Circuit City closing many stores

Circuit City to close 155 stores by December 31st of this year.

Circuit City has been trying to regain a foothold on profitability and regain the investor confidence they once enjoyed. They have been facing intense competition from Best Buy Co Inc, which has been rapidly gaining market share in the key electronics categories which Circuit City once held.

The Richmond, Va.-based Circuit City Stores Inc.home office announced Monday that it plans to lay off 17 percent of its workforce in the U.S. in addition to closing the 155 stores in a move to restructure itself during the current financial crisis and the recent downturn in retail business.

The following States and city stores will be affected:

ALABAMA: Anniston, Trussville

ARKANSAS: Fayetteville

ARIZONA: Avondale, Chandler, Gilbert, Goodyear, Mesa (2), Peoria, Phoenix (4 stores), Queen Creek, Scottsdale

CALIFORNIA: City of Industry, Compton, Concord, Dublin, Escondido, Fairfield, Fontana, Foothill Ranch, Fremont, Merced, Mira Loma, Moreno Valley, Morgan Hill, Murrieta, Palo Alto, Pittsburg, Pomona, Richmond, Riverside, San Rafael, Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, Thousand Oaks, Vista

COLORADO: Colorado Springs, Northglenn, Parker

CONNECTICUT: Orange

FLORIDA: Jacksonville (2 stores), Naples, Orlando, Panama City, Tallahassee, Vero Beach

GEORGIA: Acworth, Alpharetta, Atlanta (4 stores), Bogart, Buford, Conyers, Cumming, Douglasville, Duluth, Hiram, Kennesaw, Macon, Morrow, Newnan, Snellville, Warner Robins

ILLINOIS: Arlington Heights, Batavia, Bloomingdale, Bolingbrook, Calumet City, Chicago, Countryside, Crystal Lake, Joliet, Zurich, Niles, Oswego, South Barrington, Vernon Hills

INDIANA: Clarksville, Indianapolis, Lafayette, South Bend

KANSAS: Lenexa, Overland Park

KENTUCKY: Lexington, Louisville, Paducah

LOUISANA: Baton Rouge, Kenner, Marrero, Slidell

MARYLAND: Baltimore, Beltsville, Marlow Heights

MICHIGAN: Auburn Hills, Bloomfield, Dearborn, Jackson, Muskegon, Pontiac, Rochester Hills

MISSOURI: Ferguson, Independence, Kansas City (2 stores)

MISSISSIPPI: Tupelo

NORTH CAROLINA: Charlotte

NEW JERSEY: Freehold, Livingston

NEVADA: Sparks

NEW YORK: Bay Shore, Bronx, Brooklyn, Holbrook, Lake Grove, Massapequa, New York, West Nyack

OHIO: Brooklyn, Cincinnati, Columbus (2 stores), Cuyahoga Falls, Elyria, Garfield Heights, Grove City, Mansfield, Mayfield Heights, Mentor

OKLAHOMA: Norman, Oklahoma City

TENNESSEE: Antioch, Collierville, Memphis, Spring Hill

TEXAS: Burleson, Cedar Park, Dallas, Houston, League City, Mansfield, McKinney, Sherman, Temple

VIRGINIA: Charlottesville, Manassas, McLean

WASHINGTON: Federal Way

WISCONSIN: Milwaukee

Keep a look out for the start of the slash and burn sales at these locations over the next few days.

Fed Cuts Rate Again

The Fed cut the key interest rate from 1.5% today to 1%. A half point reduction in yet another attempt to jump start the economy. The Federal Reserve cut the rate earlier this month from 2% to the 1.5% rate on the 8th of October. As the Markets close today it does not appear to have had the effect everyone had hoped.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke pledged that those at the Federal Reserve would “monitor economic and financial developments carefully and will act as needed to promote sustainable economic growth and price stability.” but it appears that Americans have little faith in the group that was watching from the sidelines as our financial infrastructure crumbled earlier on this year to save the day now.

At the end of the days trading, the DOW closed down just over 74 points however the NASDAQ was up 7.74 or almost a half percent.

With just less than a week to go until election day in the United States, one wonders what more of a roller-coaster ride we can look forward to.