, pending court approval.
The retailer's Web site and call center will cease to operate after Jan. 18.
Circuit City said employees will receive 60 days notice of the termination.
Employees who are laid off earlier will get pay and benefits for the 60-day period beginning Friday, the retailer said.
Those who remain with the company to assist with the liquidation, will receive pay and benefits.
Circuit City also operates about 765 retail stores and dealer outlets in Canada. The company said its Canadian operations, which employ 3,000 workers, will continue to operate.
The company said it will redeem its gift cards through the liquidation sale, but the cards will have no value once the stores are closed...
Circuit City could still find a lifeline if Golden Gate Capital, one of the reported lead bidders for the merchant, bought the company and restructured it primarily as an online business with very few physical stores."This would eliminate overhead costs, vendor conflicts and other issues," he said. "Circuit City has an almost $1 billion online business. So there is a future for it in that regard...
From the Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: Election 2008 -- October 2008:
Nearly half (47%) of the public reports someone in their family skipping pills, postponing or cutting back on medical care they said they needed in the past year due to the cost of care. For example, just over one-third say they or a family member put off or postponed needed care and three in ten say they skipped a recommended test or treatment – increases of seven percentage points from last April’s tracking poll which asks the same question...
Unemployment Rate Rises to 6.1%
By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM
Published: September 5, 2008
The unemployment rate jumped to 6.1 percent in August, its highest level in five years, as the erosion of the job market accelerated over the summer.
Employers cut 84,000 jobs last month, more than economists had expected, and the Labor Department said that more jobs were lost in June and July than previously thought.
So far, 605,000 jobs have disappeared since January. The unemployment rate, which rose from 5.7 percent in July, is now at its highest level since September 2003...
...Manufacturing jobs were hammered again in August, with 61,000 workers losing their jobs. Nearly 60,000 administrative workers, including secretaries and temp workers, were laid off.
Gains came in the education and health care industries, which added a total of 55,000 jobs. But those gains were offset by loses at restaurants, auto dealers and factories that make parts for cars and other transportation equipment...
Take a look at this list of businesses / retail outlets that are closing or have already closed. Just another reason to vote for Senator Obama for President of the United States. Senator McCain will only continue the FAILED Bush economic policies and this list will grow.
Ann Taylor closing 117 stores nationwide.
Eddie Bauer to close more stores after closing 27 stores in the first quarter.
Cache, a women’s retailer is closing 20 to 23 stores this year.
Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, Catherines closing 150 stores nationwide
Talbots & J. Jill closing stores. Talbots will close all 78 of its kids and men's stores plus another 22 underperforming stores. The 22 stores will be a mix of Talbots women's and J. Jill.
Gap Inc. closing 85 stores
Foot Locker to close 140 stores
Wickes Furniture is going out of business and closing all of its stores. The 37-year-old retailer that targets middle-income customers, filed for bankruptcy protection last month.
Levitz - the furniture retailer, announced it was going out of business and closing all 76 of its stores in December. The retailer dates back to 1910.
Zales, Piercing Pagoda plans to close 82 stores by July 31 followed by closing another 23 underperforming stores.
Disney Store owner has the right to close 98 stores.
Home Depot store closings 15 of them amid a slumping US economy and housing market. The move will affect 1,300 employees. It is the first time the world's largest home improvement store chain has ever closed a flagship store.
CompUSA (CLOSED).
Macy's - 9 stores closed
Movie Gallery / Hollywood Video – video rental company plans to close 400 of 3,500 Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video stores in addition to the 520 locations the video rental chain closed last fall as part of bankruptcy.
Pacific Sunwear - 153 Demo stores closing
Pep Boys - 33 stores of auto parts supplier closing
Sprint Nextel - 125 retail locations to close with 4,000 employees following 5,000 layoffs last year.
J. C. Penney, Lowe's and Office Depot are all scaling back
Ethan Allen Interiors: plans to close 12 of 300 stores to cut costs.
Wilsons the Leather Experts – closing 158 stores
Bombay Company: to close all 384 U.S.-based Bombay Company stores.
Dillard's Inc. will close another six stores this year.
Regulators Close Two More National Banks
By Alison Vekshin
Bloomberg News
Saturday, July 26, 2008
First National Bank of Nevada and First Heritage Bank were closed by U.S. regulators yesterday, the first institutions to fail since regulators seized IndyMac Bancorp two weeks ago following a run by depositors.
First National Bank of Nevada, with $3.4 billion in assets, and California-based First Heritage Bank, which had $254 million in assets, were undercapitalized, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said last night in a statement. Mutual of Omaha Bank acquired their deposits, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which was named the receiver.
"All depositors, including those with deposits in excess of the FDIC's insurance limits, will automatically become depositors of Mutual of Omaha Bank for the full amount of their deposits," the FDIC said. ..
