Chapter 11 Bankruptcy: Borders Files Chapter 11 Bankruptcy to Close 30 Percent of Stores

NEW YORK—Bookstore chain Borders Group Inc. announced that it would file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Wednesday morning and plans to close almost a third of its store locations in the United States

The No. 2 bookstore behind Barnes & Noble Booksellers (B&N) in the U.S. market, Borders resorted to bankruptcy after capital restructuring and expense cutting failed to stem losses.

Borders faced a tough transition from print to digital books and was left in the dust facing stiff competition from both online retailer Amazon.com, whose Kindle e-reader has been wildly successful, as well as from its archrival B&N, which has experienced its own success with the Nook.

“It has become increasingly clear that in light of the environment of curtailed customer spending, our ongoing discussions with publishers and other vendor related parties and the company’s lack of liquidity, Borders Group does not have the capital resources it needs to be a viable competitor and which are essential for it to move forward with its business strategy to reposition itself successfully for the long term,” said Borders President Mike Edwards in a statement.

The company said Wednesday that it would look to close 30 percent of its stores and received $505 million in debtor-in-possession loans from a consortium of lenders including GE Capital.

“This financing should enable Borders to meet its obligations going forward so that our stores continue to be competitive for customers in terms of goods, services, and the shopping experience,” Edwards said.

In a Chapter 11 filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan on Wednesday, Borders listed assets of $1.28 billion and debt of $1.29 billion. The largest unsecured creditor listed by the company was book publisher Penguin Putnam, with $41 million in unpaid claims. The company’s biggest shareholder of record was Pershing Square Capital Management LP, a hedge fund.
Read More: Theepochtimes

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Fake Robot Baby Provokes Real Screams

Uncanny valley, heard of it? No worries, you're knee-deep in it right now. It's the revulsion you feel to robots, prostheses, or zombies that try, but don't quite duplicate their human models. As the robot becomes more humanlike, however, our emotional response becomes increasingly positive and empathetic. Unfortunately, the goal of Osaka University's AFFETTO was to create a robot modeled after a young child that could produce realistic facial expressions in order to endear it to a human caregiver in a more natural way. Impressive, sure, but we're not ready to let it suckle from our teat just yet.

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CEO arrested in sex sting

The founder of two chains of natural foods grocery stores has been arrested in a child prostitution sting in Phoenix. Sunflower Farmers Market CEO Michael Gilliland, 52, was accused of soliciting sex online with someone who identified herself as an underage girl. He faces a charge of felony child prostitution. Gilliland resigned from Sunflower, which has locations in seven states. He also founded Wild Oats Markets Inc., which was bought by Whole Foods Market in 2007. Gilliland was one of eight men arrested in the sting. Sunflower said he told the company he believed he was not guilty and would be exonerated. Mr Gilliland was not available for comment on the charges.

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Million-Dollar ‘Supercar’

Italian supercar manufacturer Pagani Automobili SpA. said today it will enter the U.S. market with its new model called the Huayra. The company says it will begin selling the 700-horsepower car in the U.S. through a dealer network beginning later this year. Its price is expected to be more than $1 million.
Pagani released pictures of the new two-seater and information about its specifications late last month, but its pending availability in the U.S is big news for the speed-addled and well-heeled. Pagani’s current model, the Zonda, has been a perennial leader in top-speed and brute-power contests run by car magazines for the past decade and has been tantalizingly out of reach for many would-be customers in the States.
Named after Huayra Tata, an ancient God of wind, the Huayra has a six-liter, 12-cylinder engine with two turbochargers built by Mercedes-Benz’s AMG performance unit, which is responsible for the German company’s most powerful models. The engine breathes through a pair of air intakes behind the occupants that the company describes as “a tribute to the supersonic aircraft of the late 1950s and 1960s.” They were designed to allow air into the engine without unnecessarily disturbing aerodynamics.
Pagani, which is based in San Cesario sul Panaro, near Modena, Italy, says it has built five Huayra prototypes and has been road testing them for the past four years. The test cars have traveled more than 300,000 miles and will cover about 600,000 miles before entering the U.S. market. The company says the car complies with the strictest European and American safety and emissions standards.
The car is to make its debut at the Geneva Motor Show next month. The company says it will reveal its specific plans for unveiling the Huayra in the U.S. in the coming weeks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vedio: Dailymotion

Read More: Yahoo

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Pay by app at Starbucks

Starbucks customers can now use an app to pay for their coffee at thousands of locations nationwide. With a smartphone, an app and a Starbucks card, users can get a barcode they can use to pay. An Android app reportedly is in the works.

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