I haven't been inside a Sears store for more than 10 years, until Thursday, June 22. And, wow, did I learn a lot. Mainly, I came away with a better understanding of why Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) is closing an additional 20 stores on top of the 245 it already planned to shutter. And why it has failed to turn a profit in 29 out of the last 37 quarters and seen same-store sales decline in 11 of the past 12 quarters. I observed alienating treatment of a loyal customer at the store in Jersey City, N.J., which was also messy and uninviting inside. When I came upon customer Stephanie Rosso, a resident of Jersey City, she was struggling with four employees to get a simple return transaction completed

Oil prices in early 2016 dropped to the lowest levels in more than a decade. Based on the previous year’s monthly spot price, the WTI price used for reserves calculation in 2016 was $42.75, the lowest in more than a decade. This lower price forced liquids reserves down among independent U.S. E&Ps.

I heard a rumor out there that Walmart (WMT) might consider acquiring Costco (COST) to offset the Amazon (AMZN) buyout of Whole Foods (WFM) . Just a rumor. However, even if this turned out to be true, these would not be the same type of deals. First, Costco is near all-time highs, where savvy buyers, of which Walmart is among the savviest, don't buy. Savvy buyers like to buy assets, and everything else, near lows, and sell them near highs. Amazon didn't agree to buy Whole Foods at its all-time high, near $60, in 2013. They waited until no one appreciated the asset, and after a 50% crash, they made their offer. No, Amazon isn't getting Whole Foods at that extreme discount, but they will get it