Sears just officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announced they will be closing an additional 142 stores by the end of this year.

“The reduction in the number of stores that the company operates, as well as the reconfiguration of the stores it continues to operate, is part of the company’s larger process of transforming its business model to place a greater emphasis on providing dynamic online and in-person shopping experiences for its customers,” Sears noted in their bankruptcy documents.

The additional closings will include 3 Sears stores in North Carolina;

• 11033 Carolina Place Pkwy, Pineville NC
• 400 Cross Creek Mall, Fayetteville NC
• 703 N Berkeley Blvd, Goldsboro NC

And 5 K-Mart stores in North and South Carolina (KMart purchased Sears in 2004);

• 1530 East Broad Street, Statesville NC
• 1001 Patton Ave, Asheville NC
• 4500 Western Blvd, Raleigh NC
• 2302 Cherry Rd, Rock Hill SC
• 129 West Butler Avenue, Mauldin SC

In addition to the 142 new store closings announced today, Sears is also set to close 46 stores by next month (originally announced back in July), including the following locations in the Carolinas and Georgia (mostly now liquidated);

• Sears* 4601 Glenwood Avenue Raleigh – Crabtree NC
• Sears Oglethorpe Mall, 7810 Abercorn St Savannah GA
• Sears 2860 Cumberland Mall Atlanta GA
• Sears 100 Mall Blvd Ste 300 Brunswick GA

New liquidation sales are expected to begin at the 142 additional store closings shortly.

Have you ever considered taking a venture into the world of online trading? if so, it
is likely that you have come across a handful of so-called digital “gurus” who have
every answer that you could possibly desire (notwithstanding a substantial one-
time fee, of course). Promises such as the ability to accrue millions and to enjoy
unfettered fiscal freedom seem to be running rampant and unfortunately, many
would-be successful traders have fallen into this trap. This is why it is critical to
clarify what is meant by obtaining a “passive income” and why online investing
should represent a never-ending learning curve.

Passive Income: Failing to Embrace an Active Perspective

It is a well-known fact that several prominent economists failed to predict the
financial crisis of 2008. Why was this the case? Considering that these individuals
had cutting-edge tools at their disposal, how were they unable to see the storm
clouds on the horizon? One reason is that they had grown too comfortable with
markets that appeared to be moving forward in a straight line. Words such as
“recorrection” had been outwardly replaced with expressions such as “boom” and
“prosperity”. In other words, they had taken a passive perspective when they
should have been looking for the proverbial writing on the wall.

Home-based investors can often make similar mistakes. They erroneously believe
that there is nothing more to learn; that they have amassed enough knowledge to
become experts within a specific sector. Let us take a look at the Forex markets in
order to appreciate an example of how adopting a proactive stance is the way
forward.

Embracing the Learning Curve

Trillions of dollars change hands on the Forex markets every day. But what is Forex?
Foreign exchange (or FX) is the exchange of different currencies on a decentralized
global market. Not only is this most liquid sector in the world, but it is open 24
hours a day and seven days a week.

While this is excellent news for investors of all sizes, it is critical to stay ahead of the
learning curve. Political and economic events have made this quite clear. For
instance, the pound fell to an eleven-month low due to Brexit concerns as recently
as August. Those who had kept a keen eye on such movements likely turned a
profit. Traders who failed to perform an adequate amount of research could have
been caught by surprise; a potentially expensive mistake.

The takeaway point here is simple. Even the most experienced investors need to
keep abreast of the latest news, market analyses and similar movements. Whether
referring to currency trades, contracts for difference, indices or commodities, this
principle is just as valid. While a passive income is certainly able to provide a
superior sense of financial freedom, there is nothing "passive" about targeted
investing strategies.

A Bit of discipline Can go a Long Way

One of the best ways to develop this habit is to allocate at least 30 minutes before
trading every day towards reading the latest information and appreciating the
opinions of expert analysts such as those at CMC Markets. The bottom line is that a
passive income will only become a reality after traders begin to appreciate the
massive amounts of useful advice at their immediate disposal.