JC Penney Co has a fresh shot at returning itself to retailing relevance. The department store chain said it had reached an agreement to be rescued from bankruptcy by mall operators Simon Property Group and Brookfield Property Group in a deal valued at $1.75 billion. But is this the best outcome? There are upsides to sparing this mall stalwart from ...
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Even a Tiffany discount comes with a cost now
It’s the Tiffany T bangle versus the Louis Vuitton Neverfull bag. Tiffany & Co filed a lawsuit against LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE seeking to undo the French luxury group’s decision to abandon its $16 billion takeover of the company. Now LVMH is counter-attacking, moving to sue the jeweler over its handling of the Covid-19 crisis. The twist elevates ...
Read More »The era of free trade is officially over in US
President Donald Trump’s poll numbers are bleak. No matter the outcome in November, however, on at least one issue his side can declare victory: The era of free trade, already on the wane, is officially over. It has been replaced by a new “America first†industrial policy, which even Trump’s Democratic opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, has now embraced. ...
Read More »Lufthansa to shed biggest planes in its fleet shakeup
Bloomberg Deutsche Lufthansa AG plans to eliminate its biggest passenger jets as it deepens fleet cuts, creating a knock-on in additional job losses, people with knowledge of the proposals said. Lufthansa is looking at retiring remaining Airbus SE A380 double-deckers, the bulk of smaller A340s, and all of its older Boeing Co 747-400 jumbos, according to the people, who asked ...
Read More »New York’s Century 21 files for bankruptcy
Bloomberg Century 21 Stores, an iconic New York off-price department store chain, filed for bankruptcy with plans to shut down, becoming the latest victim of the retail industry carnage that’s accelerated during the pandemic. Nearly 1,400 jobs are at risk. The retailer will hold going out of business sales at its 13 stores in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and ...
Read More »JC Penney posts steep sales decline for Q2
Bloomberg JC Penney Co sales plunged 45% in the second quarter as the department-store chain entered bankruptcy and struggled with an accelerated shift away from physical stores and the Covid-19 outbreak. Net sales fell to $1.39 billion in the period ended on August 1 from $2.51 billion a year earlier, the company reported in a regulatory filing. The retailer’s lenders ...
Read More »UK’s shifting quarantines see travellers paying hefty fares
Bloomberg The UK’s fluctuating quarantine restrictions are again leading to punishing airfares for vacationers forced to rush home on short notice. Travellers scrambling to return from Portugal before a rule requiring self-isolation kicks in on Saturday faced paying more than $640 for a one-way ticket, based on fares from both British Airways Plc and Jet2holidays Ltd. Airlines have been vocal ...
Read More »Boeing’s grounded 737 Max moves towards return
Bloomberg Boeing Co’s grounded 737 Max jetliner completed a round of test flights with European air-safety regulators, taking another step towards a return to the skies. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) will now evaluate data from the trips, it said in a statement. The agency, based in Cologne, Germany, performed the flights from Vancouver, near Boeing’s Seattle-area operations, ...
Read More »Philippines allows more jet passengers
Bloomberg The Philippines has eased distancing rules in public transport, allowing trains and planes to have more passengers amid the region’s worst coronavirus outbreak, the Department of Transportation said. The agency and economic managers’ proposal to increase public transport ridership and accommodate more people going back to work was approved by the government’s coronavirus task force, Transport Secretary Arthur Tugade ...
Read More »Afghan peace talks begin as US eyes exit from years of war
Bloomberg Afghanistan’s government and Taliban leaders began historic peace talks on Saturday in a bid to end two decades of war, in a meeting that was fraught with tension over what the insurgent group will demand in return for laying down its arms. Meeting in an enormous hotel conference room in Doha, Qatar, the two sides promised to negotiate in ...
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