When Amazon.com Inc. completes its acquisition of Whole Foods Market Inc., Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos will try to keep the grocer’s reputation for premium fresh foods while cutting prices to shed its “Whole Paycheck” image. Amazon expects to reduce headcount and change inventory to lower prices and make Whole Foods competitive with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and other big-box retailers, according to a person with knowledge of the company’s grocery plans. An Amazon spokesman denied any job cuts were planned.

J.C. Penney (JCP) could be caught in the downdraft of its dying rival on the other end of the mall, and forced to close even more stores. "Our analysis suggests that Sears ( SHLD) revenue donation is providing a moderate near-term boost [to J.C. Penney] to sales and earnings ($54 million in revenue, and $0.03 in EPS). However, we believe that any further Sears store closings may increase the likelihood that J.C. Penney will have to accelerate the closure of lower-tier mall locations, adding meaningful medium-term revenue and EPS risk of about $150- 200 million and $0.09," wrote Credit Suisse analyst Christian Buss on Friday. Buss rates J.C. Penney shares at an under-perform. The analysis is
Sales in the legal marijuana business are blazing hot, brushing $6.7 billion in 2016 -- but projections are expected to climb even higher to as much as $20 billion in sales by 2021, according to cannabis research firm Arcview Market Research. Despite the uptick in overall sales, the industry is still struggling to find its footing as those in the public space continue to battle turning a profit. Medical Marijuana Inc. (MJNA) , a $321 million market cap company that claims to be the first publicly traded medicinal cannabis firm, is no different. While doubling revenue over the last year, the company is still struggling to turn a profit. For the quarter ended March 31, San Diego-based Medical