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Mid caps

Barnes & Noble stock is finally up!

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Here’s what it took… it took the company’s board announcing that they would consider selling the bookstore. In fact, the board just appointed a special committee to review offers. Shares of Barnes & Noble were up 20% on the announcement.

 

This sale proves to be… the latest twist in the long-running bookstore’s tumultuous recent memory. The company is currently looking for a new CEO which marks the fifth one in five years. And if you recall, the latest former CEO is suing his former employer in federal court for defamation and firing without cause. Good times…

 

As for now… Barnes & Noble still has over 600 stores and 23,000 employees; but sales for the company have been declining for four straight years. Additionally, attempts to win back shoppers have been falling flat, to put it mildly. And to complicate things further, local and independent bookstores (not large chains) are all the rage these days. Yeah, we think it’s time to sell.

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Miscellaneous

We can’t afford affordable healthcare

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Health insurance is expensive… but how expensive? Try $20,000 for family health insurance coverage in 2018 expensive. That figure marks a 55% increase since 2008 which outpaces workers wage growth by double. However, one thing to be grateful for is that your employer pays for most of it – spending $14,100 on average. But we workers still pay around $5,500, as well.

 

Employers are trying… to make things cheaper, but that usually involves higher deductibles. But really, people are going to be pissed either way. 85% of workers are already subject to deductibles so the increased deductible will likely be very unwelcomed.

 

Other ways employers are “trying” include… limiting networks to high-quality providers which could lower costs. Other companies are offering coverage for telemedicine visits with providers. However, employees are also not too fond of the idea – only 0.51% in those plans reported using a telemedicine visit. It looks like it’s back to the drawing board for our healthcare system…

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Hustlin'

Toys ‘R’ Us is comin’ back, baby!

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As you know… Toys ‘R’ Us closed all United States locations in June as part of a bankruptcy liquidation. However, the owners of the company’s remaining assets are looking to re-start the once-thriving toy retailer along with the Babies ‘R’ Us brand. Up to this point, the names were on the chopping block to be auctioned off to someone else.

 

There was plenty of interest… in the auction, but that doesn’t mean the store would be restored to its old glory. Instead, some evil company looking to destroy the remnants of your childhood would buy the name to ensure it would never be used by a competitor ever again. However, today marks encouraging news for the brand to come back.

 

They filed for bankruptcy… just a year ago and had plans to reorganize the business and pay off debt. However, a less-than-merry holiday season forced the company to close its remaining 800 US stores and go out of business. But now there are plans to create “a new, operating Toys ‘R’ Us and Babies ‘R’ Us branding company.” And if this doesn’t brighten your day, then there is something wrong with you.

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Mid caps

GM and Honda: Two bitter rivals join forces

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GM and Cruise… have been working diligently on self-driving versions of the Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car and are planning to deploy them for public use in 2019. And now, Honda has decided to join the party. With Honda’s investment of around $2 billion over 12 years, Cruise will build a vehicle we have never seen before!

 

This car… won’t have any controls – because you won’t need them (you know, until you do need them – then you’ll really need them). However, this vehicle will be “free from constraints of vehicle design and having a driver at the wheel.” There is currently no timeline for when exactly these bad boys will hit the road, but safety is [obviously] imperative.

 

Honda and GM… go way back. The companies have been working on electric car battery technology and hydrogen fuel cells which can extract energy electricity from hydrogen (whatever that means). GM stock went up 2% on Wednesday with the news.

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