Macy's announces 125 stores closing and 2,000 corporate jobs cut, a tale of the Retail Apocalypse

I needed a break from the Iowa Caucuses, the current episode of "The Worst Wing," and other election news, so I'm sharing the latest tale of the Retail Apocalypse, Macy's announcing the closing of more stores.*  I begin with CBS This Morning's Retail giant Macy's announces massive cuts.

The largest department store chain in America is closing 125 stores and cutting 2,000 jobs. Macy’s is making the cuts in an effort to end a yearslong slump, though it’s unclear how many total jobs will be affected once retail workers factor into the final count. Jill Schlesinger breaks down the implications of the retail giant’s massive move.

That's the human dimension.  CNBC provides more numbers and details in Macy's to close 125 stores and cut 2,000 corporate jobs.

Macy's announced that it will close 125 of its department stores over the next 3 years. CNBC's Courtney Reagan reports.

One of the closures was of Macy's second headquarters in Cincinnati, the focus of WCPO's Macy's to close corporate headquarters in Cincinnati in massive restructuring.

Macy's Inc. will close its corporate headquarters in downtown Cincinnati as part of a massive restructuring that includes the elimination of 2,000 corporate jobs and the closure of 125 stores in the next three years.

When I told my wife about this story, she worried that it would take longer for our orders to get here from another location besides Columbus.  I hope the warehouse there stays open.

That's the bad news.  The good news is that no Michigan locations are closing, as the Detroit Free Press reported.

Michigan has 14 Macy's stores with locations in cities including Troy, Dearborn, Ann Arbor, Novi, Sterling Heights and Traverse City, according to its website.

Asked about closures in the Mitten, officials "do not have any store closures to announce at this time," Andrea Schwartz, senior director of media relations for the company, said in an email Tuesday.

Whew.

*I know I promised to write about the Oscars, but I'm just not feeling it.  Instead, I decided to follow up on a shinier object.  Maybe tomorrow.  Definitely later next week.  Stay tuned.

Time to board the gas price rollercoaster for 2014

It's been eleven days since I posted A boring ten days in the gas war plus a predicition for 2014.  That means that the neighborhood gas price held steady at $3.19 for 21 days.  Yesterday, the corner station charged into No Man's Land by raising what it was charging for regular to $3.35.  The three stations down the street remained at $3.19.  Normally, I'd predict that the corner station would have to retreat to where it started, but the indicators are that prices might actually start rising locally.

Gas Buddy shows that the national average has rose to $3.31 on New Year's Day and has been bouncing between $3.30 and $3.31 since.  More importantly, the Detroit average shot up to $3.33 two days after Christmas, then glided down to $3.23 by January 8th.  All this time, the neighborhood price held constant.  However, the metro area mean shot back up to $3.30 yesterday, which means that the closest stations are more than a dime lower, which is much cheaper than they normally would be compared to the outlets around them.  The Michigan price moved even higher during the same time from $3.26 to $3.38.  Should the metro average hold, I'd expect a new level of $3.21 to $3.25 within a week for the neighborhood.

So what's causing this rise?  Follow over the jump for the possibilities.

Gas prices may be bottoming out

WCPO is reporting the past month's news in Gas prices keep dropping.



Good Morning Tri-State reporter Mario Ramirez explains.
The shutdown is even part of the gas price story, as it's reducing demand.  I'm not surprised.

Also, as Ramierez mentioned, enjoy the low prices while they last.  In fact, there are signs that the decline in price may be ending soon, if not over already.  The Gasbuddy widget over at Econobrowser shows that the national average price has stalled at $3.38 for the couple of days, while both the Detroit and Michigan averages are going up again.  The Detroit average has gone up slightly from $3.32 to $3.35, while Michigan's has shot up from $3.31 to $3.39.  The corner station is reflecting these trends, with its price going up like a rocket from $3.27 to $3.49, while the three stations down the block are holding steady at $3.27.  This situation usually ends with the corner station dropping a lot while the other stations rise a little.  By Saturday, I expect all of them to be within a few cents of $3.35.

In the meantime, my car's tank is full, but my wife's isn't.  Maybe I should top her tank off while gas is still relatively cheap.

Fireball over Ohio and other meteor and asteroid news

I concluded Fireball over Indiana seen from Michigan with this programming note.

I have more news about meteors and meteorites on tap, which I promise to post later.

Events have added to the meteor news since then, as WCPO just reported Meteors light up Cincinnati sky.

An expert from the Cincinnati Observatory explains the recent celestial happenings.

NASA caught one of the fireballs on camera, which Space.com shows in Large Fireball Seen Streaking Over Ohio.

A meteoroid traveling at ~114,000 mph, slammed into Earth's atmosphere almost directly over Columbus, Ohio. It was visible from 14 U.S. States. NASA's all-sky camera in Hiram, Ohio captured the fireworks at 11:33pm EDT on Sept. 27th, 2013. (looped)

That's not the same meteor in the previous report from WOOD-TV.  Just the same, it's not necessarily a sign of greater activity, just greater awareness and opportunity.  As the astronomer noted in the WCPO video, people are more likely to see meteors at this time of the year.  That's the opportunity.  Follow over the jump for the other meteor and asteroid stories, including ones about the reason for the increased awareness.

An election I missed--Cincinnati Mayor

I forgot to mention the mayor's race in Cincinnati among the elections I was watching yesterday.  WCPO has allowed me to correct this oversight by posting two clips about the winners last night.

First, Cranley wins majority vote in Cincinnati mayoral primary.

Cranley and Qualls will face off in November election.

The runner-up and Cranley's general election opponent gets her turn in Qualls ready for November election.

Cranley and Qualls to face off in November for position of Cincinnati mayor.

It seems like public transportation and development of downtown vs. the neighborhoods are issues.  That looks familiar.

I'll have more on this and other elections later.  Stay tuned.

The long-awaited return of Twinkies

As I wrote in Twinkies return!

Americans have made good on their screwed up priorities and saved the Twinkie.

Americans who would rather save Twinkies than save the planet can buy their favorite snack food again.  ABC News has the story in Twinkies Return to Store Shelves With a Vengeance.

Walmart has exclusive preview of the return of an iconic American cake.

I should have guessed that Wal-Mart would get them first.  As for how the new owner has managed to extend Twinkies shelf life, WCPO has the answer in Twinkies to be frozen? Fans say no way.

John Matarese reports on a big change to Twinkies that has some fans quite upset.

With this report, I hope I can finally put this silly story to bed and move on to something that is actually important instead of merely symbolic.

Crude prices reflected at pump after slight delay

I ended the previous report by predicting higher prices.

The local station raised its price today to $3.48, exactly what the three stations down the street were selling it for Wednesday as well.  Not only is it a fair price based on that of Brent crude, but it's also right at the national average and below the prices being charged last year at this time.
...
Again, I'd post Professor Farnsworth, except I'm sure the price will continue to go up for the next week or so.  Maybe I should fill up my car.

At first, prices didn't increase.  They actually dropped slightly to $3.47 over the weekend, two pennies less than last year at this time.  That was happening elsewhere, such as Cincinnati, where WCPO asked if it was cheap gas Monday?

Want to know where to fill up? Well, here is where gas prices are falling.

It was still like that Monday morning, which prompted me to use it as an example against fuel inflation at Kunstler's blog.

CPI is low. It’s even true with energy. I haven’t checked the national averages, but in my little corner of metro Detroit gas prices are actually a few cents lower than they were at this time last year. That’s despite the unrest in Egypt.

I spoke too soon.  That evening, the corner station had jacked the price of regular up to $3.69.  It was still there Tuesday morning, while the three stations down the street held their prices steady at $3.47.  I expected the price at the corner station to drop, but this evening it remained at $3.69.  That's enough to make me check the price of Brent crude, which Reuters via CNBC reported Crude Prices Surge on Falling Inventories during Tuesday's trading.

Crude oil prices on both sides of the Atlantic ended with moderate gains on Tuesday, supported by a stock market advance and worries over Egypt. But gains were limited by a strong U.S. dollar and supplies were brought back online.
...
Brent oil futures ended the day 38 cents higher at $107.81 per barrel. U.S. crude oil futures settled 39 cents higher at $103.53, after trading as low as $102.31.

Fears that violence in Egypt could ignite conflict in the broader Middle East, which pumps a third of the world's oil, continued to lend support to oil prices.

While oil prices had shaved some gains, Brent was still hovering at a three-month high and U.S. crude at a 14-month high.

"The majority of last week's near $5 gain is on the back of geopolitical risk premium," said Gene McGillian, analyst with Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut.

Ah, yes, the fear premium.  I'm glad I haven't seen that for a year.  Here's to hoping that goes away now that the government has changed.

Meanwhile, Brent is at $107.81.  According to the calculator at Econobrowser, the price at the pump should be $3.53, almost exactly where the national average is now.  Prices will go up, but the $3.69 at the corner station is too high.  I still expect it to drop by the end of the week.

Prices rise after July 4th but still below last year

I was not optimistic about gas prices remaining low in Gas prices ended up falling before 4th of July

Yesterday morning, the corner station was still selling gas for $3.59, but the three stations down the street were charging $3.48.  By yesterday evening, the corner station had dropped its price all the way to $3.38, only a penny above the $3.37 where it started the month and well below where they were July 4th of last year.  I'd post Professor Farnsworth, except that the price of oil is going back up at the same time gas stations are lowering their prices....

I didn't check today if prices had risen in response.  When they do, I'll return with an update.

WCPO explained the situation in Oil prices soar due to unrest in Egypt.


The price of $101 WCPO showed was for WTI at the close of business on Friday.  Reuters showed the the price kept rising today in Oil jumps $2 on Egypt, U.S. data, biggest weekly gain in a year.

U.S. crude oil prices extended their string of 14-month highs. Front-month U.S. crude oil futures settled $1.98 per barrel higher, or 1.96 percent, at $103.22, after touching a high of $103.32. Trading volume was thin due to the Independence Day holiday on July 4.

U.S. oil gained 6.7 percent for the week, the largest weekly percentage gain since October 2011.

Brent crude oil for August delivery traded at a three-month high and ended $2.18 per barrel higher, or up 2.07 percent, at $107.72 after hitting a high of $107.88.

Gas prices tend to track Brent, not WTI.  Based on the Brent price, the calculator at Econobrowser gives a price for regular of $3.53.  Are local prices in that range?  Yes.  The local station raised its price today to $3.48, exactly what the three stations down the street were selling it for Wednesday as well.  Not only is it a fair price based on that of Brent crude, but it's also right at the national average and below the prices being charged last year at this time.

I was pretty sure that it wouldn't remain that high, as the three stations a couple of blocks away only went up a dime to $3.49. Sure enough, the price fell to $3.54 by that evening and $3.49 a couple of days later.

Regular is still a penny lower than on this date last year.  Again, I'd post Professor Farnsworth, except I'm sure the price will continue to go up for the next week or so.  Maybe I should fill up my car.

ABC News on the Toledo sinkhole

ABC News offers an update to Sinkhole in Toledo provides teachable moment with Giant Sinkhole in Ohio Swallows Car, Driver Trapped Inside.

Pamela Knox's car fell at least 10 feet when sinkhole opened an Ohio street.

This video is one I might show to my geology class.  I might also show them Landslides common in Cincinnati from WCPO.



Meteorologist Sarah Walters examines why.
Those actually look like slumps and earthflows, but they'll serve as good examples just the same.

Gas prices ended up falling before 4th of July

In the previous installment of my ongoing chronicle about riding the gas price rollercoaster, I described local prices bouncing off a bottom.

When I came home this evening, the corner station had jacked its prices up 22 cents to $3.59.
...
I have no idea if the stations down the street have followed suit, or if the corner station is leading a charge into No Man's Land.
...
In case you're wondering, the corner station is also a Speedway, which means that the price hike was an order from corporate and that the station is leading a charge.  I'll check tomorrow to see if my hypothesis is correct.

It was.  Yesterday morning, the corner station was still selling gas for $3.59, but the three stations down the street were charging $3.48.  By yesterday evening, the corner station had dropped its price all the way to $3.38, only a penny above the $3.37 where it started the month and well below where they were July 4th of last year.  I'd post Professor Farnsworth, except that the price of oil is going back up at the same time gas stations are lowering their prices, as WCPO mentions in Fourth of July gas prices.

A look at what you can expect to see from gas stations this weekend.

I didn't check today if prices had risen in response.  When they do, I'll return with an update.

History repeats with gas prices rising before 4th of July

Last night, I celebrated gas prices being lower here than last July 1st.

[T]he corner station dropped their price for regular from $3.39 to $3.37 gallon.  The other stations down the block followed suit and that's where the price has remained since.

WXYZ just noticed the drop today, reporting the trend in Holiday gas prices.

Gas prices typically go up just before the holiday, but this year things are different.

I also thought that prices were as low as they were going to go.

[T]he $3.37 being charged locally is actually a good price, and I don't expect it to go much lower.  I'd break out Professor Farnsworth, except that calling a bottom isn't really good news.

I turns out that I was right.  When I came home this evening, the corner station had jacked its prices up 22 cents to $3.59.  That's exactly where the price was last year.

I haven't yet followed up to see if the price at the pump actually rose.

It did, having shot up 20 cents at the corner station to $3.59 when I checked on Tuesday morning.

I have no idea if the stations down the street have followed suit, or if the corner station is leading a charge into No Man's Land.  However, it's not alone, as WCPO reports Gas prices on the rise.

The cost of a barrel of oil is driving the hike.

In case you're wondering, the corner station is also a Speedway, which means that the price hike was an order from corporate and that the station is leading a charge.  I'll check tomorrow to see if my hypothesis is correct.

Solar Impulse landing in Cincinnati tonight

In Energy news from California, I left myself a programming note about the journey of the Solar Impulse.

Now that I've posted this story, I'll have to follow up on the rest of the flights.

WCPO has made it easy for me by posting Solar-powered plane on its way to its YouTube channel today.

The Solar Impulse off from St. Louis early Friday and is scheduled to stop at Lunken Airport around 9 p.m. Friday night.

The plane won't be there long, as today's entry on the plane's website declares.

Expected to land sometime after 9 PM EDT (UTC-4), the solar airplane will complete a short 10-hour touchdown at Cincinnati Municipal Lunken Airport and will take-off the following morning, on Saturday June 15th around 8 AM EST (UTC-4).  Bertrand will complete the final segment of this fourth leg bringing the solar airplane to the nation’s capital, sometime after midnight EDT (UTC-4) on Sunday June 16th.

Here's to a successful final leg of the mission!

Follow up to "Big Gas" commercial

There was more from WCPO than the commercial featured in Corner station surprises in gas war plus bonus "big gas" commercial.  First, Helping you find the cheapest gas over the Memorial Day weekend.

A look at gas prices around the Tri-State and an app that will help you find the cheapest gas in your area.

Finally, here's the commercial itself.


Enjoy your Memorial Day travels!

Corner station surprises in gas war plus bonus "big gas" commercial

In the previous installment, I predicted that gas prices would generally go up, reaching $4.00 by July 4th.  I didn't make a prediction about this weekend, but if I had, I would have forecast prices going up.  So far, just the opposite has happened.

Yesterday, I drive by the corner station and they dropped their price to $3.75 from $3.84.  Even more surprising, it was selling gas for less than the three stations down the street, which were all at $3.79.  Usually it's the corner station that leads in raising prices, not lowering them.

Speaking of lower gas prices, WCPO posted this segment on K-Mart's "big gas savings" commercial.  Enjoy the pun!



The video promoting the offer is controversial.

National Walking Day

WCPO in Cincinnati announces that today is National Walking Day.

Wednesday, April 3 is National Walking Day, an event to promote health and fitness.

Too bad that I'm still not in condition to walk 30 minutes today. I love walking and this would have been right up my alley. Next year.

Also, it's too bad that this would have been perfect for tomorrow's prompt.

Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Have you ever been camping? Tell us about a memorable trip.

Thursday, April 4, 2013
Tell us about your favourite hike you've ever been on.

I'll combine those stories, as my most memorable camping trips were also backpacking expeditions. Until then, I refer my readers to what I've written about Yosemite, as my visits there growing up were what inspired my love of nature.

Another asteroid flyby today

WCPO has the video report.



The asteroid was only discovered Sunday due to its size.
To be honest, that's a sketchy report.  Space.com has more details in Watch Big Asteroid Buzz Earth This Weekend: 2 Live Webcasts.

An asteroid the size of a city block is due to make a close pass by Earth on Saturday (March 9), and you can get a front-row view via two back-to-back webcasts.

The asteroid 2013 ET was discovered March 3 by the Catalina Sky Survey based at the University of Arizona. During the flyby, the space rock will fly within 2.5 times the moon's distance from Earth. On average, the moon is about 238,000 miles (about 383,000 kilometers) from Earth.

Asteroid 2013 ET is about 210 feet by 460 feet (64 meters by 140 m) in size, with some astronomers comparing its width to a football field. Its close approach to Earth comes just days after another space rock, the 33-foot (10 meters) asteroid 2013 EC, buzzed the Earth on Monday (March 4) at a range just inside the moon's orbit.

The article notes why people, as exemplified by the WCPO clip, are interested in this event.

This asteroid pass comes less than a month after two major space rock events: the close flyby of asteroid DA14 near Earth, and the impact of a meteor into Russia. And 2013 ET's approach comes just days after the asteroid 2013 EC flew within 230,000 miles (370,000 km) of Earth early Monday.

"The recent flurry of asteroidal close calls and near misses, including the double whammy of DA14 and the Siberian meteor on February 15, is starting to make our region of space seem like a video game or pinball contest," astronomer Bob Berman, columnist and contributing editor of Astronomy magazine, said in a statement. "This latest interloper arrives just as serious debates are unfolding as to the obvious need for more and better monitoring of potentially hazardous asteroids crossing our orbit — and even whether we should develop a 'deflection' system."

Keep up the good work.  Maybe one day, the U.N. will do something about space rocks the way it is now doing something about space weather.

The politics of grocery shopping

At Kunstler's blog, I promised to post something about the politics of grocery shopping.  It's been a week, so it's time to follow through.

LiveScience: Democrat or Republican ... Who Buys Generic?
Chad Brooks, BusinessNewsDaily Contributor
Date: 14 February 2013 Time: 09:37 AM ET

Conservatives and liberals are as different when choosing groceries as they are when choosing political sides, new research finds.

The study, led by researcher Vishal Singh of New York University, discovered a relationship between political affiliation and buying behavior, suggesting that ideological differences are reflected in daily behavior, even at the unconscious level.

Researchers analyzed weekly sales data from more than 1,800 supermarkets across the United States between 2001 and 2006. Using statistics on voting history and religiosity - factors that are independently correlated with conservative values - they were able to determine the level of conservatism in each county.

Conservatives preferred established brands, while liberals were more likely to buy both generics and new brands.  I guess I know the shopping habits of the delegates to the two major party conventions this past weekend.

Speaking of the food choices of liberals and conservatives, both agree that there is a significant difference between processed and organic food.  That means that they might find common ground in this study by ten TV stations, reported by WXYZ and WCPO.  WXYZ comes first with Putting organic foods to the test.


While WXYZ did OK with their presentation of this study, WCPO missed the point of organic food in What is organic food?

9 On Your Side investigates the organic food at your local market.

This shows how different people can interpret and present the same results very differently.

On the other hand, both decried the lack of testing for organic produce.  I was surprised that no testing has been done, even though the standards have been in place for 20 years.

Coverage of the meteor on the local news

When I asked "Ready for the asteroid encounter today?" I was asking about the wrong space object.  The Russian meteor explosion ended up as the big astronomy story of the day.  It even made the local news on three of the local stations I follow on YouTube.

First, here's WXYZ's coverage.


Next, WOOD-TV.

Earlier today we asked you to post your questions about this event on our Facebook page--now chief meteorologist Bill Steffen is here to answer some of them.

Finally, WCPO in Cincinnati.


I'll probably have more later.  Right now, I'm going to play Rift with my wife.