*By Carlo Versano*
In many ways, it was Amazon before Amazon.
Sears, the 125-year-old retailer that pioneered the use of the U.S. Postal Service to sell Americans everything from jewelry to tires, has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Sears Holdings ($SHLD) reached a deal with lenders over the weekend that will reportedly require it to shut 150 stores immediately as it reorganizes. The company operates about 700 Sears and K-Mart stores.
Sears CEO Ed Lampert, a hedge fund titan who acquired Sears in 2005, became known for successfully spinning off some of Sears' most well-known brands, like Orchard Supply and Lands' End, even as the iconic department store itself languished. More than 100,000 Sears retirees are believed to hold pensions, which bankruptcy may protect. Less clear are the fortunes of the 90,000 or so Sears employees nationwide. The Wall Street Journal [reported](https://www.wsj.com/articles/sears-will-it-shrink-or-close-1539514800?mod=e2tw) that Lampert believes he can restructure the company around 300 stores that are profitable.
Investors, however, seem to think liquidation is a more likely outcome. Sears shares have traded under $1 for the last several weeks ー a jarring price for a stock that hit an all-time high in April 2007, just before its fortunes began to turn.
A driverless ride-hailing car in China hit a pedestrian, but people on social media are taking the carmaker’s side in an AI vs. humans debate.
The Federal Reserve faces a cooling job market as well as persistently high prices, Chair Jerome Powell said in a possible sign of looming rate cuts.
America’s oldest flour company, King Arthur Baking Co., saw a six-fold increase in demand during the pandemic, and baking interest continues to rise.
The surgeon general has said there's a loneliness epidemic in America. For many people, that includes a lack of friendships at work. But there's hope!
The housing market shows few signs of busting out of its three-year funk after a disappointing spring season and amid a gloomy outlook for the summer and f
The entertainment giant Paramount will merge with Skydance, closing out a decades-long run by the Redstone family in Hollywood and injecting cash.
For 30 years Ira Galtman’s job has been to document how American Express went from an express stagecoach company in New York in 1850, to what it is today.
Air travel got more miserable last year, if the number of consumer complaints filed with the U.S. government is any measure.
U.S. ticked toward more records Friday after a highly anticipated report on the job market bolstered Wall Street’s hopes for interest rate cuts.
New tech—from Toyota, Nissan and others—could replace lithium-ion in EVs, ushering in an era of safe, fast-charging batteries and 700-mile ranges.
Load More