The February 8, 2008, edition of the Wall Street Journal contains an article by Peter Eavis titled “Worries Ring Up at Sears.”
Instructions
Read the article and answer the following questions.
(a) What does the article’s author say are the primary reasons investors might be concerned about declining cash flows at Sears?
(b) Given that the company had not reported its cash flow number yet, what sparked concern among investors that cash flows might be declining?
(c) How did Sears’s defenders respond to the suggestion that cash flows might be declining?
(d) If, in fact, Sears’s cash flow is declining, why does the article say that it is a particularly bad time of year for cash flow to be declining?