Job Watch: Lowe's Closes 20 Stores; Lays Off 2,000 Workers

Link here.

Possibly one reason why Menard's is going slow with regard to expansion into Williston Basin. Two things: a) there is no hurry; Lowe's is no longer a threat; and, b) risk of piling on more debt when the next two years for the economy is still in doubt.

Lowe's closing at this late stage in the recession is depressing. Scary.They hung on during the worse housing crisis in US history (well, at least in my short memory) but unable to outlast the Lost Decade (2000 - 2010) and may now face even another Lost Decade. Washington just does not get it. A policy of bashing the oil, natural gas, and coal industries is nothing more than tilting at windmills. Oh, did I say windmills?