A global recession is on the horizon - please read OP for mod warning

How is it not relevant? Is it not relevant that businesses are closing here due to the overly high costs involved in doing business here, Brexit or not? If we had the same cost base as the UK they would not be closing.

One of the links you put up earlier also said they were closing stores in the UK. Closing 50 if i recall correctly. Only closing 34 stores in Ireland

Yes and they don't have that option to move to a Sainsbury's here. That's why they are talking about rents, costs etc. The same cost-cutting option isn't available to them in this market because Sainsbury's also don't trade here.

From the reuters link you posted earlier

"Its strategy in the UK has been to close most standalone Argos stores, while opening outlets within Sainsbury's supermarkets. However, the group does not have supermarkets in Ireland"

I would say Argos was saved in the UK by Sainsbury's buying them and moving all the high street stores into the supermarkets. The space allotted for them is about a quater of the old shops and the parent company is the landlord who gets the rent money instead of paying out to someone else on the high street. They fit one of them in store easily just by making the store isles 20 cm less wide.

Added to that, the amount of people that go into Sainsbury's to collect a toy or something from Argos and end up spending twice as much on groceries will be crazy.The same goes with click and collect for Ebay at Argos, you walk in to collect a parcel and always end up having a look around and end up buying something you never went in for.

The only reason any Argos stores in the UK will be closing is that there are no Sainsbury's close by to put them in. The stand alone stores that do stay open will be profitable, all the others just close.

OK well then why are there still Argos branches throughout the UK that are not in a Sainsburys supermarket still open, just under half are not in a Sainsbury. Now remember the 2 different markets had the same 20% less in sales. So for some other reason other than making savings by going into a Sainsburys or by making 20% less . Can you explain the rational behind why these outlets are still open throughout the UK while each and every one of Irelands outlets are being closed??

Plenty of time to sort it out.

Maybe because Argos sales in the UK were the highlight of sainsburys Christmas trading update issued last week.

Just because they haven't closed all their standalone stores in the UK yet doesn't mean that they won't.

They've already closed hundreds of stores in the UK. Here they're closing 34. Yes it's their whole operation here but overall its a drop in the ocean in the context of the wider group.

Anyway that's all I've to say on it so not going to engage further.

I believe the ones closing correlated to the ones they opened in Sainsburys so that takes care of the closures in the UK. So you believe that Irelands high cost of doing business for an outlet/store had zero to do with closures here? Even do the link I pointed you too details that the unions who are negotiating for the staff said that it was things like rent and other high costs in Ireland which is the reason they are closing in Ireland ? Dont bother engaging any further if you not going to look at the the evidence in front of you

Did one of those articles not say that the lease agreements are coming to an end. If that is the case and the Irish operation is losing money what is the point in signing a new lease, especially as the rent will be indexed to inflation no doubt.

Then why bother saying it if this is not the reason this is the head of the union negotiating the staffs redundancy, its hardly a throwaway comment now it it?

Hang on now Amazon has been the go to for buying online for how long now??(both Amazon and Ebay) at least the guts of the last decade maybe?

Yeap feck Argos . The US may default on its debts? Has the US ever done this before?

To address the questions, very unlikely and no (aside from some technicalities related to older systems in the 19th and 20th century)

There's a bunch of anti-debt fundamentalists on Twitter who lose their minds every time a graph moves (in this case the annual US debt ceiling craporama)

NZ house price crash showing no let up.

https://twitter.com/AvidCommentator/status/1615523172211920896