Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday

"US stocks posted modest gains Monday, extending a record-setting run into a sixth straight week. The three major stock indexes closed at new highs, despite a day of mostly listless trading as investors looked ahead to a slew of company earnings reports over the next few weeks. A few companies, mostly big banks, kicked off the third-quarter earnings season last week. Monday was a relatively light day for earnings, but the pace was slated to pick up this week and next week. In the meantime, investors bid up shares of banks and technology companies. JPMorgan Chase gained 2.1 percent. KBR climbed 3.6 percent after the engineering and construction company said it will buy defense technology company Sigma Bravo. Nordstrom slid 5.3 percent after the department store chain said it is temporarily shelving its bid to go private. Sears Holdings slumped 11.5 percent on news that Bruce Berkowitz, who runs a firm that is the retailer’s biggest shareholder, is leaving the Sears board. Ruby Tuesday jumped 18.6 percent after the struggling restaurant chain said it has agreed to be acquired by NRD Capital in a deal valued by the companies at $335 million, including debt and other items......"

What happened in Kirkuk made oil prices rise.

Related:

Ruby Tuesday sold for $146 million

"Nordstrom Inc. is suspending efforts to take the company private after struggling to get financing with favorable terms, another sign the department store industry has lost favor with both customers and investors. The controlling members of the Nordstrom family will renew a review of its operations after the holiday season, the company announced on Monday. In scrubbing the deal for now, the Seattle-based company cited “the difficulty of obtaining debt financing in the current retail environment.” The buyout deal was meant to help the department store chain continue its turnaround efforts outside the glare of market scrutiny. But even Nordstrom’s prestige — the upscale retailer is seen as a stronger company than the likes of Macy’s Inc., J.C. Penney Co., and Sears Holdings Corp. — couldn’t sway enough potential lenders." 

It's all about Amazon now as they look someplace else.

Also see:

"Nordstrom is opening up a store that doesn’t have any inventory. The luxury department store chain says its Nordstrom Local concept store will open in Los Angeles next month. The Seattle-based company says the store will be staffed with personal stylists who can order merchandise for customers. Nordstrom says customers can also buy online inside the store or pick up online orders the same day. The store will offer tailoring and manicure services. The store is just 3,000 square feet (279 square meters). That compares to the average 140,000-square-foot (13,006-square-meter) size of a full Nordstrom store. But the minimalist approach was puzzling to investors. On a day when shares of most major retailers were climbing, Nordstrom fell as much as 5.4 percent."

Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of a "store?"

If nothing else, it proves it is a rich person's pre$$.

"Nordstrom is selling ‘‘mud-stained’’ jeans to the tune of $425. They’re called the ‘‘Barracuda Straight Leg Jeans’’ and come with some sort of fake mud substance caked all over them. (It’s not clear what that substance is.) The knees, pockets, and crotch of the jeans appear bear most of the faux brown muck. And as CNN discovered, ‘‘the dirt does not wash out, because it’s actually not real dirt.’’ The jeans were designed by PRSP and are sold on Nordstrom’s website, which describes them this way: Heavily distressed medium-blue denim jeans in a comfortable straight-leg fit embody rugged, Americana workwear that’s seen some hard-working action with a crackled, caked-on muddy coating that shows you’re not afraid to get down and dirty. Earlier this year, the company caught the public’s attention for selling a pair of jeans with square-cut holes at the knee, then covered in clear plastic. ‘‘Slick plastic panels bare your knees for a futuristic feel in tapered and cropped high-waist jeans,’’ read the description. The ‘‘clear knee mom jeans,’’ as they were called, sold for $95."

Now on your knees!

Sears’ largest outsider shareholder leaving the board

It was a move that sent the stock tumbling on Monday.

Sears Canada to liquidate remaining stories

It's a Catch-22.

Goodbye, Bo$ton Globe.