Buried in the latest round of quarterly earnings reports was the latest information about store closing store opening numbers in the U.S. retail industry. From a numbers crunching point of view, there were four times as many additions to the 2010 Store Openings list than there were new entries on the 2010 Store Closings list. But the real story was that there wasn't much to report at all. The low number of changes to both tallies - 137 store closings and 535 store openings - indicate that most major U.S. retail chains are moving on the course that they set for themselves at the beginning of the year without any major detours.
A quarter without detours is a good quarter for the U.S. retail industry. Both recovery bears and recovery bulls look to a broader historical perspective for evidence to support their recovery positions, though and June 1st is a good day for recovery perspective.
Today is the anniversary of the fourth largest Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in the history of U.S. business, a memorable, but not auspicious event. One year ago today General Motors, (GM), started a reorganization process, which included an international closing of retail dealerships, and the layoff of thousands of employees connected to those dealerships. One year later, here are some key numbers from the "new" GM, which has been quite generous with its own self-praise, and quite vocal in its claims to be on the mend and on the move in the U.S. auto industry:
GM Cost Numbers - According to a report by the Center for Automotive Research, the cost of making new GM cars is now $3,000 less than it was a year ago.
GM Debt Repayment Numbers - Despite the widely criticized declaration of CEO Edward Whitacre that GM had "repaid our government loan in full, with interest, five years ahead of the original schedule," $43.3 billion in government bailout money will not be paid back until a new IPO is issued, which the company is optimistic will happen before the end of 2010.
GM Additional Government Bailout Numbers - Additionally, taxpayers are footing the $800 million bill to clean up 90 commercial properties that were closed and abandoned by GM as part of its bankruptcy. GM has not indicated that it will reimburse the government for these cleanup costs.
Additional GM Additional Government Bailout Numbers - GM is also reportedly in the final stages of approval for a $14.4 billion low-interest loan from the U.S. Energy Department which it will use to retool its factories in order to build more fuel efficient vehicles.
GM Sympathy Vote Numbers - A recent poll by the Detroit Free Press showed... read more >>
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