RETAIL
Final sale looms for Christmas Tree Shops as finances worsen
Bid goodbye to Christmas Tree Shops, the Middleborough discount retailer known for its selection of inexpensive homewares and decor. The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that all 82 locations will be liquidated soon, unless a buyer emerges within the week. The move comes two months after the chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the hopes of restructuring its finances and closing just 10 stores, including two outposts on Cape Cod. But the court filing from last week shows that creditors terminated the $45 million loan Christmas Tree Shops planned to use to save the company on account of worsening revenues. During a Thursday court hearing, a lawyer for the retailer said Christmas Tree Shops have seen sales decline recently because it is unable to replenish its store shelves quickly. ― DITI KOHLI
FINANCE
Bank of America has questions about results of Fed stress test
Bank of America Corp. said it has started discussions with the Federal Reserve to understand how the company was evaluated following results of the central bank’s annual stress tests. The company is in dialogue with the Fed to “understand differences in other comprehensive income over the 9-quarter stress period between the Federal Reserve’s CCAR results and Bank of America’s Dodd-Frank Act stress test results,” it said in a statement Monday. Bank of America made its announcement after its major rivals last week outlined higher dividends following this year’s exams. Those findings posted by the Fed showed all 23 big US lenders examined can withstand a severe global recession and turmoil in real estate markets. ― BLOOMBERG NEWS
AUTOMOTIVE
Tesla stock soars on strong second-quarter deliveries
Tesla is roaring back from a dismal 2022 as company shares, which have already doubled this year, were driven higher Monday by a spike in second-quarter deliveries Tesla is roaring back from a dismal 2022 as company shares, which have already doubled this year, were driven higher Monday by a spike in second-quarter deliveries. Shares jumped 7 percent to a new high for 2023 after the electric car maker said its deliveries in the most recent quarter rose 83 percent compared with the same period last year. Tesla cut prices several times on its four electric vehicle models and buyers took advantage of US government tax credits. Tesla was pummeled in 2022, pushing shares down nearly 70 percent. Shares were in decline for most of the year and went into a near freefall after Tesla CEO Elon Musk acquired Twitter in a $44 billion deal. Shares began to climb sharply in early May after Musk announced a new CEO at Twitter, giving Tesla investors hope that he would be able to focus again on making electric vehicles. Shares got another boost this month after Ford and General Motors announced that starting next year, owners of their electric vehicles will be able to charge their EVs at many of Tesla’s charging stations, the largest such network in the country. ― ASSOCIATED PRESS
WEALTH
Musk, Zuckerberg lead surge as the rich get richer
The world’s 500 richest people added $852 billion to their fortunes in the first half of 2023. Each member of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index made an average of $14 million per day over the past six months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It was the best half-year for billionaires since the back half of 2020, when the economy rebounded from a COVID-induced slump. The gains coincided with a broad stock market rally, as investors brushed off the effects of central bank interest rate hikes, the ongoing war in Ukraine, and a crisis in regional banks. The S&P 500 rose 16 percent and the Nasdaq 100 surged 39 percent for its best-ever first half as investor mania over artificial intelligence boosted tech stocks. While Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg flirt with scheduling a cage match, Tesla’s chief executive came out on top in dollar terms. Musk, the world’s richest person, added $96.6 billion to his net worth this year through June 30, while Meta chief executive Zuckerberg gained $58.9 billion. Gautam Adani’s net worth sank the most in the six-month period, losing $60.2 billion. Adani, chairman of Adani Group, also posted the biggest one-day loss of any billionaire, shedding about $20.8 billion on Jan. 27, after short seller Hindenburg Research accused his conglomerate of accounting fraud and stock manipulation ― a claim Adani denies. ― BLOOMBERG NEWS