Page 25 - Aruba Today
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BUSINESS A25
Friday 8 April 2016
Pacific Sunwear files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
M. OTT vate after it restructures. from the likes of Forever 21, or restructuring the compa- per year and a nearly $90
A. D’INNOCENZIO Pacific Sunwear, which de- which frequently infuses the ny as it struggles with sev- million of long-term debt
AP Business Writers fined surf cool in the 1990s stores with trendy afford- eral years of falling sales. coming due later this year.
Pacific Sunwear, stagger- and early 2000s, joins sever- able fashion. Gary H. Schoenfeld, presi- He said the bankruptcy
ing after nine consecutive al other teen retailers who The bankruptcy filing from dent and CEO at Pacific process will allow the com-
annual losses, has filed for have suffered the blues as Pacific Sunwear of Califor- Sunwear, said in a state- pany to reduce its long-
Chapter 11 bankruptcy they grapple with the fast- nia Inc. comes just seven ment that the restructuring term debt by more than
protection. changing tastes of teens. months after surfwear re- plan with Golden Gate puts 65 percent and reduce its
But the beach-life clothing Teens are shopping more tailer Quicksilver — anoth- the retailer in a “promising annual occupancy costs,
chain hopes to find its foot- online, resulting in declin- er ubiquitous presence in position” as it continues to either through landlord ne-
ing and continue to oper- ing traffic at the malls. And malls during the 1990s — transform the brand. gotiations or leas rejections.
ate its nearly 600 stores un- the young crowd wants to announced its Chapter 11 He said the bankruptcy pro- That will help adjust the
der an agreement with the be more individualistic in reorganization. And ailing cess will enable the com- fixed costs of operating the
private equity firm Golden how they dress. Moreover, teen retailer Aeropostale pany to fix two structural stores to better match the
Gate Capital, a lender the traditional chains are Inc. said last month that it issues— a high occupancy “shifting retail landscape,”
which plans to take it pri- facing stiff competition was considering selling itself cost of about $140 million Schoenfeld said.
Judge: Govt wrongly ignored costs to MetLife of threat tag
MARCY GORDON to the government’s policy The MetLife skyscraper overlooks another building in New York. A federal judge says the govern-
AP Business Writer for preventing another fi- ment acted unreasonably by ignoring the costs to MetLife of being targeted for stricter supervision
WASHINGTON (AP) — A nancial crisis using new le- as a potential threat to the financial system.
federal judge says the gov- gal tools.
ernment acted unreason- By ignoring potential costs (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
ably by ignoring the costs to MetLife and failing to
to MetLife of being target- observe its own standards right to appeal. The Trea- tinue to defend the coun- ed by the 2010 Wall Street
ed for stricter supervision as — and then not explain- sury Department said in a cil’s designations process overhaul law to monitor
a potential threat to the fi- ing why — the FSOC has statement last week that it vigorously.” the financial system with an
nancial system. made its process for de- strongly disagrees with the The FSOC is a group of top eye to preventing another
U.S. District Judge Rose- ciding whether to desig- judge’s ruling and “will con- federal regulators creat- crisis.
mary Collyer says she de- nate companies “fatally
cided to strike the govern- flawed,” Collyer wrote in
ment’s labeling of MetLife her opinion.
because it was “arbitrary In fact, she wrote, the
and capricious.” The fed- regulators’ decision to tag
eral regulators who make MetLife in December 2014
up the Financial Stability “hardly adhered to any
Oversight Council failed to standard when it came to
consider possible financial assessing MetLife’s threat
harm to the insurance gi- to U.S. financial stability.”
ant from the action, back- New York-based MetLife,
tracking on their own poli- the largest U.S. insurance
cy, Collyer wrote. company by assets, took
Her opinion, which had the government to court
been kept under seal, was more than a year ago to
made public Thursday. In a appeal its labeling as “sys-
ruling last Wednesday, Col- temically important” — so
lyer removed the council’s big and enmeshed with
labeling of MetLife Inc. as the financial system that it
“systemically important” — could threaten the econo-
requiring closer oversight. my if it collapsed.
Her ruling dealt a setback The government has the
US applications for jobless aid fall to low level of 267K
C. S. RUGABER rose 3,500 to 266,750. The cuts. Businesses appear un- cent, but for mostly a good have leveled off. And or-
AP Economics Writer number of people receiv- fazed by the economy’s reason: Many people who ders for manufactured
WASHINGTON (AP) — Few- ing benefits was mostly current weakness, with hadn’t been searching for goods fell last month, partly
er Americans sought un- unchanged at 2.19 million. some analysts forecasting work launched job hunts because of weaker over-
employment aid last week, The benefit rolls have fall- that growth may slip below last month. Most found seas demand.
evidence that employers en 6.5 percent in the past a 1 percent annual rate in jobs, but not all were imme- Growth was just 1.4 per-
are holding onto their work- year. the first three months of this diately hired. That boost- cent at an annual rate in
ers despite signs of weak Applications have been year. ed the number of unem- last year’s fourth quarter,
growth. below 300,000 for 57 That suggests many com- ployed. and may have slowed fur-
THE NUMBERS: Applications straight weeks, the longest panies may see the slow- KEY DRIVERS: The steady ther in the first quarter. Yet
for U.S. jobless benefits fell streak since 1973. down as temporary. Hir- job gains have continued many economists expect
9,000 to a seasonally ad- THE TAKEAWAY: Applica- ing has remained solid, as despite evidence growth is ongoing job gains and low-
justed 267,000, the Labor tions are a proxy for lay- employers added 215,000 slowing. Americans barely er prices at the gas pump
Department said Thurs- offs, so the figures point to jobs in March. The unem- increased their spending to lift consumer spending
day. The four-week aver- a stable job market with ployment rate ticked up in February for the third in the coming months and
age, a less-volatile figure, steady hiring and few job to 5 percent, from 4.9 per- straight month. Home sales boost growth.
