Tag Archives: wall street

Business/Economics, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Kmart closing in Tennessee. Whistleblowers reveal Kmart killing sharks to make commercials!

20 March 2013/08 Jumada l-Ula 1434/30 Esfand 1391/09 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

Sears Holdings confirming they will close the Clinton South Kmart by June. Company officials blamed it on poor sales for the Tennessee store.  The store first opened in 1983.

An investigation is looking into why a shark died while being used for an upcoming Kmart commercial.  For some reason the shark was flown from New York to California. The shark was used in a swimming pool.  (Did anyone remove the chlorine before putting the shark in?) Whistleblowers reported the incident.  Animal activists say the number of animals being killed for commercials, TV shows and movies (including the Hobbit in which 25 animals died) are going up.

Here’s my updated list of 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).

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).

Hawaii: Honolulu Sears (owned by GGP, 372 jobs lost!!!).

Idaho: Lewiston Sears (at least 60 jobs lost).

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

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.

Montana: Missoula Kmart (50 jobs lost).

New Hampshire: Nashau Sears Grand/Essentials, Keene Sears Grand/Essentials.

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).

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

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

New York: Depew 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).

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),  one of two Greenville Kmarts (74 jobs lost).

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), recently revealed 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).

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).

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

Illinois: Market Place Shopping Center

Fukushima

Mother Nature strikes Fukushima Daiichi, with plague of rats?

20 March 2013/08 Jumada l-Ula 1434/30 Esfand 1391/09 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

Tokyo Electric Power Company has found the cause of the power outage, which stopped cooling of spent fuel pools a few days ago.

In one of three high voltage distribution panels they found burn marks, along with a dead rat.  It’s very likely the rat touched the panel causing a short circuit, which could have led to another nuclear disaster.

A former inlaw of mine, in Texas, lost a home to a fire that was caused by a rat that got into a circuit breaker panel that was part of a recent room extension on the house.

Business/Economics, International

What Economic Recovery? British Treasury Boss says economy to stagnate for the next four years!

20 March 2013/08 Jumada l-Ula 1434/30 Esfand 1391/09 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

United Kingdom’s Chancellor of the Exchequer/Second Lord of the Treasury, George Osbourne, changed his earlier predictions on the British economy.  Now he says it’s going worse than they thought, despite his political party’s policies which include big tax cuts for corporations, and big spending cuts for social programs: “…this year their output forecast is reduced to 0.6% growth….while less than we would like our growth, this year and next year, is forecast by the IMF [International Monetary Fund] to be higher than France and Germany. It is a reminder that all western nations live in  challenging economic times…the OBR [Office for Budget Responsibility] then expects the recovery to pick up to 1.8% in 2014, 2.3% in 2015, 2.7% in 2016, and 2.8% in 2017….”

Note that none of the forecasts are at or above the important 3% mark.  Until a country’s economy hits 3% it is not considered to be growing.  Between 0% and 2.9% means stagnation.  So for at least the next four years the British (and other western countries) economy will be a rotting stagnating stinking mess.

Business/Economics, International

Maybe it’s not Norovirus? Maybe it’s those Chinese made chopsticks?

20 March 2013/08 Jumada l-Ula 1434/30 Esfand 1391/09 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

It was discovered by a Chinese actor that his cheap chopsticks were actually toxic.  He made the discovery when he tried to wash them and they turned the water yellow, and it smelled bad.

Chinese media asked some industry officials about it and they admitted that there are no controls over the chopstick industry, and that toxic chemicals are used even though they are banned: “Sulphur, hydrogen peroxide, sodium sulfite and mold inhibitor, are chemical substances commonly used to make disposable chopsticks, even though they are not allowed.”-Dong Jinshi, International Food Packaging Association

The Chinese media has been revealing problems with the chopsticks industry since 2010.

International, U.S.

World War 3: UN Security Council approves continued U.S. led occupation of Afghanistan!

20 March 2013/08 Jumada l-Ula 1434/30 Esfand 1391/09 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

The United Nations has unanimously approved the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) for at least one more year.  That would mean the UNAMA mission would end in March 2014.

 

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

World War 3: South Korea reporting computer network crashed by hackers!

20 March 2013/08 Jumada l-Ula 1434/30 Esfand 1391/09 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

The Republic of Korea’s National Police Agency is reporting that three major South Korean TV broadcasters and two banks have been the targets of cyber attacks that shut them down. It’s still unknown how it happened, police are investigating.

 

 

Business/Economics, International

World War 3: Cyprus says EU stabbed them in the back, now turning to Russia for help! War over Leviathan!

20 March 2013/08 Jumada l-Ula 1434/30 Esfand 1391/09 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

In a surprise vote, the Cypriot Parliament rejected the privately funded European Union bailout.  Cypriot politicians said the bank account tax was seen as a stab in the back by the EU.

Others believed it was an attempt by the EU to rape Cypriot banks, which have almost no regulations and a lot of wealthy investors.

There are reports that Cyrpus will now discuss a bailout loan from Russia.  Russian banks and individuals are among those wealthy investors in Cypriot banks.

There are reports that Russia’s Gazprom petroleum corporation has offered a bailout in exchange for control of offshore gas deposits.  Cyprus sits almost in the middle of eastern half of the huge Leviathan petroleum fields in the Mediterranean Sea.

Control over Leviathan is the real reason behind the U.S., European and Israeli backed insurgency in Syria and Lebanon, and efforts to keep Egypt destabilized, as well as Tunis and Libya.

Libya, Tunis, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey and Greece all border Leviathan. If you look at a map of the Mediterranean, then draw a line straight south from Greece to Libya, the area under the Sea east of that line is Leviathan.  Cyprus going over to the Russians would really screw things up for the west.

U.S. begins Leviathan war games

Business/Economics, International

Too Big to Jail Bank Evil: Cyprus officials refuse bailout, Britain has to fly in cash for their soldiers!

20 March 2013/08 Jumada l-Ula 1434/30 Esfand 1391/09 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

The Cypriot Parliament has rejected the privately funded bailout plan.  36 politicians voted against it, 19 abstained.  Not one politician voted for it!

The bailout would have placed a high tax on bank accounts, and would have affected individuals and large investors.  Russian officials complained because Russian banks have large accounts in Cyprus and would have had to pay $168 million in taxes!

Over the weekend, Cypriot banks closed down, including their ATMs, because people were rushing to get their cash out. The bank closures not only affected Cypriots but British Red Coats stationed there.

The United Kingdom has what’s called sovereign military bases in Cyprus. The U.K. Defence Ministry confirmed that they’ve flown nearly $1.3 million USD to their British Forces Cyprus personnel. They will also allow personnel to have their paychecks deposited in U.K. based accounts.

Fukushima

TEPCo restores cooling at Fukushima Daiichi

20 March 2013/08 Jumada l-Ula 1434/30 Esfand 1391/09 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

Tokyo Electric Power Company claims they’ve restored cooling to spent fuel pools.  They still are not sure what caused the outside electric supply to stop.  They suspect a surge tripped three high voltage distribution panels.  After replacement and inspection they could find no signs of damage on the panels.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

World War 3 & Government Incompetence: Sanctions a big fail! For the first time North Korea is actually making money off its exports! More proof China will not support sanctions.

19 March 2013/07 Jumada l-Ula 1434/29 Esfand 1391/08 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

A report in the Japanese media suggests that for the first time ever, and despite increasing economic sanctions, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is actually making money off its exports!

The Japan Times says U.S. based economists, Marcus Noland and Stephen Haggard, think North Korea might actually have a trade surplus, thanks to China.

According to the government of the Republic of Korea, North Korea’s trade with China tripled from 2007 to 2011.

Having account surpluses means sanctions have less effect. However, the U.S. economists say one of DPRK’s exports is large amounts of cash, which could be bad for the communist country.  Also, the economists assumed illicit activities in their estimations of North Korea’s trade.