J.CrewJ.Crew to open at Warehouse Row
J.Crew will open a signature store in the historic Warehouse Row in downtown Chattanooga next Wednesday at 10 a.m.
The 4,800 square-foot store fronts Building North along Market Street and features J.Crew's full line of classic, tailored apparel and accessories. J.Crew's opening marks the first time since the 1930s a premier national retailer has set up shop in Chattanooga's historic downtown retail corridor.
The store will be open from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Sunday.
"The opening of national retailers, such as J.Crew, at Warehouse Row is a historic moment for our company and for Chattanooga's increasingly vibrant downtown," said Michael Phillips of Jamestown Properties, which bought Warehouse Row in 2006. "We can expect a great deal more growth and activity from Warehouse Row over the next several months."
Virgin America goes public
Virgin America made a successful takeoff in its public trading debut Friday.
The shares opened at $27, $4 higher than the price that the airline set, and ended the day up 30 percent at $30.
The timing of the IPO by the Richard Branson-backed airline could hardly be better. Airlines stocks have soared as the carriers reap huge profits thanks to full planes, rising revenue and falling fuel prices. After years of losing money, Virgin America is now profitable.
The airline priced the shares at $23, near the middle of its announced range of $21 to $24 each, and raised more than $300 million before expenses. The ticker symbol is "VA."
Virgin America Inc. started flying in 2007 with the goal of being low-cost but high-flair. Its Airbus jets feature mood lighting, leather seats and seatback touch screens for watching TV, ordering drinks or chatting with passengers in other rows.
The airline, which is based in Burlingame, California, scores well in traveler surveys but lost money for six years until earning $10 million in 2013.
Microsoft surpasses Exxon in value
The bull run in Microsoft's stock this past year has helped the tech giant surpass Exxon Mobil and seize the rank of the second most valuable company, behind only Apple Inc.
Under new CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft has worked to overcome its reputation as a clumsy behemoth struggling to keep up with new tech trends and consumer habits. Nadella has cut expenses -- and jobs -- while pledging to refocus the company on mobile technology and cloud computing. His efforts have fueled a stock surge that drove Microsoft's total market value above $410 billion on Friday. That leapfrogged Exxon's value of $404 billion, which has been dinged by the drop in oil prices.
"Microsoft has made a strategic change," said Daniel Ives, a tech analyst at FBR Capital Markets. He said Nadella still faces challenges with a company that's heavily reliant on the declining personal computer market. But compared with other longtime tech stalwarts, such as IBM, Hewlett-Packard and Oracle, "Microsoft has done the best job of trying to skate where the puck is going," Ives said.
Apple is currently the world's most valuable company, with a market capitalization of more than $668 billion.
Microsoft shares have outperformed the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite Index, which gained about 45 percent in the same 18-month period. The stock hit $50.04 on Friday, its highest point since early 2000.
Retail sales rise ahead of holiday shopping
U.S. retail sales rose modestly in October, evidence that recent job gains and lower gas prices are lifting consumer spending as the holiday shopping season begins.
The Commerce Department said Friday that retail sales rose 0.3 percent last month after falling by the same amount in September. Excluding gas stations, where falling prices lowered spending, sales rose a solid 0.5 percent.
Employers have stepped up hiring, giving more Americans paychecks to spend and boosting consumer confidence. Stock prices have reached new highs, possibly encouraging more spending by wealthy households. Greater spending could spur more growth because consumer spending makes up about 70 percent of economic activity.
Auto sales rose a solid 0.5 percent, after falling sharply in September. Americans also spent more at restaurants and at sporting goods and health care stores.
Next postmaster general to inherit thorny problems
America's new postmaster general will face the same daunting problems as the man she will succeed: budget losses in the billions and battles with Congress over cost-cutting.
The U.S. Postal Service's Board of Governors on Friday named Megan Brennan, now the agency's chief operating officer, to the top post in early 2015 when Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe retires.
She will become the first woman to head the agency. Brennan called the promotion "the honor of a lifetime, especially for one who comes from a postal family."
The announcement follows Donahoe's own disclosure he will retire Feb 1.
Donahoe, frequently at odds with Congress and the nation's postal unions, told reporters, "We are much leaner, much more technologically-centric than we were a few short years ago. We still have a long way to go."
The agency reported a $569 million revenue increase in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, but an overall loss for the year of $5.5 billion. The heavy losses are a result of a congressionally mandated $5.6 billion annual payment for future retiree health benefits.
The shortfall "underscores the need for comprehensive legislation to repair the Postal Service's broken business model," the agency said in a statement. Legislation to put the Postal Service on firmer financial footing is bogged down in Congress.