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The Morning Ledger: Bed Bath & Beyond’s Woes Prompt Landlords to Line Up New Corporate Tenants |
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| Bed Bath & Beyond typically has leased locations in the suburbs. PHOTO: JOHNNY MILANO/BLOOMBERG NEWS |
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Good morning. Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.’s slide toward a potential bankruptcy filing threatens to flood the retail real-estate market with hundreds of vacant stores after the company said last week that it would close about 90 additional locations. But some big-box retailers such as bookseller Barnes & Noble and discount-clothing store Burlington have shown signs of expanding again after years of shrinking their real-estate footprints. One of the bigger Bed Bath & Beyond landlords has received commitments from tenants to fill all 12 locations if and when they close, according to a person familiar with the matter, including Sephora, Trader Joe’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc., T.J. Maxx, Ross Stores Inc. and HomeGoods. Plenty of challenges lie ahead. Consumer spending fell in December, with U.S. households pulling back on the purchase of goods even as inflation cooled. Corporate layoffs are proliferating beyond the tech sector, and wage growth slowed last month even though overall unemployment remains low. Several large retailers have filed for bankruptcy or have warned that they might, including Bed Bath & Beyond and Party City Holdco Inc. Bed Bath & Beyond said last week that it had defaulted on its credit lines after previously warning that it was exploring filing for bankruptcy protection. The company, which had 950 locations across the country as of late November between the flagship chain and its Buybuy Baby and Harmon banners, previously said it would close 150 stores. |
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Content from our Sponsor: DELOITTE | | Get Ready for an Active Regulatory Agenda | As financial services companies face a surge in new regulations, CFOs and their teams can prepare with an assessment of resources needed and how reporting and risk management processes will be affected. Read More › |
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Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Amgen Inc., McDonald’s Corp., Mondelez International Inc. and Stryker Corp. are among the companies scheduled to report earnings today. The Labor Department releases its employment-cost index for the fourth quarter, which captures employers’ labor costs by measuring wages and benefits paid to workers. The Conference Board releases its January consumer-confidence index, which measures Americans’ attitudes toward jobs and the economy. |
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| What Else Matters to CFOs Today |
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| Ford said it is increasing production of its electric Mustang Mach-E. PHOTO: JIM LO SCALZO/SHUTTERSTOCK |
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Ford Motor Co. said it is boosting production and cutting prices of its electric Mustang Mach-E crossover up to 8.8% on some versions. The move comes weeks after Tesla Inc. slashed prices on a number of its models. The Dearborn, Mich., auto maker said its supply chain for its electric vehicles is coming online, and it is seizing on streamlined costs to lower prices. |
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Royal Philips NV said it would cut an extra 6,000 jobs by 2025, including 3,000 this year, as part of a reorganization aimed at improving its performance, adding to a wave of corporate layoffs in recent weeks. A federal appeals court rejected Johnson & Johnson’s plan to use a legal strategy to push roughly 40,000 talc lawsuits into bankruptcy court, hampering the controversial tactic the firm and other profitable businesses have used to move mass personal-injury cases to chapter 11. A U.S. appeals court ruled that pharmaceutical companies can limit their shipments of federally discounted drugs to pharmacies, in a major win for the drugmakers and a blow to hospitals and clinics that receive the low-priced medicines. AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc.’s two classes of equity securities came closer to converging after the company said it plans to hold votes on proposals to convert all outstanding “Apes” units into common shares, do a 10-for-1 reverse stock split and substantially increase the number of common shares it will be able to issue in the future. Twitter Inc. made its first interest payment on the $12.5 billion in debt that Elon Musk used to take the social media company private last year, Bloomberg reported. Whirlpool Corp. reported a $1.6 billion quarterly net loss following the divestiture of its European business, as the appliance maker said it was working to reduce costs. The Biden administration is considering entirely cutting off China's Huawei Technologies Co. from U.S. suppliers over national-security concerns by tightening export controls targeting the firm. Worker-pay and benefits data set for release Tuesday will shed light on whether the Federal Reserve is successfully cooling fast wage growth as officials meet to consider further increases in interest rates. The eurozone economy grew faster than China and the U.S. last year, underlining how the fading Covid-19 pandemic continues to scramble traditional patterns of global growth. |
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$47.18 Billion | Total currency impacts reported by North American and European companies during the third quarter of 2022, up from $2.13 billion during the prior-year period, according to Kyriba, a provider of treasury services. |
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American International Group Inc., a New York-based insurance firm, said it named Sabra Purtill as interim chief financial officer. The firm said it terminated Mark Lyons from his position as the interim CFO after it became aware that he violated his confidentiality and non-disclosure obligations. |
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The company said the violations were unrelated to its financial statements, financial reporting and related disclosure controls and procedures, or reserves. AIG said it entered into a settlement agreement with Mr. Lyons. Ms. Purtill previously served as chief investment officer of Corebridge Financial. Dollar General Corp., a Goodlettsville, Tenn.-based discount retailer, said John Garratt plans to retire from his position as the president and chief financial officer, effective June 2. Dollar General said it will evaluate options for its next CFO, but taking into account its succession plans, it is not currently conducting an external search. Logitech International SA, a Newark, Calif.-based computer equipment company, appointed Charles Boynton as chief financial officer, effective Feb. 6. Nate Olmstead has resigned as CFO and a member of its group management team, but intends to remain with Logitech through a transition period, the company said. Mr. Boynton’s experience includes three years as CFO at Plantronics and more than eight years in executive or CFO roles at SunPower Corp. Allegiant Travel Co., a Las Vegas-based airline, appointed Robert Neal as chief financial officer. The airline said Mr. Neal will take the role from Greg Anderson, who will continue to serve as president of Allegiant. Mr. Neal most recently served as senior vice president of corporate finance and treasurer. Aprea Therapeutics Inc., a Doylestown, Pa.-based biopharmaceutical company, appointed John Hamill as chief financial officer. Mr. Hamill, who served as CFO at Warrington, Pa.-based Windtree Therapeutics Inc., is set to succeed Scott Coiante, who will leave on March 31 to pursue other opportunities. |
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