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Retail

Stocks

There's Huge Upside in the Worst Retail Disaster in History

By all accounts, 2016's "Black Friday" was a success, surpassing $3 billion in sales for the first time in history. That might be welcome news for a retail industry that is now unambiguously in crisis, but most of the record spending was done online.

That's just another nail in the coffin for an industry that's seen a raft of bankruptcies lately, with mall-based fixtures like Sports Authority, RadioShack, Aéropostale, American Apparel, and PacSun all going belly-up.

I'm not trying to spoil anyone's festive mood, but it's my job to call it as I see it: This trend for these traditional retailers points straight down. No matter how much you personally spend this shopping season (and I do hope you get some good deals), the explosion of ecommerce, along with weak and/or increasingly selective consumers, makes traditional retailers' destruction inevitable.

But hardly anyone is falling faster or harder than this turkey, which means we have to move quickly...

Economic Data

Is Sears Doomed for Bankruptcy in the Second Half of 2016? (SHLD)

Sears Holdings Corp. (Nasdaq: SHLD) has a long and rich history, and its founders revolutionized the retail catalog.

But the only value Sears has left is in nostalgia, and you can't exactly put a price tag on that.

That's because Sears is burning through cash, can't attract shoppers, and has a massive debt load. And there are big warning signs that Sears may close its doors for good in 2016...