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<ul><li><strong><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/tif-stock">Tiffany</a> slid as much as 11% on Wednesday after luxury conglomerate <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/lvmhy-stock">LVMH</a> canceled plans to buy the jeweler for $16.2 billion.</strong></li><li><strong>The Louis Vuitton parent <a href="https://www.lvmh.com/news-documents/press-releases/press-release-09092020/">said</a> Wednesday the deal's contract set a November 24 deadline, and that requests from <keyword id="117146" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Tiffany">Tiffany</keyword> and the French government to delay the deal led to its pulling out.</strong></li><li><strong>Tiffany responded soon after, saying in a <a href="https://investor.tiffany.com/news-releases/news-release-details/tiffany-files-lawsuit-against-lvmh-enforce-merger-agreement">press release</a> it filed a lawsuit to keep the acquisition on track.</strong></li><li><strong>The jewelry giant also alleged <keyword id="110312" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="LVMH">LVMH</keyword> sought to leverage US social justice protests and the coronavirus pandemic to "avoid paying the agreed price for Tiffany shares."</strong></li><li><strong><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/tif-stock">Watch Tiffany trade live here</a>.</strong></li></ul><p><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/tif-stock">Tiffany</a> shares tanked as much as 11% on Wednesday after Louis Vuitton-owner <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/lvmhy-stock">LVMH</a> scrapped plans to acquire the jewelry company for $16.2 billion.</p><p>In a Wednesday <a href="https://www.lvmh.com/news-documents/press-releases/press-release-09092020/">press release</a>, LVMH said Tiffany sought to extend the deal's closing date to December 31 from the previously established deadline of November 24. LVMH also said the French European and Foreign Affairs Minister directed Tiffany to defer the acquisition until after January 6 in reaction to the threat of tariffs on US goods. The two delays leave LVMH unable to complete the deal, the fashion conglomerate said.</p><p>Tiffany fired back soon after, filing a lawsuit against LVMH to keep the deal intact. LVMH aimed to leverage US social justice protests and the coronavirus pandemic to "avoid paying the agreed price for Tiffany shares," the jewelry giant said in a <a href="https://investor.tiffany.com/news-releases/news-release-details/tiffany-files-lawsuit-against-lvmh-enforce-merger-agreement">press release</a>.</p><p><em><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/investing-strategy-us-championship-oliver-kell-shares-secret-to-returns-2020-9">US Investing Championship contender Oliver Kell raked in a 359.4% return through July. Here's the strategy he's using to crush the competition — and 3 stocks he's holding right now.</a></em></p><p>Tiffany also said the government's request for a new deal deadline has no basis under French law, and that LVMH's decision to call off the deal before consulting Tiffany breached their contract. </p><p>"We believe that LVMH will seek to use any available means in an attempt to avoid closing the transaction on the agreed terms," Roger Farah, chairman of Tiffany's board of directors, said in a statement.</p><p>Both <keyword id="161513" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="luxury-goods">luxury goods</keyword> companies have been slammed by the coronavirus pandemic as consumers cut down spending on discretionary goods. Tiffany recorded its first quarterly loss in six years over the first quarter before sales swung higher in the following three-month period. The sales decline left investors wondering whether LVMH overpaid for the jeweler.</p><p>Tiffany closed at $121.81 per share on Tuesday, down 8.7% year-to-date.</p><p><em><strong>Now read more <keyword id="31671" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="markets">markets</keyword> coverage from Markets Insider and Business Insider:</strong></em></p><p><em><strong><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/economic-outlook-stimulus-bill-gdp-recovery-next-year-morgan-stanley-2020-9-1029570868">New stimulus can fuel full US GDP recovery 2 quarters sooner than previously expected, Morgan Stanley says</a></strong></em></p><p><em><strong><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-outlook-reasons-bull-market-running-further-goldman-sachs-2020-9-1029570702">Goldman Sachs lays out 10 reasons the bull market will keep charging after stocks' short-term slump</a></strong></em></p><p><em><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stock-market-nasdaq-sell-off-explained-investing-advice-portfolio-positioning-2020-9">4 experts break down the drivers behind the sudden plunge in tech stocks that's dragging the entire market lower — and share their best recommendations for what investors should do as the election approaches</a></strong></em></p><p><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/tif-stock"><em><strong><div type="image" title="TIF" height="1182" width="1432" msid="78020060" hostid="261"></div></strong></em></a></p>

Tiffany sinks 11% after Louis Vuitton-owner LVMH calls off $16 billion takeover deal

<ul class="summary-list"><li>To convert a JPG to <keyword id="12020468" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="pdf" source="Orion">PDF</keyword>, you'll need to change the file format on your computer's default photo-viewing app.</li><li>For <keyword id="11911140" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="windows" source="Orion">Windows</keyword> users, this process is done in the built-in Photos app, and for macOS users it can be done in Preview.</li><li>These photo-viewing apps can also be used to convert JPGs into other file formats like PNG or TIFF.</li></ul><p>If you have a JPG file and need to convert it to a more printer-friendly <keyword id="12020469" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="pdf-file" source="Orion">PDF file</keyword>, you've come to the right place. It's a straight-forward process that can be done on your computer's photo-viewing app, and there's no need to use a third-party app or website.</p><p>Here's how to do it on a Windows or <keyword id="11911138" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="mac" source="Orion">Mac</keyword> computer. </p><h2><strong>How to convert JPG to PDF on <keyword id="11910712" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="windows-10" source="Orion">Windows 10</keyword></strong></h2><p><strong>1.</strong> Double-click on the <strong>image</strong> you want to convert to a PDF. The image should open in <strong>Photos</strong>, the default photo-viewing app for Windows 10. If it doesn't (likely because you've changed the default app) open the <strong>Photos </strong>app and select the photo you want to convert by clicking on the file name.</p><p><strong>Quick tip:</strong> To convert more than one JPG at a time, open the <strong>Photos</strong> app, and, in the <strong>Collection</strong> tab, click the <strong>Select </strong>button in the top-right corner before clicking to select multiple files. When selected, a check mark will appear in the top-right corner of the photos. </p><p><strong>2.</strong> Click the <strong>printer icon</strong> at the top-right of the <strong>Photos</strong> menu bar or use the keyboard shortcut <strong>Control + P</strong>.</p><p><strong>3.</strong> In the <strong>Print</strong> pop-up window, click on the <strong>arrow pointing down</strong> under <strong>Printer</strong> to open a drop-down menu. Select <strong>Microsoft Print to PDF</strong>, then click <strong>Print</strong>.</p><p><strong>4.</strong> In the File Explorer pop-up, make sure <strong>PDF</strong> is selected as the <strong>Save as type</strong>. Rename the file or keep the name as-is, choose a destination for the file, then click <strong>Save</strong>.</p><p><strong>Quick tip:</strong> You can also convert your JPG to a number of other file types, including PNG, HEIC, TIF, and more. </p><h2><strong>How to convert JPG to PDF on Mac</strong></h2><p><strong>1.</strong> Double-click on the <strong>image</strong> you want to convert to a PDF. The image should open in <strong>Preview</strong>, the default photo-viewing app for Mac computers. If it doesn't (likely because you've changed the default app) open the <strong>Preview </strong>app and select the photo you want to convert by clicking on the file name.</p><p><strong>2.</strong> In the <strong>Preview</strong> menu, click <strong>File</strong>, then select <strong>Export as PDF…</strong></p><p><strong>Quick tip:</strong> You can also convert JPG files to HEIC, JPEG-2000, OpenEXR, PNG, or TIFF in <strong>Preview</strong>.</p><div type="image" title="Mac screenshot of the Preview app with the &quot;Export as PDF&quot; option highlighted" height="2040" width="1494" msid="85907210" hostid="261"></div><p><strong>3.</strong> In the pop-up menu, change the file name (if desired), choose a destination for the file, then click <strong>Save</strong>.</p><div type="image" title="Mac screenshot of the Preview app displaying options to rename the file and choose the destination before saving" height="2332" width="1651" msid="85907213" hostid="261"></div><a data-type="5fca863d664756539d592d25">How to convert HEIC files to JPG on a Mac computer, so you can upload photos to websites in a supported format</a><a data-type="5f1f1a80aee6a81fe6083386">How to resize an image on a Windows 10 computer and adjust your photos to the perfect size for any situation</a><a data-type="5fac113e8fc39712cb696f83">How to crop a PDF on your Windows computer without using a paid service</a><a data-type="606370e95c20d0599b2099c0">How to reverse image search on Google to find information related to a specific photo</a>

How to convert a JPG file to a PDF file on a Mac or Windows 10 computer

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>NASA</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>NASA needs people who want to <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/be-an-astronaut-nasa-seeks-explorers-for-future-space-missions/">go to Mars</a>.</p><p>And although the agency already received over <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/record-number-of-americans-apply-to-beanastronaut-at-nasa">18,000 applications</a> for its most recent class of astronauts, it's still recruiting for what is, frankly, a dream job.</p><p>On Tuesday, <a href="http://mars.nasa.gov/multimedia/resources/mars-posters-explorers-wanted/">NASA released</a> eight posters in a retro-propaganda style highlighting different roles that would be needed on the journey, such as farmers, surveyors, and teachers. </p><p>The funky and cool posters were originally designed for an exhibit at the Kennedy Space Center in 2009. But as part of NASA's recent <a href="https://twitter.com/NASABeAMartian">publicity push</a> for its Mars mission, its made them available for download for free. </p><p>"Mars needs YOU! In the future, Mars will need all kinds of explorers, farmers, surveyors, teachers . . . but most of all YOU! Join us on the Journey to Mars as we explore with robots and send humans there one day," exclaims the website. </p><p>Currently, NASA is hoping to be able to send humans to Mars <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/content/nasas-journey-to-mars/">in the 2030s</a>. But it's got competition: Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX and electric car market Tesla, hopes to send humans to the red planet by 2026. </p><p>You can see all the posters below, or if you'd like to print one up for your office, school, or home, NASA is also making huge TIF files <a href="http://mars.nasa.gov/multimedia/resources/mars-posters-explorers-wanted/">available from its site</a>.</p><p>Check it out:</p>

This NASA propaganda will make you want to go to Mars

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Shares of Tiffany &amp; Co., the American luxury jewelry retailer, could rise further as the company's margins and earnings improve, according to Jefferies.</p><p><span>Tiffany shares have risen almost 15% this year.</span></p><p><span>"With a strong brand that has supported pricing power historically coupled with recent and future talent upgrades, we believe shares can still rise from here," said a team of </span>Jefferies analysts led by Randal J. Konik.</p><p>Their investment outlook was based on four catalysts.</p><h2><strong>Fashion jewelry comeback</strong></h2><p>Tiffany is succeeding in its efforts to revive customer interest in fashion jewelry.</p><p><span>"The reinvigoration of fashion jewelry is underway, visible to us (and consumers), and beginning to show in the numbers," they said.</span></p><p><span>"</span><span>Last quarter, fashion jewelry posted a modest increase year-over-year and sterling silver stabilized with sales up slightly due to the popularity of the Return to Tiffany Love Collection</span>."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="Jefferies" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58c942f86ff8016b008b4e53-960/screen shot 2017-03-15 at 93405 am.png"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><span>Jefferies</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><h2><strong>Tourism growth</strong></h2><p>Tourists have long been a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurengensler/2016/05/25/tiffany-foreign-tourist-sales/#8c1872329aeb">major source of sales</a> for Tiffany, accounting for about 25% of total US sales and 40% of sales in its flagship New York store.</p><p><span>"While challenges exist on the tourism front, travel and spending data indicate trends are stabilizing or improving," Jefferies said. </span>"Total international passengers traveling to the US increased +1.0% y/y for the most recent fiscal quarter measured."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="Jefferies" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58c945446ff80121008b4e70-960/screen shot 2017-03-15 at 94411 am.png"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><span>Jefferies</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><h2><strong>Pricing power</strong></h2><p>Despite competition, Tiffany has built a strong brand with enough pricing power to protect margins.</p><p><span>"With a higher-income consumer that is particularly strong given the recent rise in equity markets and well-positioned with the potential for lower personal income taxes," Jefferies said, "we believe TIF is one of a few retailers under our coverage with clear pricing power."</span></p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="Jefferies" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58c946ba6ad50a58018b4e25-960/screen shot 2017-03-15 at 94739 am.png"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><span>Jefferies</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><h2><strong>Growing market share</strong></h2><p>Tiffany has grown its international market share, and looks set to maintain its growth.</p><p><span>"Tiffany has used its strong brand name to gain share in the market," they said. </span>"Given the market that Tiffany operates in, along with a strong brand that affords significant pricing power, the company is not susceptible to Amazon or Walmart."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="Jefferies" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58c947e86ff80122008b4eaf-960/screen shot 2017-03-15 at 95514 am.png"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><span>Jefferies</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Finally, Jefferies said Tiffany also trades below peers both on a P/E and EV/EBITDA basis.</p><p>The company is expected to release its next quarterly earnings report on Friday. Previously, it reported a worldwide drop in<span> comparable store sales of 2%, owing to exchange rate effects, during the holiday season of the two months ending December 31, 2016.</span></p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/stock/TIF-Quote"></a><p class="source"><span>Markets Insider</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/7-mega-billionaires-who-made-a-fortune-last-year-2017-3">7 mega-billionaires who made a fortune last year</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="txZTM5YTE64gA4GFRYvPGavZ6kzc9laH" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

JEFFERIES: 4 reasons Tiffany will continue to shine

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Thomson Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Traders work on the floor of the NYSE in New York City</p></div><p></p></div></div>Dave Lutz, the head of exchange-traded funds at JonesTrading, has a quick overview of what traders are talking about on Tuesday. In brief:</p><ul><li>US stock futures are lower after the long weekend, as are the major indexes in Europe. On Monday, the FTSE ended its 14-session streak of all-time highs.</li><li>The <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/pound-dollar-price-theresa-may-brexit-speech-2017-1">pound is surging</a>, up 2.5% against the dollar, after Theresa May's speech confirmed that Britain will leave the European single market. It is on pace for its biggest gain since 2008.</li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/morgan-stanley-q4-2016-earnings-2017-1">Morgan Stanley</a> reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat on the top and bottom lines. </li></ul><p>Here's Lutz:</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">Good Morning!  US Futures firmly in the red despite some Heavy M&amp;A (BAT/RAI for $50bn - Luxottica/Essilor for $50bn - NBL/CWEI for $2.4B) -  While Spoos are off 40bp, the Russell is off nearly a double as the $ weakens overnight.  Pretty much a sea of red in Europe, where the DAX smashes below 50dma, losing nearly 1% but is staging a late morning recovery right now.   Energy and Fins are leading to the upside, while Autos and Industrials falter - volumes pacing pretty good, with Frankfurt 25% heavier than normal trends.   FTSE broke it's record string of ATH's yesterday, and is down another 40bp today as the Pound catches some upward mojo.   In Asia, Aussie saw profit-taking - Nikkei lost 1.5% as Yen ripped higher and Autos get whacked - Shenzhen recovered 1% of the 3%+ it lost Monday on IPO chatter, while most of EM Asia fell despite the dollar weakening overnight.<span> </span></p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">The US 10YY is under some decent pressure, with Yields testing 2.3% as German Bunds catch a big bid the last 2 days, knocking the German 10YY back under 30bp.   Trump and Scaramucci talking down the $ over the weekend, and Carney Hawkish Headers and stronger than expected inflation data from London have a sharp recovery in Sterling, while Germany's ZEW comes in hot, helping Euro near 1.07.  The $/Y 6week lows and struggling to stay upside 1.13.   Commods all love the falling dollar - Copper just off 18month highs - Gold 2month peaks up 1.4% in the overnight after a decent rally yesterday.   Oil is up 1.3%, while Gasoline seems to be leading, gaining 2% in the early go.   Softs are bid higher across the board. <span> </span></p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">Ahead of us today, we get all the talking heads in Davos with interviews of CEOs and heads of State - at 8:30 we get the NY Federal Reserve Empire Manufacturing Survey, just before Fed's Dudley Speaks on Consumer Behavior in New York at 8:45.   Bank of England Bond-Buying Operation Results are the last scheduled catalyst at 9:50 - until Fed's Williams Speaks in Sacramento at 6pm tonight.   Earnings starts to roll (MS / TIF (sales) / CSX, UAL / UNH all pre-open), while we have several unlocks (ACRS, NKTR, PI, PTHN, RGC).  3 Conferences for today - Jefferies Winter Consumer Summit; Peters &amp; Co. Energy and Argus Americas Crude Summit.  Down in Washington, the Senate works on 2 confirmation hearings:  Ryan Zinke (Interior) and Betsy DeVos (Education.)</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/harvard-psychologist-confidence-presence-amy-cuddy-2016-12">A Harvard psychologist reveals the best way to fake it till you make it</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="F2eWluMDE6a6V4MqjNxNxdeXREBGdd_8" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

Here's a super-quick guide to what traders are talking about right now

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Brendan McDermid </span></p></div><p></p></div></div>The major stock market indexes are each higher after selling off yesterday.</p>
<p>The Dow is up 125 points (0.7%), the S&amp;P 500 is up 10 (0.5%), and the Nasdaq is up 24 (0.5%).</p>
<p>The economic calendar was light this morning, with U.S. mortgage data showing applications grew 0.9% over the preview week, better than the modest decline that had been expected.</p>
<p>Two economic events are set for later today, with Janet Yellen set to speak at NYU's commencement at 11:00 am, and the minutes from the latest FOMC meeting set for a 2:00 pm release. </p>
<p>Equity Movers:</p>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #222222;">Tiffany &amp; Co. (TIF) is up 8% after <a href="http://investor.tiffany.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=849272">reporting global sales that grew 13%</a>. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222;">AstraZeneca (AZN) is up about 2% <a href="http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303749904579575543066735038?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection&amp;mg=reno64-wsj">after The Wall Street Journal reported</a> that one of the company's biggest investors is urging it to engage with Pfizer (PFE). </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222;">Target (TGT) <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/target-q1-earnings-2014-5">reported adjusted earnings that that fell 13.9%</a> over the prior year, but shares of the embattled retailer are up about 1.2% after its same store sales fell less than had been expected.</span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">PetSmart (PETM) is down about 5% after a d</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"></span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/petsmart-falling-after-slashing-outlook-2014-5">isappointing earnings report</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">. </span></li>
<li>eBay (EBAY) shares are down 1.5% <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ebay-paypal-password-changes-2014-5">after the company asked users</a> to change their passwords due to a cyberattack. </li>
<li>salesforce.com (CRM) is down 3% <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/salesforce-earnings-q1-2014-5">after its earnings report last night</a>.</li>
</ul>

The Dow's Up 125

<p>Dollar Tree (DLTR) this morning reported first quarter earnings, and shares of the company are up about 7%.</p>
<p>The company <a href="http://www.dollartreeinfo.com/investors/global/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=850011">said</a> that same-store sales grew by 2%, or 1.9% when excluding the impact of the Canadian dollar. Management said it expects its same store sales for 2014 to grow by low-single digits. </p>
<p>Following Dollar Tree's report, dollar store peers Dollar General (DG) is rallying and Family Dollar (FDO) is barely in the green. </p>
<p>It might be tempting to conclude that strength in the dollar stores is a bad sign for the economy. This chart from <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-family-dollars-history-of-success-2014-4">Family Dollar's January investor conference</a>, paints an interesting picture of what makes these discount retailers go. <span>Family Dollar has seen an uptick in its earnings before income tax, or EBIT, following economic downturns. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://investor.familydollar.com/investors-relations/events-and-presentations/default.aspx">Family Dollar</a></span></p></div><p></p></div><br /></span></p>
<p>But recent U.S. economic data has painted the picture of an economy that is growing, even if that growth hasn't been as robust as many would expect. </p>
<p>The move higher in dollar store stocks comes during what has been a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/retail-stocks-are-getting-hammered-2014-5">busy week</a> for <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/urban-outfitters-reports-earnings-2014-5">retail</a> <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-dicks-had-weak-golf-and-hunting-sales-2014-5">stocks</a>. The XRT ETF that tracks the S&amp;P <keyword id="6354851" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Retail">Retail</keyword> index losing about 1% this week, underperforming the S&amp;P 500's 0.8% gain. </p>
<p>In more specific instances, companies in the retail sector have sent investors mixed messages. Luxury retailers <a href="http://www.coach.com/online/handbags/genWCM-10551-10051-en-/Coach_US/CompanyInformation/InvestorRelations/IR_PressReleases">Coach (COH)</a> and <a href="http://investor.tiffany.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=849272">Tiffany (TIF)</a> saw their shares go in different directions after their most recent reports: Coach sank, Tiffany soared.</p>
<p>High-end organic grocer Whole Foods (WFM) <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/whole-foods-shares-tank-2014-5">got smoked</a> after its earnings report. But retail giant Wal-Mart (WMT), which has announced clear intentions <a href="http://news.walmart.com/news-archive/2014/04/10/walmart-and-wild-oats-launch-effort-to-drive-down-organic-food-prices">to drive down the price of organic food</a>,  also fell after its results, <a href="http://news.walmart.com/news-archive/investors/2014/05/15/walmart-reports-fy-15-q1-eps-of-110-weather-impacted-eps-approximately-003">which disappointed</a>. </p>
<p>So the question for investors is if the economy continues to make incremental improvements, what story is retail really telling, and might discount retailers go from here?</p>
<p>Dollar General is <a href="http://investor.shareholder.com/dollar/eventdetail.cfm?EventID=145594">set to report</a> first quarter results on June 3. </p>

It's Tempting To Freak Out About The Economy As Dollar Tree Shares Surge

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"><p class="source">Margin Call</p></div><p></p></div>From Dave Lutz at Stifel, Nicolaus, a quick overview of what everyone is talking about today.</p>
<p>Spoiler alert: It's very quiet.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span>On this day in 1789, President George Washington set aside a day of thanksgiving in order to honor the adoption of the U.S. constitution.  US futures are basically unchanged, after the DJIA hit a record Close, and the NDX nearing 13Y highs yesterday.   Much was made of the "High Beta" underperformance yesterday, a trend we have seen on Mon-Weds this entire month.   European Markets were up small, but volumes have collapsed as we bear into Holidays - EU markets trading 30-40% below 20day averages today.   We should have some explosive Global volumes on equity market closes, as we have the MSCI rebalance today - The Total trade size for developed markets is $11.2bn and 50% larger than May's.   Over in Asia, the Yen stabilized on BOJ minutes, triggering profit-taking in Japan, with the Nikkei off 60bp.  China was basically unchanged, India gave back 1% of it's surge from yesterday - while there is stress in Indonesia, with their market off over 2% As Dollar Bond Sales Disappoints.   Thailand stabilized despite the protests, gaining 50bp after being hit hard yesterday.   Here is the States, focus on the Builders as we have October Housing Starts in focus after the miss yesterday, and Case-Shiller data.   Some names moving include TIF +6% on earnings, FCX off 2% on GS downgrade, MU will be watched, as Einhorn is long 23mln shares - and we get numbers from HPQ tonight.</span><br /><br /><span>The 10YY is unchanged, after hitting fresh week lows near 2.7% overnight - While the DXY is off as the € is picking up some upward momentum into speeches from a few ECB members.  With the DXY weaker, that's a natural tailwind for commodities:  We have Metals like Silver and Gold higher, while Copper is in the red as China makes another move against Shadow Financing.  Natty is bid up 1% on US weather - and eyes are on the energy complex, as Brent remains in the red, but WTI has a bid on the weaker $ and forecasts of a drawdown in US supplies.  We have Housing Starts at </span><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1845264646"><span class="aQJ">8:30</span></span><span>; Case-Shiller at 9; Consumer Confidence and Richmond Fed at 10; a very small POMO at 11; A 5Y auction at 1, right when ECB's Asmussen speaks - and very active around the closing bell, with the MSCI rebalance, Short Interest data from NYSE released, and API data for the Energy complex ahead of DOE </span><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1845264647"><span class="aQJ">tomorrow</span></span><span>.</span></p>

Here's A 5-Second Guide To What Traders Are Chatting About Today

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Thomson Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Jack Bogle, founder and retired CEO of The Vanguard Group.</p></div><p></p></div></div>"Main Street hasn't been taking its fair share."</p><p>That's according to Jack Bogle, the founder of the $3.5 trillion fund behemoth Vanguard.</p><p>He's referring to the cost of investing and the portion of investment returns that finds its way to brokers, distributors, and Wall Street at large.</p><p>Bogle has been at the forefront of the effort to change that. He launched Vanguard in 1975 and created the world's first index fund soon after. An index fund tracks the movement of an index, often the S&amp;P 500, and charges much lower fees than funds that are actively managed.</p><p>Index investing is set to benefit from a Department of Labor rule that is meant to protect retirement savers from the conflicts of interests of financial advisers. Firms like Vanguard are expected to benefit from the new rule. With President-elect Donald Trump's win, however, the future of that rule has come under question.</p><p>Business Insider caught up with Bogle to talk about the future of the rule, index investing, and the shift in power from Wall Street to Main Street.</p><p>What follows is an edited transcript of the conversation.</p><p><strong>Rachael Levy:</strong> What do you think will happen to the fiduciary rule under President-elect Trump?</p><p><strong>Jack Bogle: </strong>I'm not sure if I have any great insights - it's a very mercurial administration. I don't think they have any idea what they're going to try to do.</p><p>It seems to me, pragmatically, it's very difficult to step back from a rule that's so obviously needed.</p><p>Fiduciary means putting the client first, and as I have observed in the past, the only other rule we have is the client comes second.</p><p>It seems equally clear to me that it's only a matter of time that the SEC adopts a comparable rule for all accounts. [The fiduciary rule, set to go into effect in April 2017, covers only retirement money.]</p><p>The idea that I have a retirement account with a broker and he takes good care of me, and I have a personal account [and the broker's interest comes first] just flies in the face of common sense. If his customers don't have retirement plans, he doesn't worry about things - he sticks with the whole suitability rule. [Under the current setup, advisers that have not opted to be fiduciaries only have to provide investments that are suitable, not necessarily ones in the best interest.]</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Reuters/Lucas Jackson</span></p><p class="caption">President-elect Donald Trump.</p></div><p></p></div></div>All of this makes it seems like it will be hard to walk back this fiduciary rule into oblivion. Expenses have become a big thing with funds. Index funds are taking the huge capital inflows. Cost consciousness, that's what lies at the heart of all this. Who are you making money for - your firm or your client? Main Street hasn't been taking its fair share.</p><p>So the trend is to increase the share of stock market returns that goes to investors and reduce the share of stock market returns that goes to brokers and distributors and the whole Wall Street apparatus.</p><p>We're reducing the share that goes to Wall Street and increasing what goes to Main Street. The great thing about the fiduciary rule is it moves up the timetable.</p><p>Financial advisers [registered with the government] are already under fiduciary rule, but brokers are sellers - they live by making trades, they live by commissions. They've been operating under this so-called suitability rule. You can find a perfectly suitable investment that's too expensive.</p><p><strong>Levy: </strong>What do you think about the criticism against the rule, that firms won't be able to service low-balance accounts because of increased compliance costs?</p><p><strong>Bogle:</strong> I don't see why that should happen. Firms seem to me that they are dropping front-end loads, but they can get paid on a percentage of assets. There isn't a lot of cost saving there.</p><p>These are good people - they're not ill motivated. It's just how the system has worked, and the system has worked badly.</p><p>Rules can be changed. I don't think the Department of Labor and ultimately the SEC are going to want a rule that deprives smaller investors of an ability to save money for the future. What we have to do here is make it so easy to do that you may not even need an adviser.</p><p><strong>Levy: </strong>Aren't you going to be a big beneficiary of the rule because more assets would go into index funds? The rule is expected to push money out of actively managed funds into passively managed ones because the costs are easier to justify as in the best interest of the retirement saver.</p><p><strong>Bogle:</strong> I agree with that. And I would welcome, personally welcome, many more firms to start offering index funds. When you think of the traditional index funds - and I'm leaving out ETFs - I call them TIFs, 80% of those assets are at Vanguard, 10% are at Fidelity, and 5% are spread among T. Rowe Price, JPMorgan, Charles Schwab.</p><p><strong>Levy:</strong> So why don't more firms want to go into indexing?</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div><strong>Bogle: </strong>All the money goes to the investor rather than the manager. Thirty of the 50 largest mutual fund firms are owned by conglomerates, and they're in the business to make money for themselves. That's the American way, and it doesn't work very well in finance for the investor. So we're moving into a sea change in the way people invest.</p><p><strong>Levy:</strong> Why are some of these firms against the fiduciary rule?</p><p><strong>Bogle: </strong>They realize that this fiduciary idea, one of the highly likely [effects] is to have more people going into indexing without paying the high prices you get with actively managed funds.</p><p>If we have a 7% market return, those who index, which is about a third of the industry, will earn 6.95%. Those who own active funds will get 7% and take two points out of it for sales loads, etc. So they'll get 5%.</p><p>You put up 100% of the investment, you took 100% of the risk, and you got 33% of the return over a lifetime. If investors could just see that emblazoned in the lights of Times Square, this [shift to indexing] would happen even faster.</p><p>Anybody is free to compete in the index area. I think we need more competitors, but where are they?</p><p>If it's better for Main Street, it's worse for Wall Street.</p><p>I think there will be some bumps in the implementation for this rule. I believe they are rectifiable, and if they are justifiable they will be fixed.</p><p><strong>Levy: </strong>What do you think in the rule needs to be fixed?</p><p><strong>Bogle: </strong>I haven't read <a href="https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/laws-and-regulations/rules-and-regulations/completed-rulemaking/1210-AB32-2">the whole thing</a> - it's 300 pages or something. It's very awkward, cumbersome. A lot of data has to be kept. A lot of info has to go from the buyer and seller. There's this BIC ["best interest contract"] exemption, so it's very bureaucratic. Because it comes from a bureaucracy, that might be the only way to do it, but if there are places where the shoe pinches, well then let's fix it.</p><p>The SEC also has an opportunity here to write a tighter rule.</p><p><strong>Levy: </strong>Why do you think there has been this pushback against the fiduciary rule?</p><p><strong>Bogle: </strong>Sure, they're worried about the administrative burdens, but second, I think they're worried that the fiduciary rule leads to much more indexing, and they don't want to do indexing. They want to do it at a very high price, which just isn't going to cut it with investors.</p><p>The whole point of the index fund is to give the investor his or her fair share of what the stock market was generous to give us - or mean enough to take away from us.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsZXv3zGmhA">YouTube / 1957Atlas</a></span></p><p class="caption">Clifford Asness.</p></div><p></p></div></div><strong>Levy: </strong>What do you think of the criticism of indexing, that it leads to too much concentration, overvaluation of stocks?</p><p><strong>Bogle: </strong>There is a lot of concentration. BlackRock is probably doing 40% of the ETF business. We're probably doing 30%. State Street is probably doing 20% or 25%. And that's a lot of concentration.</p><p><strong>Levy:</strong> But what about the concentration in stocks?</p><p><strong>Bogle:</strong> That's not much of a problem because these funds don't trade. The amount that goes into index as a value of the total stock market is not that big. It's not as if the market goes up, the stocks in the fund go up the same way. The turnover in index funds probably runs about 4%.</p><p>I would also add that when I was beginning in this business in 1951, the <a href="http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/CM.MKT.TRNR?end=2015&amp;locations=US&amp;start=1975">turnover in the market</a> was around 25% a year - now it's about 200% a year. The market is turning over at [a much higher rate].</p><p>There will always be active managers who are keeping the market efficient. And if you want to read a really reasoned and well-written piece, there's one about <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-09-02/indexing-is-capitalism-at-its-best">indexing as the ultimate form of capitalism</a>, by Cliff Asness.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/wwe-cmo-vince-mcmahon-lesson-success-risk-2016-12">WWE CMO: The most valuable lesson Vince McMahon taught me about business</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="dvbGU5ODE6TIggiWm-Cbjw37nsucxefB" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

JACK BOGLE: 'Main Street hasn't been taking its fair share'

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Thomson Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">File photo of Bogle founder and retired CEO of The Vanguard Group, speaks during the Global Wealth Management Summit in New York</p></div><p></p></div></div>"Main Street hasn't been taking its fair share."</p><p>That's according to Jack Bogle, the founder of $3.5 trillion fund behemoth Vanguard.</p><p>He's referring to the cost of investing, and the portion of investment returns that finds its way to brokers, distributors and Wall Street at large. </p><p>Bogle has been at the forefront of the effort to change that. He launched Vanguard in 1975 and created the world's first index fund soon after. An index fund tracks the movement of an index, often the S&amp;P 500, and charges much lower fees than funds that are actively managed.</p><p>Index investing is set to benefit from a Department of Labor rule that is meant to protect retirement savers from the conflicts of interests of financial advisors. Firms like Vanguard are expected to benefit from the new rule. With President-elect Donald Trump's win, the future of that rule has come under question, however. </p><p>Business Insider caught up with Bogle to talk about the future of the rule, index investing, and the shift in power from Wall Street to Main Street. </p><p>What follows is an edited transcript of the conversation.</p><p><strong>Rachael Levy:</strong> What do you think will happen to the fiduciary rule under President-elect Trump?</p><p><span><strong>Jack Bogle: </strong>I'm not sure if I have any great insights, it's a very mercurial administration. I don't think they have any idea what they're going to try to do.</span></p><p>It seems to me, pragmatically, it's very difficult to step back from a rule that's so obviously needed. </p><p><span>Fiduciary means putting the client first, and as I have observed in the past, the only other rule we have is the client comes second.</span></p><p><span>It seems equally clear to me that it's only a matter of time that the SEC adopts a comparable rule for all accounts. [The fiduciary rule, set to go into effect in April 2017, only covers retirement money.]</span></p><p><span>The idea that I have a retirement account with a broker and he takes good care of me, and I have a personal account [and the broker's interest comes first] just flies in the face of common sense. If his customers don't have retirement plans, he doesn't worry about things, he sticks with the whole suitability rule. [Under the current set-up, advisors that have not opted to be fiduciaries only have to provide investments that are suitable, not necessarily in the best interest.]</span></p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Reuters/Lucas Jackson</span></p><p class="caption">U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a USA Thank You Tour event in Mobile, Alabama, U.S., December 17, 2016.</p></div><p></p></div></div>All of this makes it seems like it will be hard to walk back this fiduciary rule into oblivion. <span>Expenses have become a big thing with funds. Index funds are taking the huge capital inflows in. </span><span>Cost consciousness, that's what lies at the heart of all this. Who are you making money for - your firm or your client? </span><span>Main Street hasn't been taking its fair share. </span></p><p><span>So the trend is to increase the share of stock market returns that goes to investors and reduce the share of stock market returns that goes to brokers and distributors and the whole Wall street apparatus.</span></p><p><span>We're reducing the share that goes to Wall Street and increasing what goes to Main Street. </span><span>The great thing about the fiduciary rule is it moves up the time table. </span></p><p><span>Financial advisors [registered with the government] are already under fiduciary rule, but brokers are sellers, they live by making trades, they live by commissions. </span><span>They've been operating under this so-called suitability rule. You can find a perfectly suitable investment that's too expensive.</span></p><p><strong>Levy: </strong>What do you think about the criticism against the rule, that firms won't be able to service low-balance accounts because of increased compliance costs?</p><p><span><strong>Bogle: </strong>I don't see why that should happen. Firms seem to me that they are dropping front-end loads, but they can get paid on a percentage of assets. There isn't a lot of cost saving there.</span></p><p><span>These are good people - they're not ill motivated, it's just how the system has worked and the system has worked badly. </span></p><p><span></span><span>Rules can be changed. I don't think the DOL and ultimately the SEC are going to want a rule that deprives smaller investors of an ability to save money for the future. What we have to do here is make it so easy to do that you may not even need an advisor.</span></p><p><span><strong>Levy: </strong>Aren't you going to be a big beneficiary of the rule, because more assets would go into index funds? The rule is expected to push money out of actively-managed funds into passively managed ones, because the costs are easier to justify as in the best interest of the retirement saver.</span></p><p><span></span><span><strong>Bogle:</strong> I agree with that. And I would welcome, personally welcome, many more firms to start offering index funds. When you think of the traditional index funds - and I'm leaving out ETFs - I call them TIFs, 80% of those assets are at Vanguard, 10% are at Fidelity and 5% are spread among T. Rowe Price, JPMorgan, Charles Schwab.</span></p><p><span></span><span></span><strong>Levy:</strong> So why don't more firms want to go into investing?</p><p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div>Bogle: </strong><span>All the money goes to the investor rather than the manager. </span><span>Thirty of the 50 largest mutual fund firms are owned by conglomerates and they're in the business to make money for themselves. That's the American way, and it doesn't work very well in finance for the investor. So we're moving into a sea change in the way people invest.</span></p><p><strong>Levy:</strong> Why are some of these firms against the fiduciary rule?</p><p><strong>Bogle: </strong><span>They realize that this fiduciary idea, one of the highly likely [effects] is to have more people going into indexing, without paying the high prices you get with actively managed funds.</span></p><p><span>If we have a 7% market return, those who index, which is about a third of the industry, will earn 6.95%. Those who own active funds, will get 7% and take two points out of it, for sales loads, etc. </span><span>So they'll get 5%.</span></p><p>You put up 100% of the investment, you took 100% of the risk, and you got 33% of the return over a lifetime. If investors could just see that emblazoned on the lights of Times Square, this [shift to indexing] would happen even faster.</p><p><span>Anybody is free to compete in the index area. I think we need more competitors, but where are they? </span></p><p><span></span><span>If it's better for Main Street, it's worse for Wall Street.</span></p><p><span>I think there will be some bumps in the implementation for this rule. I believe they are rectifiable, and if they are justifiable they will be fixed.</span></p><p><strong>Levy: </strong>What do you think in the rule needs to be fixed?</p><p><strong>Bogle: </strong>I haven't read <a href="https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/laws-and-regulations/rules-and-regulations/completed-rulemaking/1210-AB32-2">the whole thing</a> - it's 300 pages or something, it's very awkward, cumbersome. A lot of data has to be kept, a lot of info has to go from the buyer and seller, there's this BIC ["best interest contract"] exemption, so it's very bureaucratic. Because it comes from a bureaucracy, that might be the only way to to do it, but if there are places where the shoe pinches, well, then let's fix it.</p><p><span>The SEC also has an opportunity here to write a tighter rule.</span></p><p><span></span><span><strong>Levy: </strong>Why do you think there has been this pushback against the fiduciary rule? </span></p><p><span><strong>Bogle: </strong>Sure, they're worried about the administrative burdens, but second, I think they're worried that the fiduciary rule leads to much more indexing, and they don't want to do indexing. They want to do it at a very high price, which just isn't going to cut it with investors.</span></p><p><span>The whole point of the index fund is to give the investor his or her fair share of what the stock market was generous to give us, or mean enough to take away from us.</span></p><p><span><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsZXv3zGmhA">YouTube / 1957Atlas</a></span></p><p class="caption">Clifford Asness</p></div><p></p></div></div>Levy: </strong>What do you think of the criticism of indexing, that it leads to too much concentration, overvaluation of stocks?</span></p><p><span></span><strong>Bogle: </strong>There is a lot of concentration. BlackRock is probably doing 40% of the ETF business. We're probably doing 30%, State Street is probably doing 20% or 25%. And that's a lot of concentration.</p><p><strong>Levy:</strong> But what about the concentration in stocks?</p><p><strong>Bogle:</strong> That's not much of a problem because these funds don't trade. The amount that goes into index as a value of the total stock market is not that big. It's not as if the market goes up, the stocks in the fund go up the same way. The turnover in index funds probably runs about 4%.</p><p>I would also add, when I was beginning in this business in 1951, the <a href="http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/CM.MKT.TRNR?end=2015&amp;locations=US&amp;start=1975">turnover in the market</a> was around 25% a year, now it's about 200% a year. The market is turning over at [a much higher rate].</p><p><span></span><span>There will always be active managers who are keeping the market efficient. And if you want to read a really reasoned and well-written piece, there's one about indexing as the ultimate form of capitalism, by Cliff Asness ["<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-09-02/indexing-is-capitalism-at-its-best">Indexing is capitalism at its best</a>"].</span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/us-199-trillion-debt-china-japan-uk-hong-kong-ireland-cayman-islands-treasury-bonds-notes-politics-2016-12">The US is $19.9 trillion in debt - here are the countries we owe the most</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="U4aG40ODE6eNhUKBXTk9_DDbW6tKUEAM" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Jim Young</span></p><p class="caption">A police officer stands beneath a beam of light projected into the sky at the 10th Annual Chicago Police Memorial Foundation's Candlelight Vigil in Chicago, Illinois, September 17, 2013.</p></div><p></p></div></p>
<p>Imagine city leaders surveying Chicago after the Great Fire of 1871, a landscape of ash and ruin. Their task, as daunting as it must have been exhilarating: Build the city again, from the husk of what was. Build it better. Thirty-eight years later, famed civic architect Daniel Burnham offered his Plan of Chicago, a blueprint for building this city into a dominant economic and cultural force on the national and world stage. Mission accomplished. Today Chicago's muscular skyline and robust neighborhoods draw tourists from around the world.</p>
<p>But not far from these enclaves of affluence are neighborhoods poisoned by foreclosed homes, boarded-up businesses and empty lots, all of which spur an exodus of people. That poison spreads, imperiling healthier communities.</p>
<p>In October the Tribune launched a series of editorials to draft a new Plan of Chicago, encouraging solutions for education failures, joblessness, crime and other intertwined challenges that endanger the city's livability and future. We asked readers for their proposals to solve these problems. And they delivered.</p>
<p>In more than 700 proposals, readers embraced Burnham's admonition to "Make no little plans." On Dec. 15 we presented proposals for improving the prospects of Chicago's children. Today, we focus on the land, how the city and its people can better use vast swaths of Chicago's 231 square miles, reviving neighborhoods and fueling growth.</p>
<p>Several readers urged the city to live up to its official motto, "Urbs in Horto" -- "City in a Garden." The idea: A campaign spearheaded by foundations, businesses and City Hall to convert polluted brownfields and other vacant lots into urban gardens that would not only provide communities in food deserts with fresh produce but also generate jobs and cash. Restaurateurs gladly would buy locally grown herbs. And why stop at crops? Urban farmers can raise fish. Or bees.</p>
<p>The benefits of creating farms and gardens extend beyond those neighborhoods. A 2005 Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs study showed that every dollar the state spent on cleaning up brownfields yielded $16 in private, local and federal investment.</p>
<p>So City Hall, foundation leaders ... what are you waiting for?</p>
<p>Ask any Chicagoan about the city's most pernicious problems and you'll hear about crime. Dangerous streets. Parks that devolve into shooting galleries.</p>
<p>Employers flee danger zones, accelerating a neighborhood's collapse. How to encourage those businesses to open and stay put? One reader suggested that the city offer tax incentives and training to businesses that agree to mentor a business owner in economically struggling, high-unemployment areas. The mentors would focus on helping businesses that attract people and more development: bakeries, clothing stores, cafes, day care centers, shoe repair shops. In return, the business owner who is mentored would agree to hire people in the community. Sounds like a great idea to us.</p>
<p>Another strong proposal: Create designated commercial strips and parks as "refuges." These would get 24/7 security so people would feel safe in them at any time. That would ease parents' anxieties and strengthen neighborhoods.</p>
<p>An exodus of city manufacturing jobs and population has left some neighborhoods ravaged by abandoned factories and warehouses. Demolishing them is expensive and leaves ... empty lots. Readers have a raft of innovative suggestions for vacant and underused structures: Convert some into temporary dorm-style residences for homeless and working-class families. Repurpose other long-vacant buildings as centers for day care and job training, or places for small-business startups to root and grow.</p>
<p>Think big, then bigger: Designate and nurture a new Motor Row of vehicle and service outlets. Create a string of indoor hydroponic plant farms, financed by TIF funds, establishing Chicago as a leader in the industry. Cluster enterprise zones around sewage treatment plants for industries that need vast amounts of water but not potable water. Chicago, perched on Lake Michigan, is also a perfect place for a global fresh water research center, drawing on the talents and assets of companies, institutions and universities.</p>
<p>Public schools anchor many communities. For years, however, Chicago Public Schools mismanaged its portfolio, keeping half-empty buildings open to avoid political blowback. No more. Last year, CPS closed almost 50 schools. If no one will repurpose or replace them with commercial or other private investments, many could be reborn as training, athletic or elder day care facilities.</p>
<p>Several proposals echo an idea suggested by Education Secretary Arne Duncan when he headed CPS in 2008: Create public boarding schools where children from troubled homes would eat, sleep and study in a stable setting. Such schools already exist in Washington, D.C. They're successful, though costly to run.</p>
<p>Still, CPS loses millions of dollars in aid based on attendance when kids don't go to school. Ultimately, children pay the price of their parents' neglect. So do their neighborhoods -- the entire city -- as families flee to suburbia. But that flight isn't a foregone conclusion. We've seen how one business on one troubled block can make a difference. The same way that one cop can. Or one teacher.</p>
<p>Chicago's current land and structures aren't fixed and immutable. They must evolve so the city can thrive as a 21st-century colossus. Chicagoans have plenty of terrific ideas to rebuild Chicago, block by block. What they lack is the money, and the clout, to begin reviving their city.</p>
<p>A request for your proposals</p>
<p>We invite you or your organization to help craft a new Plan of Chicago. Our goal is to address the city's current challenges holistically, not one by one. Among them: violent crime, underperforming public schools, joblessness, troubled families, population loss and desperate City Hall finances. The more concrete your proposals, the better. And tell us how you would redeploy current dollars, or raise new money, to fund your suggestions. Please include your name, town and phone number with your proposals:</p>
<p>Email: PlanOfChicago@tribune.com</p>
<p>Mail: Tribune Editorial Board, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611</p>
<p>Learn about Daniel Burnham's 1909 plan: chicagotribune.com/burnham</p>
<p>Follow this project online: chicagotribune.com/plan ___</p>
<div class="nc_footer">
<p>(c)2014 the Chicago Tribune</p>
<p>Visit the Chicago Tribune at <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com">www.chicagotribune.com</a></p>
<p>Distributed by MCT Information Services</p>
</div>
<p></p>

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