Sears Holdings Corp. plans to close between 100 and 120 Sears and Kmart stores after poor sales during the holidays, the most crucial time of year for retailers.
The closings are the latest and most visible in a long series of moves to try to fix a retailer that has struggled with falling sales and shabby stores.
In an internal memo Tuesday to employees, CEO and President Lou D'Ambrosio said that the retailer had not "generated the results we were seeking during the holiday."
Sears Holdings Corp. said it has yet to determine which stores will close but said it will post on http://www.searsmedia.com when a final list is compiled. Sears would not discuss how many, if any, jobs would be cut.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
BOGOTA COLUMBIA HAS WORLD'S LARGEST OUTDOOR ESCALATOR
BOGOTA, Colombia -- Officials in Colombia's second-largest city on Monday inaugurated a giant, outdoor escalator for residents of one of its poorest neighborhoods.
For generations, the 12,000 residents of Medellin's tough Comuna 13, which clings to the side of a steep hillside, have had to climb hundreds of large steps authorities say is the same as going up a 28-story building.
Now they can ride an escalator Medellin's mayor says is the first massive, outdoor public escalator for use by residents of a poor area.
For generations, the 12,000 residents of Medellin's tough Comuna 13, which clings to the side of a steep hillside, have had to climb hundreds of large steps authorities say is the same as going up a 28-story building.
Now they can ride an escalator Medellin's mayor says is the first massive, outdoor public escalator for use by residents of a poor area.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
LOS ANGELES COUNTY JAIL HAS MANY MISTAKEN INDENTITY CASES
An investigation by the Los Angeles Times reveals that, in recent years, cases of mistaken identity and other errors have resulted in hundreds of people being wrongly detained in L.A. County jails.
The findings by the Times reveal that it’s not uncommon for mistaken identity errors to occur, leading to wrongful incarcerations. This has reportedly happened at least 1,480 times within the past five years, with some mix-ups taking days or weeks to clear up.
The Times reports that some of the mistakes are due to identity theft or many sharing the same names as criminals.
Other errors were the result of authorities utilizing incomplete records, according to the newspaper.
Officials with the sheriff’s department state that the number of mistaken identity cases is small as compared to with county’s volume of inmates and that it’s the department’s policy to investigate whenever an inmate claims to be innocent, the Associated Press reported.
The findings by the Times reveal that it’s not uncommon for mistaken identity errors to occur, leading to wrongful incarcerations. This has reportedly happened at least 1,480 times within the past five years, with some mix-ups taking days or weeks to clear up.
The Times reports that some of the mistakes are due to identity theft or many sharing the same names as criminals.
Other errors were the result of authorities utilizing incomplete records, according to the newspaper.
Officials with the sheriff’s department state that the number of mistaken identity cases is small as compared to with county’s volume of inmates and that it’s the department’s policy to investigate whenever an inmate claims to be innocent, the Associated Press reported.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
WILL NORTH KOREA AND SOUTH KOREA REUNITE ?
THE sudden death of Kim Jong-il is forcing North Korea's prosperous southern neighbour to confront a class divide deep in its midst.
People like Son Jeong-hun, a defector from the north struggling to fit in modern, bustling Seoul, hope the dictator's demise signals a light at the end of the tunnel for their backward homeland. Others like South Korean-born Kim Chi-guk, who sells imported chocolate at an exclusive department store, are afraid a train is barrelling straight for them - maybe bristling with weapons, maybe jammed with millions of unwashed cousins who will cost them a lot of money.
In Seoul, just an hour's drive from the demilitarised zone, no one wants a war with North Korea, or to see its people continue to die of hunger. Still, well-established and prosperous South Koreans are unlikely to wish for dramatic change.
But the 20,000 northern defectors in South Korea and those who share their concerns - particularly Christians eager to convert the North Koreans - are a distinct minority.
Many others instead fret over their personal security and wallets. For years, North Korea has kept an arsenal of weapons aimed at their homes, schools and businesses. And what ruin will befall South Korea's bustling economy, they ask, if the Korean peninsula is reunited and millions of impoverished North Koreans come streaming across the demilitarised zone?
According to an estimate made earlier this year by South Korea's Unification Ministry, stitching the two countries together would cost between $US1 trillion and $2.5 trillion.
People like Son Jeong-hun, a defector from the north struggling to fit in modern, bustling Seoul, hope the dictator's demise signals a light at the end of the tunnel for their backward homeland. Others like South Korean-born Kim Chi-guk, who sells imported chocolate at an exclusive department store, are afraid a train is barrelling straight for them - maybe bristling with weapons, maybe jammed with millions of unwashed cousins who will cost them a lot of money.
In Seoul, just an hour's drive from the demilitarised zone, no one wants a war with North Korea, or to see its people continue to die of hunger. Still, well-established and prosperous South Koreans are unlikely to wish for dramatic change.
But the 20,000 northern defectors in South Korea and those who share their concerns - particularly Christians eager to convert the North Koreans - are a distinct minority.
Many others instead fret over their personal security and wallets. For years, North Korea has kept an arsenal of weapons aimed at their homes, schools and businesses. And what ruin will befall South Korea's bustling economy, they ask, if the Korean peninsula is reunited and millions of impoverished North Koreans come streaming across the demilitarised zone?
According to an estimate made earlier this year by South Korea's Unification Ministry, stitching the two countries together would cost between $US1 trillion and $2.5 trillion.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
FRANCE BANNING KETCHUP FROM SCHOOLS
In an effort to promote healthy eating (and one suspects, French culinary tradition), French school officials have banned the use of ketchup on anything but French fries in cafeterias nationwide. And it's not the only lunchroom staple being told au revoir.
All fried foods, including nuggets and cordon-bleus, are being restricted to one meal per week. And the French lunch ladies will no longer put salt, mayo, vinaigrette (or the evil ketchup) out for kids to use as they please. They'll only be available "according to the dishes."
"France must be the global example for the quality of food, starting with children," French Agriculture and Food Minister Bruno le Maire told a Parisian newspaper.
Le Maire complained that school menus weren't respecting nutritional guidelines, so it was up to the government to draw up rules that forced students to eat healthier meals.
French fries (which, remember, aren't even French), will be limited to once a week.
And, while the good French agriculture minister didn't come out and say it, some are suspecting that a fervent desire to protect kids' waistlines isn't the only thing motivating the ketchup ban. Some are whispering that there's more than a little Gallic pride at play here. Ketchup, after all, is that most American of condiments...
Le Maire complained that school menus weren't respecting nutritional guidelines, so it was up to the government to draw up rules that forced students to eat healthier meals.
French fries (which, remember, aren't even French), will be limited to once a week.
And, while the good French agriculture minister didn't come out and say it, some are suspecting that a fervent desire to protect kids' waistlines isn't the only thing motivating the ketchup ban. Some are whispering that there's more than a little Gallic pride at play here. Ketchup, after all, is that most American of condiments...
Monday, September 19, 2011
ARKANSAS PLANS TO DESEGREGATE SCHOOLS
More than a half-century after federal troops escorted nine black students into an all-white school, efforts to desegregate the classrooms of the southern city of Little Rock, Ark., are at another turning point.
The state wants to end its long-running payments for desegregation programs, which date back to the era when schools were segregated by law in the south. But three school districts that receive the money say they need it to continue key programs. And a federal judge has accused the schools of delaying desegregation so they can keep receiving an annual infusion of $70 million.
A federal appeals court will hear arguments Monday from both sides. The judges are expected to decide eventually whether Arkansas still has to make the payments and whether two of the districts should remain under court supervision.
The schools, which serve about 50,000 students, have come a long way since 1957, when the governor and hundreds of protesters famously tried to stop the nine black students, known as the Little Rock Nine, from entering Central High School. But thousands of white and black children still have to be bused to different neighborhoods every day under one of America's largest remaining court-ordered desegregation systems.
The state wants to end its long-running payments for desegregation programs, which date back to the era when schools were segregated by law in the south. But three school districts that receive the money say they need it to continue key programs. And a federal judge has accused the schools of delaying desegregation so they can keep receiving an annual infusion of $70 million.
A federal appeals court will hear arguments Monday from both sides. The judges are expected to decide eventually whether Arkansas still has to make the payments and whether two of the districts should remain under court supervision.
The schools, which serve about 50,000 students, have come a long way since 1957, when the governor and hundreds of protesters famously tried to stop the nine black students, known as the Little Rock Nine, from entering Central High School. But thousands of white and black children still have to be bused to different neighborhoods every day under one of America's largest remaining court-ordered desegregation systems.
Monday, September 5, 2011
GADDAFI'S SON BLAMES BROTHER 'S SPEECH FOR TALKS COLLAPSE.
Muammar Gaddafi's son Saadi has blamed his high-profile brother for the collapse of talks with Libya's new rulers, CNN television reported late on Sunday.
Saadi Gaddafi told CNN in a telephone interview that an "aggressive" speech broadcast by his brother, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, a few days ago had led to the breakdown in negotiations, paving the way for an attack.
Saadi Gaddafi told CNN in a telephone interview that an "aggressive" speech broadcast by his brother, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, a few days ago had led to the breakdown in negotiations, paving the way for an attack.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED : STRAUSS-KAHN
FORMER International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn returned home to France yesterday for the first time since a New York hotel maid accused him of attempted rape, unleashing an international scandal that dashed his chances for the French presidency.
Mr Strauss-Kahn and his wife, Anne Sinclair, arrived at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris and passed rapidly through the terminal before being whisked away in a waiting car. They were smiling but made no statement to journalists.
Mission accomplished. He has been removed from the IMF and will not seek presidency of France .
Thursday, September 1, 2011
U S TO SUE BANKS OVER MORTGAGES
The federal agency that oversees the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is set to file suits against more than a dozen big banks, accusing them of misrepresenting the quality of mortgage securities they assembled and sold at the height of the housing bubble, and seeking billions of dollars in compensation.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency suits will argue that banks failed to perform due diligence and missed evidence that borrowers’ incomes were inflated or falsified.
Bank of America Corporation
Citigroup Inc
Goldman Sachs Group Inc
JPMorgan Chase & Company
Deutsche Bank AG
American International Group Inc
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp (Freddie Mac)
UBS AG
Federal National Mortgage Association Fannie Mae
The Federal Housing Finance Agency suits, which are expected to be filed in the coming days in federal court, are aimed at Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank, among others, according to three individuals briefed on the matter.
The suits stem from subpoenas the finance agency issued to banks a year ago. If the case is not filed Friday, they said, it will come Tuesday, shortly before a deadline expires for the housing agency to file claims.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency suits will argue that banks failed to perform due diligence and missed evidence that borrowers’ incomes were inflated or falsified.
Bank of America Corporation
Citigroup Inc
Goldman Sachs Group Inc
JPMorgan Chase & Company
Deutsche Bank AG
American International Group Inc
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp (Freddie Mac)
UBS AG
Federal National Mortgage Association Fannie Mae
The Federal Housing Finance Agency suits, which are expected to be filed in the coming days in federal court, are aimed at Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank, among others, according to three individuals briefed on the matter.
The suits stem from subpoenas the finance agency issued to banks a year ago. If the case is not filed Friday, they said, it will come Tuesday, shortly before a deadline expires for the housing agency to file claims.
FDA ALERT ON AVASTIN
The latest cases of blindness follow an alert from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday that repackaged injections of the Avastin, also known as bevacizumab, had caused eye serious eye infections in 12 Miami-area patients.
Avastin is a cancer drug, but is commonly used to treat the wet form of age-related macular degeneration and other eye diseases because it costs only about $50 an injection, compared with some $2,000 for Roche's Lucentis, which is approved for treatment of eye diseases.
The company has argued for years the process of dividing up doses creates the risk of contamination.
The tainted Florida injections were traced to a single pharmacy located in Hollywood, Florida. The pharmacy repackaged the Avastin from sterile injectable 100 mg/4 ml, single-use, preservative-free vials into individual 1 ml single-use syringes.
The pharmacy then distributed the Avastin to multiple eye clinics.
In the Los Angeles cases, no contaminant has yet been identified, the Times reported.
In its alert on Tuesday, the FDA did not tell doctors to avoid using Avastin, only to be careful about contamination.
"Health care professionals should ensure that drug products are obtained from appropriate, reliable sources and properly administered," it said.
Avastin is a cancer drug, but is commonly used to treat the wet form of age-related macular degeneration and other eye diseases because it costs only about $50 an injection, compared with some $2,000 for Roche's Lucentis, which is approved for treatment of eye diseases.
The company has argued for years the process of dividing up doses creates the risk of contamination.
The tainted Florida injections were traced to a single pharmacy located in Hollywood, Florida. The pharmacy repackaged the Avastin from sterile injectable 100 mg/4 ml, single-use, preservative-free vials into individual 1 ml single-use syringes.
The pharmacy then distributed the Avastin to multiple eye clinics.
In the Los Angeles cases, no contaminant has yet been identified, the Times reported.
In its alert on Tuesday, the FDA did not tell doctors to avoid using Avastin, only to be careful about contamination.
"Health care professionals should ensure that drug products are obtained from appropriate, reliable sources and properly administered," it said.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
