Business Briefs – August 10, 2017

Department Store Chains See Key Sales Figures Fall Again

NEW YORK (AP) — Department store chains saw key sales figures fall again in the latest quarter as customers increasingly move online. At Macy’s the decrease wasn’t as bad as Wall Street expected and Kohl’s managed to keep the decline to just 0.4 percent. Shares in the stores fell.

Study Says Trump Moves Trigger Health Premium Jumps For 2018

WASHINGTON (AP) — Trump administration moves are triggering double-digit premium increases on individual health insurance policies purchased by many people. That’s according to a new analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The report says mixed signals from President Donald Trump have created uncertainty “far outside the norm” and led insurers to seek higher premium increases for 2018 than would otherwise have been the case. Premiums are going up 10 percent or more in 15 of 21 major metropolitan areas studied.

Blue Apron Revenue Beats Forecast, But Hurt By Plant Delays

NEW YORK (AP) – Blue Apron posted strong revenue growth in its second quarter, but the meal-kit seller says it’s having unexpected delays at a new plant and it gave a weak revenue forecast for the second half of the year.

Blue Apron slumped 17.6 percent after it reported a sequential decline in customers in the second quarter due to a planned reduction in marketing. The trend appeared to overshadow strong quarterly revenue growth in the quarter. The stock fell $1.10 to $5.14.

The company had said last week that it was closing its facility in Jersey City, New Jersey, and about 470 workers might lose their jobs if they didn’t transfer to a new plant in Linden, New Jersey. Chief Financial Officer Brad Dickerson said Thursday there have been “unexpected complexities and costs” at the Linden plant in the past month as Blue Apron transfers products there.