Walmart has launched a private-label furniture brand called MoDRN, a line of 650 products, ranging from sofas to dinnerware.
Why it matters: It's a direct hit to big furniture retailers like Wayfair and Ikea, and it's a challenge to Walmart's biggest rival, Amazon, which is also digging its heels into private-label products like batteries and mattresses. Both retail behemoths are using their massive customer bases and troves of shopper data to develop private products that can dominate the market.
Amid the announcement of the Green New Deal (GND) resolution on Thursday, critics have been quick to characterize the policy as quixotic and extreme. But GND supporters are far from alone in advocating for a radical transformation of the global energy system, nor are such efforts confined to the left wing of the Democrat congressional caucus.
The big picture: In comparison to the rest of the world, Washington has been uniquely slow to recognize and address the threat of climate change. The GND, regardless of whether it comes to fruition, seems poised to force a conversation in the Capitol that other governments and the private sector have been holding for a long time.
A bankruptcy judge has approved the $5.2 billion sale of Sears to chairman Eddie Lampert’s hedge fund ESL Investments, saving the struggling store from liquidation, WSJ reports.
Why it matters: The purchase will effectively save 425 stores and 45,000 jobs. Sears has been given another life, but the reality is that the once-iconic retail chain stopped being relevant years ago.
President Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Thursday that he won't meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping before March 1, the deadline for the 90-day trade war ceasefire the two leaders agreed to in December.
Film director Woody Allen has filed a $68 million lawsuit against Amazon Studios alleging there was a breach of contract when the studio backed out of a four-picture deal and refused to air one of Allen's completed films, Variety reports.
The big picture: The suit claims Amazon backed out of the deal because of allegations that Allen sexually molested his daughter Dylan Farrow in the 1990s, which he has denied. The allegation resurfaced as the #MeToo movement gained momentum in 2017.
Ford announced Thursday it will invest $1 billion and add 500 jobs to two Chicago-area manufacturing facilities to expand production of the Ford Explorer and Lincoln Aviator, CNBC reports.
The big picture: Ford is simultaneously making cuts to its overseas workforce, specifically in Europe as President Trump pressures U.S. automakers to boost hiring at home. In 2017, Ford cancelled its plans to open a plant in Mexico.
Seven major retailers — Shopko, Gymboree, Charlotte Russe, Beauty Brands, FullBeauty Brands, Innovative Mattress Solutions and Things Remembered — have all filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the first few weeks of 2019, reports Retail Dive.
The big picture: This string of failures is further evidence of the shakeup in brick-and-mortar retail. Brands that are slow to inject tech into the shopping experience — or that don't spruce up shabby storefronts — are bleeding customers. In 2018, once-strong retailers like Brookstone and Mattress Firm went belly up, and the once-iconic Sears continues to teeter on the edge of insolvency after numerous blows.
Smart speaker company Sonos will re-examine its Chinese supply chains if the U.S.-China trade war worsens, company CEO Patrick Spence told Axios.
The impact: Spence said it could take "up to one year" to shift manufacturing and its supply chain out of China to avoid feeling the effect from a potential escalation of tariffs. However, the impact the company has felt so far from the trade war is "financially immaterial."
U.S. engine maker Cummins on Wednesday reported lower-than-expected quarterly profit and forecast full-year sales below analysts' estimates, Reuters reports.
The state of play: The news plays out almost exactly as CEO Tom Linebarger warned in a July New York Times op-ed. "These tariffs put us in a worse position now than when we started these negotiations, and we are concerned there is no end in sight," he wrote. "Because of this uncertainty, companies like ours are standing still, unclear on how and where to invest."
Analysts at Goldman Sachs say they expect the European Central Bank to announce it is restarting a long-term financing stimulus program as soon as March, despite having just called off its bond-buying program in December.
The backdrop: Renewed stimulus for the faltering euro zone economy, which has looked weaker with each new data release, has been expected, but Goldman's incorporation of fresh ECB stimulus as part of its market outlook could mark a watershed moment for central banks and the global economy.
Robots are perfecting skills meant for factories and warehouses — but they’re targeting desk jobs, too. About 1/3 of the stories published on Bloomberg are written with some degree of AI help, reports NYT.
Between the lines: The articles that the Bloomberg bots write are standard wraps of company earnings reports — the stuff that business journalists might groan about.
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