The Nasdaq and S&P 500 hit new record highs on Tuesday. It is understood that since the epidemic, the three major U.S. stock indexes have experienced a sharp decline and then a strong rebound. The Nasdaq has hit a record high, and the Dow Jones The index is also in the process of rapid recovery. Although it has fallen in the past two days, such a strong rebound is extremely rare in the history of the U.S. stock market!
At the same time, global stock markets recorded their largest monthly gains since the late 1980s in November, with the S&P 500 Index, Nasdaq Composite Index and Dow Jones Industrial Average continuing to break through historical highs. ETFs tracking U.S. stocks attracted $77 billion in November, a record high.
However, in this context, a large number of retailers such as JCPenney, Neiman Marcus, and Ascena Retail Group went bankrupt or even liquidated. The UK, a major European country, on Monday ushered in the bankruptcy of Arcadia, the largest retailer so far this year. On Tuesday, the news that Debenhams Plc, a department store with a history of more than 240 years, announced that it was about to liquidate, has added to the dark clouds of the British retail industry under the dual uncertainty of Brexit and the pandemic. densely covered.
A devastating blow, two major retail giants went bankrupt in one day!
On December 1, local time, Debenhams, a British retail giant with a history of more than 230 years, announced that it had been unable to find a buyer after filing for bankruptcy protection. Had to close down.
One day ago, Arcadia Group, another well-known British retailer, also announced the launch of bankruptcy liquidation procedures. In just 24 hours, two major department store retail groups closed down, putting 25,000 jobs at risk.
On the morning of December 1, Debenham said that because it had been unable to find a buyer, the company had to prepare to close its doors and enter bankruptcy liquidation starting from that day. This also means that when Debenhams, which has 124 chain stores, closes its doors, all 12,000 employees will face the risk of losing their jobs.
The company’s management stated that due to the long-term impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic and the “high degree of uncertainty” about the prospects of restructuring the business, the company has no choice but to go bankrupt and liquidate, but it continues to seek full or partial acquisition offers. .
Debenhams, the 232-year-old British department store chain, has been struggling for years as consumers began to shift to online shopping and in-store traffic declined. . Lockdown restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus became the final straw for the company. In April this year, the company filed for bankruptcy protection and sought a buyer. Since May, the company has cut 6,500 jobs in its physical stores.
As the acquisition negotiations with the British sports fashion brand JD Sports failed, Debenhams was forced to decide to liquidate on December 1. One of the reasons why JD Sports gave up its intention to acquire Debenhams is that Arcadia Group, Debenham’s largest leasing partner, announced its bankruptcy on the evening of November 30. Arcadia Group, the retail giant that owns brands such as Topshop and Burton, has initiated bankruptcy liquidation procedures. The jobs of the company’s 13,000 employees are at stake.
Within 24 hours, the British department store retail industry suffered the heaviest blow in history. Two well-known retailers went bankrupt and 25,000 employees were at risk of being laid off.
The two retailers have been leaders in shopping malls and high streets across the UK for decades, operating a total of nearly 600 stores. Since the beginning of this year, the British retail industry has been plagued by misfortunes. In addition to the impact of the epidemic, it also has to work hard to cope with e-commerce competition. More than 230,000 UK retail jobs will be lost this year, according to the latest retail industry figures.
British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak stated in Parliament on the afternoon of the 1st that the government is ready to provide support to all employees of the two retailers.
The British Retail Trade Union said it was seeking urgent meetings with managers of the two major retailers and called on them to “properly handle the future arrangements for employees “. In addition, the union also pointed out that the government needs to introduce a recovery plan “in order to get the retail industry back on its feet.”
Richard Lam, chief executive of UK Retail Economics Consulting, said the collapse of Arcadia and Debenhams was “absolutely devastating” at a time of increasing slump for the high street. “. “Given the huge property portfolio, the number of jobs affected and the impact on the entire industry, the consequences and impact of this collapse are incalculable.” He pointed out that the failure of the two major retailers to embrace the era of change and the lagging pace of internal development of the company are The fundamental crux lies, and the impact of the epidemic accelerated its final bankruptcy outcome.
U.S. investment boss says the stock market rebound is seriously out of touch with reality
Recently, Howard Marks, founder of Oaktree Capital and billionaire investor, said that during the virus outbreak, stocks There is a serious disconnect between the market and the reality the world is facing. “The market is currently just below the all-time high of February 19th.increased by 15%. “But “in my opinion, the world is screwed up much more than 15 percent. ”
According to professional analysis, this strong rebound in U.S. stocks has a lot to do with the huge amount of money printing. The United States has printed trillions of dollars, and through the creation of banks and other systems, an additional 10 trillion It is very easy to get US$M2, but 40% of Americans cannot afford US$400, so what we see is still a sluggish economy, falling commodity prices, insufficient demand in the real economy, and a lot of money going to the capital market. Triggering a strong rebound in the stock market.
According to the 2020 “Country Risk Analysis Report” released by China Export and Credit Insurance Corporation, in the context of the world economic recession, intensified international trade frictions, and fierce industry competition, corporate bankruptcies Risks are highlighted. Some industries have already experienced operating pressures in 2019, and the COVID-19 epidemic has significantly increased the risk of bankruptcy for many companies. Judging from the evolution path of corporate sustainability risks in past economic crises, the “chain reaction” of corporate bankruptcy may have already appeared. , the risk of global corporate bankruptcy may continue to rise in the future.
The recent bankruptcies seem to be due to the death of Floyd, but in fact they are the outbreak of social conflicts that have been accumulated for many years, among which Including the increase in unemployment rate caused by the global economic expansion. Therefore, although we textile people say that “clothing, food, housing and transportation come first,” we have to sigh when facing the increasingly magical world situation. : Foreign trade is no longer that foreign trade.
As the German scholar Beck said, globalization has put us in a “risk society”, that is, the continuous spread of man-made uncertainty is leading to the existing Social structures, systems and relationships are changing to a more complex, accidental and fragmented state. To put it bluntly, the world has become more and more unpredictable. Foreign trade textile workers are reminded to take predictive measures in advance to prevent unnecessary losses.</p
