7-Eleven to close hundreds of US locations before end of 2024
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(NEW YORK) — 7-Eleven will close more than 400 of its “underperforming stores” across the U.S. and Canada in an effort to reduce costs and bolster earnings before the end of the year.
Seven & I Holdings, the Tokyo-based parent company of the convenience store chain, announced the news during an earnings call last week, saying 444 stores will be shuttered due to the cumulative factors of inflation, slower customer traffic, and declining cigarette sales.
“All of these have impacted our sales and merchandise gross profit,” the CEO and President Joe DePinto said on the call.
As a result of the “macroeconomic conditions and evolving industry trends,” DePinto added that the company has revised its earning guidance.
The company reported a 7.3% decline in store traffic back in August and and said during its latest earnings reporting that the pattern corresponds with the “pullback of the middle- and low-income consumer.”
The total number of closures accounts for just over 3% of the more than 13,000 7-Eleven stores in North America.
(SEATTLE) — Boeing machinists overwhelmingly rejected a contract proposal this week, opting to extend a weekslong strike and send negotiators back to the bargaining table.
Sixty-four percent of workers voted against the new contract, according to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), the union representing 33,000 Boeing workers in Washington, Oregon and California.
The outcome follows the resounding defeat of a previous proposal last month, which drew rebuke from more than 90% of union members.
The consecutive “no” votes set the stage for a standoff between Boeing and its workers that will strain the finances of both sides over the coming days and weeks, experts told ABC News. That financial pressure will push the dispute toward resolution but workers appear unlikely to budge without major concessions, they added.
“The union has sent a very clear message to Boeing that it will take significantly more to get a settlement,” Harley Shaiken, a professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, who focuses on labor history, told ABC News.
The proposed contract would have delivered a 35% raise over the four-year duration of the contract, upping the 25% cumulative raise provided in a previous offer overwhelmingly rejected by workers in a vote last month. Workers had initially sought a 40% cumulative pay increase.
The proposal also called for hiking Boeing’s contribution to a 401(k) plan, but it declined to fulfill workers’ call for a reinstatement of the company’s defined pension. The contract would have included a $7,000 ratification bonus for each worker, as well as a performance bonus that Boeing had sought to jettison.
But union leaders said the concessions offered in the proposal were not enough to meet the demands of rank-and-file union members.
“This contract struggle began over ten years ago when the company overreached and created a wound that may never heal for many members,” said Jon Holden, president of IAM District 751 in Seattle, in a statement after the vote. “I don’t have to tell you all how challenging it has been for our membership through the pandemic, the crashes, massive inflation, and the need to address the losses stemming from the 2014 contract.”
Boeing did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
Experts who spoke to ABC News forecasted a willingness on the part of Boeing to reenter talks and even revisit key parts of the offer.
Hours before workers cast ballots on Wednesday, Boeing released an earnings report showing the company had lost a staggering $6.1 billion over the most recent quarter, even though most of that period took place before the strike began.
The strike is expected to deepen that financial hole. A 50-day work stoppage would cost Boeing $5.5 billion, investment bank TD Cowen said in a report reviewed by ABC News at the outset of the dispute. So far, the strike has lasted 41 days.
“This rejection adds further uncertainty, costs, and recovery delays,” Bank of America Global Research said in a note to clients on Thursday. “We anticipate further concessions of wages will be required for a deal to pass.”
Financial stress will mount for workers as well, experts said.
Union members have received $250 per week from a strike fund, beginning in the third week of the work stoppage. That compensation marks a major pay cut for many of the employees.
“When strikes go longer than five or six weeks, the financial pressures really start to work on the union rank and file,” Robert Forrant, a professor of U.S. history and labor studies at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, told ABC News.
While union members remain widely opposed to the latest contract offer, it drew greater support than the first one. That incremental progress may prompt Boeing to continue the strategy of upping worker pay while standing firm in its refusal to reinstate a defined pension, Ryan Stygar, a labor lawyer at San Diego, California-based Centurion Trial Attorneys, told ABC News.
Workers lost a traditional pension plan in a contract ratified by the union in 2014. The union’s demand for reinstatement of the pension may appeal more to longtime employees who feel they’ve lost retirement benefits than younger ones who’ve joined the company since its shift to a 401(k), Stygar said.
“Boeing’s strategy will be to try to exploit that generational divide,” Stygar said, noting that increased pay and a larger ratification bonus may entice younger workers to support a future proposal even if it omits pension reinstatement.
“As the strike goes on and Boeing’s losses accumulate, I think we will see more aggressive negotiation,” Stygar added, saying the standoff could stretch on for another two to four weeks.
“But I don’t have a crystal ball,” Stygar said.
ABC News’ Jack Moore and Ayesha Ali contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — U.S. hiring surged in September, blowing past economist expectations and rebuking concern about weakness in the labor market. The fresh report marks one of the last major pieces of economic data before the presidential election.
Employers hired 254,000 workers last month, far exceeding economist expectations of 150,000 jobs added, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1%.
Weaker-than-expected jobs data in both July and August has stoked worry among some economists about the nation’s economic outlook.
Despite an overall slowdown this year, the job market has proven resilient. Hiring has continued at a solid pace; meanwhile, the unemployment rate has climbed but remains near a 50-year low.
“The labor market is still healthy, but we have clearly seen a slowdown,” Roger Aliaga-Diaz, chief Americas economist at investment firm Vanguard, told ABC News in a statement before the new data was released. “Now we are approaching an inflection point.”
The new data arrived two weeks after the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate a half of a percentage point. The landmark decision dialed back a years-long fight against inflation and offered relief for borrowers saddled with high costs.
Inflation has slowed dramatically from a peak of about 9% in 2022, though it remains slightly higher than the Fed’s target of 2%.
Speaking at a press conference in Washington, D.C. last month, Fed Chair Jerome Powell described the rate decision as a shift in approach as the Fed focuses more on ensuring robust employment and less on lowering inflation.
“This recalibration of our policy stance will help maintain the strength of the economy and the labor market, and enable further progress on inflation,” Powell said.
In theory, lower interest rates help stimulate the economy and boost employment. However, the Fed’s interest rate decisions typically take several months before they influence economic activity. In any case, the soon-to-be released report tracks hiring for September, meaning the majority of the period reflected in the data took place before the rate cut.
Still, the jobs report on Friday held significant implications for further rate decisions over the coming months. The Federal Open Market Committee, or FOMC, a policymaking body at the Fed, has forecast additional interest rate cuts.
By the end of 2024, interest rates will fall another half of a percentage point from their current level of between 4.75% and 5%, according to FOMC projections. Interest rates will drop another percentage point over the course of 2025, the projections further indicated.
(NEW YORK) — Scammers don’t need a special occasion to try to steal your money or your identity. Whether it be holidays or big events, they are always on the prowl — the back-to-school shopping season is no different. Students and parents are particularly vulnerable right now as they shop for everything from textbooks to clothes and even jobs.
The rush to find the best deals has some consumers visiting unfamiliar websites and sometimes hastily clicking on links. All of the excitement can make for a less vigilant consumer — the perfect opportunity for bad actors to pounce. People aged 18 to 24 were more likely to report being targeted by text message or internet messaging than any other age group, according to the Better Business Bureau.
Shoppers need to be careful of fake websites appearing to sell popular supplies and textbooks at deeply discounted prices, as noted by Wells Fargo fraud and claims executive Dan Cusick. They may send fraudulent emails pretending to be a school asking you to update your personal information. The scammers also create fake social media ads that link to the fake websites. Consumers enter their payment information, giving scammers the chance to collect their credit card and bank details.
Fraudsters also set up fake rental sites offering discounted textbooks; they collect the rental fee but never send the books. You should always type the store’s website into your browser and shop from the store’s legitimate site, Cusick suggested. Log into a school’s online portal or app directly to update any student information, ignoring unsolicited or online offers and emails.
Fake scholarship and job offers
The FCC recently issued a warning to college students and their parents about a rise in fraudulent scholarships and fake job offers.Scammers post fake job postings that promise good pay and flexible hours on popular job sites and social media. They may even send emails that look like they’re coming from a business or college promising “guaranteed” scholarships that require you to pay a fee to be eligible.
After you apply, the FCC noted that one common tactic is for them to send you a check to deposit at your bank. They then ask you to send some of the money to another account. However, the check is fake and by the time it bounces, the scammer will have walked away with the money you sent them.
Bottom line is that your boss should be paying you, not the other way around. If they tell you to deposit a check and use some of the money for any reason, experts say it’s a scam.
Federal authorities recommend looking up the name of the company or the person who’s hiring you, plus the words “scam,” “review,” or “complaint” to see what others are saying about them.
If the email looks like it came from a professor or an office at your college, call them directly to confirm they’re really looking to fill a position. Beware of email addresses coming from non-company email addresses including Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail. Ask the employer to send you details of the job duties, the pay and the hours. If they refuse, that could be another red flag.
Student Rental Scams
As the cost of college rises to record highs, experts say scammers are finding creative ways to dupe vulnerable and unsuspecting students. That’s especially true when it comes to fake apartment rentals.
The fraudsters rip off legitimate rental listings, including photos and descriptions, from reputable organizations. They then post the fake listing on their site at a deep discount. Once you show interest, they ask for your personal information like your bank account. They also create urgency, telling you to “act immediately” or “send money right away” and suggest you will lose the listing otherwise.
When it comes to rental scams, experts say beware of these major red flags: you can’t meet the person or see the rental property before you pay or they ask for payment upfront via wire transfer, gift card or directly into an account. Experts remind us to never send money or share personal information with unverified people or companies and to be guided by the old adage: if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
