Kroger Posts 30 Percent Jump in March Comparable Sales, Borrows $1 Billion

Elderly French Woman Finds 13th-Century Painting in Her Kitchen Worth Over $26 Million

For an elderly woman from Compi猫gne, northern France, an appraisal of her home unveiled far more than cobweb-covered books and packed-up, useless clutter. The woman soon learned that she was in possession of a rare 13th-century painting hanging above her kitchen hot plate. The work of art went on to fetch a jaw-dropping sum of money at auction. The French government, however, has since blocked the winning bidder from exporting the painting overseas in the hope that it can be procured for the country’s national collection. Cimabue’s “Christ Mocked” as photographed in Paris ahead of the Senlis art auction on Oct. 27, 2019 (漏Getty Images | PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP)The elderly woman, who was in her nineties and whose name was not revealed to the news media, found the painting in summer…

Kroger Co’s comparable sales surged about 30 percent in March as consumers stockpiled due to the CCP virus pandemic, and the grocer said it had borrowed $1 billion to boost its cash reserve as it prepared for any fallout from the health crisis.

The Cincinnati, Ohio-based company’s shares rose about 5 percent after the supermarket chain also maintained its forecast for the year, especially when most of its rivals have scrapped their estimates due to the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus-related uncertainty.

Kroger, however, said it was being conservative about its expectations due to a fluid environment caused by the outbreak.

“It is too early to speculate what will emerge as the ‘new normal’ in food consumption at home or what the impact on sales will be in future periods,” Kroger said.

Kroger Posts 30 Percent Jump in March Comparable Sales, Borrows $1 Billion

The pandemic, which has killed around 4,000 in the United States, has led to panic buying, with several people thronging stores to stock up on canned foods and everyday essentials.

“After experiencing strong sales in February, the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a significantly greater lift in sales across both physical retail stores and digital channels in March,” Chief Executive Officer Rodney McMullen said in a statement.

McMullen said sales in March tapered towards the end of the month, but remained higher than normal, as customers adjusted to the new dining, work, and travel restrictions.

The company said it expects first-quarter profit to exceed its prior forecast and that it would stop additional share buybacks in the quarter.

Kroger said it also raised wages for hourly staff by $2 an hour until April 18. The average hourly wage for Kroger employees is $15 per hour.

It had preciously announced a one-time bonus for its frontline associates, payable on April 3.

By Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru

Epoch Times staff contributed to this report.

This article is from the Internet:Kroger Posts 30 Percent Jump in March Comparable Sales, Borrows $1 Billion

NGO Urges Adoption of New ‘Pandemic Paradigm’ for COVID-19 Vaccine Development

Researchers at the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (CEPI), an international nongovernmental organization, are calling for a new model of vaccine development for pandemics. The team argues in a聽paper published聽on March 30 in the New England Journal of Medicine that overlapping otherwise linear stages of vaccine development and investing early in manufacturing capacity can bring pandemic vaccines to market faster and blunt the impact of a major outbreak like COVID-19. The Epoch Times refers to the novel coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus due to the regime’s initial coverup and mishandling of the outbreak, contributing to its widescale spread. “Vaccine development is a lengthy, expensive process. Attrition is high, and it typically takes multiple candidates and many years to produce a licensed vaccine,” the CEPI…