Business

After retail bankruptcies soared an astonishing 110% in the first half of 2017 (something we discussed here: The Amazon Effect: Retail Bankruptcies Surge 110% In First Half Of The Year), it seems that the new wave of retail operators are finally figuring out that in-store payrolls and excessive mall rents are simply an insurmountable economic disadvantage in the post-Amazon world.  The following info-graphic from the Wall Street Journal helps to put the offline vs. online cost structure of apparel retailers into perspective:

Via Dana Lyons' Tumblr,

This week has seen yet more examples of poor internals despite new highs in the major averages.

Moments ago, the Martin Shkreli jury announced its verdict, and while the ex-pharma exec was found not guilty on 5 of 8 counts, he was also found guilty on 3 of 8 counts, namely count 3: Securities Fraud, count 6: Securities Fraud, and count 8: Conspiracy to Commit Securities Fraud.

As a result, as Bloomberg writes, Shkreli - once dubbed "the most hated man in America" - is now a convicted felon.

Wells Fargo just released a lengthy 10Q revealing a number of concerns for shareholders with regard higher-than-expected legal costs, new auto loan sales 'issues', and the potential for "significantly" more fake accounts based on a wider review. Ironically, WFC's CEO Tim Sloan began his press release thus... "rebuilding trust became our top priority when I became CEO last October."

Headlines from the 10Q (via Bloomberg)

So what do you do when you've just burned through a record $1.2 billion of cash in one quarter, expect to burn an additional $2 billion in capex in the second half of the year and haven't a prayer of generating positive earnings at any point in the near future?  Well, you slash your product prices, of course.

Apparently this is exactly the strategy that Elon Musk has decided to pursue with his Model X after quietly slashing its price tag from $82,500 to a far more affordable $79,500 last night.  Tesla explained the price cut via the following statement: