Business News

Shoppers wanting to hit up Memorial Day sales are in luck. Most stores are open, but Costco clubs are closed. Here's a list of where to shop.      

The National Rifle Association, which has been at the center of the nation's most heated debates over gun control, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.       

The owner of TikTok has chosen Oracle over Microsoft as its preferred suitor to buy the popular video-sharing app, according to a source familiar with the deal who was not authorized to speak publicly about it. Microsoft announced Sunday that its bid for TikTok was rejected, removing the tech giant from the running a week before President Donald Trump promises to follow through with a plan to ban the Chinese-owned app in the U.

U. S. gross domestic product fell at annual rate of 32.9% in second quarter as states shut down nonessential businesses and consumers largely stayed home.       

Senate Republicans released a roughly $1 trillion coronavirus relief bill proposal, including another stimulus check.       

Walmart Inc. said that it will be closing its namesake stores and Sam's Clubs on Thanksgiving Day this year, saying that it wants to have its employees spend time with their families during the coronavirus. The move, announced Tuesday, marks the first major indication of how COVID will affect Black Friday store shopping, which for almost a decade kicked off with big crowds on the turkey feast and expanded into Friday.

Starbucks will close up to 400 stores over the next 18 months while also expanding curbside pickup, Drive-Thru and mobile-only pickup locations.        

Nearly 1.9 million people applied for U. S. unemployment benefits last week, the ninth straight decline since applications spiked in mid-March, a sign that the gradual reopening of businesses has slowed the loss of jobs. The diminishing pace suggests that the job market meltdown that was triggered by the coronavirus may have bottomed out as more companies call at least some of their former employees back to work. The total number of people who are now receiving jobless aid rose only slightly to 21.5 million, suggesting that rehiring is offsetting some of the ongoing layoffs. Though applications for benefits are slowing, the latest weekly number is still more than double the record high that prevailed before the viral outbreak.

By Kelly Tyko | USA TODAYPier 1 Imports, which previously said it would close half of its fleet of stores, now plans to close all of its locations. The retailer, based in Fort Worth, Texas, announced in a news release Tuesday that it was seeking bankruptcy court approval to begin an “orderly wind-down” when stores are able to reopen "following the government-mandated closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.”There are stores in Oklahoma City, Edmond, Norman and Tulsa.

J. C. Penney, reeling from a one-two punch of the department store industry's struggles and the coronavirus pandemic, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.       

Retailers that were already ailing before the coronavirus are beginning to crumble as the crisis raises the threat of store closings and bankruptcy.       

In seven weeks, 30 million Americans filed for unemployment. The economic crisis has hurt families, workers and businesses.        

By Susan Tompor / Detroit Free PressMuch-awaited stimulus cash will begin flooding into millions of bank accounts next week in the first wave of payouts to shore up the nation's wallets. Millions of taxpayers will begin receiving the extra money to pay rent, groceries and other bills next week, or possibly as early as Thursday or Friday, some say.