Walmart announced the closure of four stores in Chicago, Illinois, on Tuesday due to poor performance at the locations, a move that also occurs as the city sees worsening crime rates.

The retail behemoth said that the four locations “have not been profitable since we opened the first one nearly 17 years ago” with annual losses doubling in the past five years. The four Walmart stores that remain open “continue to face the same difficulties,” but executives believe shuttering some of the locations creates the best opportunity to keep the others open.

“Over the years, we have tried many different strategies to improve the business performance of these locations, including building smaller stores, localizing product assortment and offering services beyond traditional retail,” Walmart said in a press release. “It was hoped that these investments would help improve our stores’ performance. Unfortunately, these efforts have not materially improved the fundamental business challenges our stores are facing.”

Associates at the affected locations will be permitted to transfer elsewhere. Walmart added that they will continue seeking solutions to “racial inequity and food deserts” in Chicago.

Read more at: www.dailywire.com

Malaysia’s Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim, said today that there is no reason to continue to depend on the US dollar. Specifically, the country’s Prime Minister stated that the continued dependence on the US currency “in attracting investments into the country,” is unwarranted.

Ibrahim stated that negotiations between Malaysia and other countries should occur using both national currencies. Moreover, he has stated that Bank Negara Malaysia is developing a proposal to pioneer that method in a matter of trade during visits to China.

Malaysia Sees No Reason for Dependence on US Dollar

The current state of the United States economy is greatly defined by its current fragility. Moreover, jobs data released today showcases that fragile nature in full effect. Conversely, the international facets of the US dollar have been front and center, with Malaysia recently sharing its perspective.

Specifically, Malaysia Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today that there is no reason to continue to depend on the US dollar. Moreover, Ibrahim state that the current economic strength of China, Japan, and others have driven the lessening reliance on American currency.

Read more at: watcher.guru

China overtook the United States as Brazil’s top trading partner in 2009

Brazil and China have reportedly struck a deal to ditch the U.S. dollar in favor of their own currencies in trade transactions.

The deal, announced Wednesday, will enable China and Brazil to carry out trade and financial transactions directly, exchanging yuan for reais – or vice versa – rather than first converting their currencies to the U.S. dollar.

The Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil) said the new arrangement is expected to “reduce costs” and “promote even greater bilateral trade and facilitate investment.”

China is Brazil’s largest trading partner, accounting for more than a fifth of all imports, followed by the United States, according to the latest figures. China is also Brazil’s largest export market, accounting for more than a third of all exports.

Read more at: www.foxbusiness.com

Walmart announced its plan to close its final two locations in Portland, Ore., at the end of March following underwhelming financial results.

“We have nearly 5,000 stores across the U.S. and unfortunately some do not meet our financial expectations,” the corporation said in a statement according to KPTV. “While our underlying business is strong, these specific stores haven’t performed as well as we hoped.”

The closures, which will result in nearly 600 employees being laid off, come after a statement by Walmart CEO Doug McMillion in December 2022 noting that record-breaking retail theft had undercut the company’s economic performance of late.

“Theft is an issue. It’s higher than what it has historically been,” McMillon told CNBC. Prices “will be higher and/or stores will close,” the executive added if Oregon authorities failed to address rampant shoplifting.

Companies shuttering stores in Portland has become increasingly common. Last year a clothing store, Raind PDX, shut down operations with the company specifically citing the cost of doing business in the wake of historic retail theft.

“Small businesses (and large) cannot sustain doing business, in our city’s current state. We have no protection, or recourse, against the criminal behavior that goes unpunished,” a letter posted on the company’s store read. “Our city is in peril.”

Read more at: news.yahoo.com

A mass exodus of retail stores across America is on the horizon as more than 800 big box locations set to close shop for good.

Big names set to close or downsize included Bed Bath & Beyond, Walmart, Gap and Party City.

Soaring inflation means people are struggling to make ends meet and do not have the same disposable income they did a few years ago.

Combine that with rising interest rates, rampant crime, and you have a perfect storm.

There are at least 803 stores set to close over the rest of 2023, with many desperate trying to cut costs.

But it’s not just retail struggling. Silicon Valley is also braced for the economic downturn, with 70,000 jobs already lost in recent months, as we reported in January.

Read more at: www.dailyfetched.com

President Joe Biden’s administration rejected a request for federal disaster assistance from Ohio Governor Mike DeWine in response to the train derailment in East Palestine earlier this month.

The derailment, which occurred on February 3, caused a fire that lasted several days. Officials decided to initiate a controlled release of the chemicals to mitigate the risk of an explosion; all residents within one mile of the crash site were told to evacuate, although they were permitted to return to their homes on February 8.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) told Ohio that the Biden administration was rejecting its request for federal assistance because the agency said the incident did not qualify.

Dan Tierney, a spokesperson for DeWine, told Fox News that Ohio was able to get some assistance through the Department of Health and Human Services that can assist residents who need medical care as a result of the fallout from the derailment and toxic burn.

Tierney said that DeWine would hold Norfolk Southern, the company involved in the accident, responsible for what happened. “The people of East Palestine need to be made whole,” he added.

Read more at: www.dailywire.com

Nearly 5,000 people have died and many others remained trapped under debris after a powerful earthquake jolted southern Turkey and northern Syria early on Monday, with tremors also reported in Egypt, Cyprus, Lebanon and Israel, making it the region’s deadliest quake in over a decade.

KEY FACTS

According to the United States Geological Survey, the 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck at 4:17 a.m. local time, followed by a 6.7 magnitude aftershock just 11 minutes later.

The quake had a shallow depth of only 17.9 kilometers (11.1 miles) with the epicenter located just 20 miles from the major Turkish city of Gaziantep.

The death toll from the quake is at least 4,983 according to reporting from the Associated Press—and could rise, as hundreds were hospitalized with injuries and more people are believed to be trapped under collapsed buildings.

Read more at: www.forbes.com

“It felt like a car hit my house in Buffalo. I jumped out of bed,” Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said of Monday’s 3.8-magnitude quake.

A 3.8-magnitude earthquake struck Monday morning near Buffalo, New York, the strongest recorded in the area in 40 years.

The quake hit 1.24 miles east-northeast of West Seneca, New York, with a depth of 1.86 miles, around 6:15 a.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said no damage had been reported so far in West Seneca, a suburb of Buffalo near the U.S.-Canada border.

He said he had spoken with the deputy commissioner of the Erie County Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, Gregory J. Butcher, who said a “confirmed quake was felt as far north as Niagara Falls and south to Orchard Park.”

“It felt like a car hit my house in Buffalo. I jumped out of bed,” Poloncarz said.

Yaareb Altaweel, a seismologist at the National Earthquake Information Center, said Northeast earthquakes “happen all the time” and quakes can strike anywhere at any time.

Read more at: www.nbcnews.com

The latest numbers from the Bureau of Economic Analysis show that the U.S. economy grew by 2.9 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, and 2.1 percent for 2022. While the White House was quick to take credit for the state of the nation’s economy, they might want to think twice. This latest report should have alarm bells ringing, not trumpets sounding.

That’s because economic growth is slowing down. Even the areas which contributed positively to gross domestic product (GDP) are not necessarily signs of prosperity. For example, business investment grew at only 1.4 percent in the fourth quarter, but that was almost entirely inventory growth. Nonresidential investment, a key driver of future economic growth, was up just 0.7 percent.

Meanwhile, residential investment fell off a cliff, dropping 26.7 percent as consumers were unable to afford the combination of high home prices, high interest rates and falling real incomes. No wonder homeownership affordability has fallen to the lowest level in that metric’s history.

But the growth in inventories, which accounted for half the GDP growth in the fourth quarter, is not a good sign, either. It is the result of businesses being unable to sell off existing inventories at current prices. Liquidating that inventory at discounts will mean lower profits, a further drag on future growth.

Read more at: www.heritage.org/

SDG&E announced February natural gas prices would decline 68% after the 400% surge in January

San Diego restaurant owners are demanding action over the city’s soaring energy prices after their natural gas bill spiked $6,000 – equivalent to a 400% surge – in just one month.

Rudford’s Restaurant owners Jeff and Nick Kacha joined “Fox & Friends First” Thursday to discuss how politicians have betrayed the city’s small business owners as they struggle to stay afloat amid rampant inflation.

“They’re not exactly representing the people here in San Diego, I can tell you that,” Nick told Ashley Strohmier. “It just seems like they’re throwing businesses under the bus… we bring in so much tax revenue and everything for the city of San Diego. And they’re here like stabbing us in the back almost with all these costs and allowing all these companies to do whatever they like… It’s sad to see… the people are suffering.”

Read more at: www.foxnews.com