strait

The chain is among several that have landed in dire financial straits this year after years of high inflation, increased labor costs and declines in customer demand.

The plan to close stores was announced as part of the company’s release of its fourth-quarter and end-of-year financial reports, which underscored its dire straits.

US President Bill Clinton quietly moved US Navy forces into the Taiwan strait to demonstrate to Beijing that the US would prevent an attack on the island.

But Ms Bain says the risk of strait being blocked as a result of the conflict is small.

He said that due to his dire financial straits, he had no choice but to accept “onerous terms he would have normally rejected in the years before his criminal conviction.”