This week Investors will be focused on a slew off retail companies reporting earnings and what the Fed has to say in front of Congress.    

U.S. retail sales tumbled by a record 16.4% from March to April as business shutdowns have kept shoppers away and threatened the viability of stores across the country.  The Commerce Department’s report showed a sector that has collapsed so fast that sales over the past 12 months are down a crippling 21.6%. The severity of the decline is unrivaled for retail figures. The monthly decline in April nearly doubled the previous record drop of 8.3% — set just one month earlier.                                                                                                              

JCPenney filed for bankruptcy on Friday, the latest retail giant to see its downfall hastened by the crisis. The pandemic was the final blow to a 118-year-old company struggling to overcome a decade of bad decisions, executive instability and damaging market trends.  The company said it has an agreement with most of its lenders on the turnaround plan that will allow it to stay in business as a more financially healthy company, but will include closing an as yet unannounced number of its 846 stores. As part of the turnaround process JCPenney arranged to borrow an additional $450 million from those lenders to pay for operations during the reorganization.

With Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management, I’m Tyler Simones.