-July 27,2020-
More retailers declaring bankruptcy
Ascena Retail Group has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Ascena said it plans to permanently close a “significant” number of Justice stores, along with certain Ann Taylor, Loft, Lane Bryant and Lou & Grey stores during its restructuring. It added that it will be permanently closing all of its stores, across brands, in Canada, Puerto Rico and Mexico.
Men’s Warehouse owner Tailored Brands said Tuesday it is eliminating roughly 20% of its corporate workforce by the end of its fiscal second quarter. It also said it has selected up to 500 of its stores that it could potentially close “over time.” It did not disclose a list of those exact locations.
The announcements come after earlier this month, Tailored Brands skipped a $6.1 million payment to bondholders, triggering a 30-day grace period.
Jobless claims up in California
California workers filed 292,700 initial claims for unemployment benefits during the week that ended on July 18, up 8,000 from the 284,900 who filed jobless claims during the week ending on July 11.
Gold Prices Hit Record as Dollar Drops
WSJ says gold” zoomed to a record for the first time in nine years as a weakening dollar injected new momentum into a rally driven by uncertainty about the world economy.” The U.S. Dollar Index is an index (or measure) of the value of the United States dollar relative to a basket of foreign currencies,often referred to as a basket of U.S. trade partners’ currencies. The Index goes up when the U.S. dollar gains “strength” (value) when compared to other currencies.The good news for US producers, our exports are cheaper to overseas consumers.
Freight train carloads down 16%
The slump in freight transportation carloads continues through for most goods in the mid July.Here are the latest numbers.
Port shipments down
The Port of Los Angeles moved 691,475 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in June, a 9.6% decrease compared to last year’s record-setting June. Six months into 2020, overall cargo volumes have decreased 17.1% compared to 2019.