Stock market, most banks closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, while stores, restaurants open

]

U.S. stock markets and most banks will be closed Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Unlike some federal holidays, expect to find most national restaurant chains and retailers open on the day that honors the civil rights icon. Many stores will have sales over the holiday weekend.

As the omicron variant continues to spread, some businesses are operating with reduced hours and some locations may be temporarily closed.

Private businesses including smaller, independent shops and local restaurants may be closed and most schools, colleges and universities won’t hold classes.

State and federal offices are typically closed on federal holidays and all United States Postal Service locations are also closed.

►MLK Day 2022 sales:The 47 best MLK Day sales to shop all weekend long—Michael Kors, Fenty Beauty, Macy’s, QVC and more

►Looking for a COVID test?:Here are tips to find at-home testing kits and get them for free

President Ronald Reagan signed a bill marking the third Monday of January as Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983 and the first holiday was observed in January 1986. It was not observed in all states until 2000.

King was born on Jan. 15, 1929. He would have been 93 this year.

Here’s a look at what is open and what is closed Monday. For businesses, hours can vary and it’s advised to check ahead before going out.

Is there mail on MLK Day 2022? Do FedEx and UPS deliver?

USPS won’t deliver mail Monday and all locations will be closed, but UPS and FedEx will deliver packages.

Is Costco open on MLK Day?

While Costco is closed on seven holidays each year – including New Year’s Day, Easter, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas – the wholesale club is open Monday.

►Insurance now covers at-home COVID tests:How to get free testing kits or reimbursement

►Food shortages 2022:Grocery stores still have empty shelves amid supply chain disruptions, omicron and winter storms

Is the stock market open for MLK Day 2022? Are banks open?

No, U.S. stock markets and most banks are closed Monday.

Are grocery stores closed Monday? Department stores like Macy’s?

No, major grocery store chains across the nation are open Monday but hours can vary. It’s also possible some locations will be closed or operate with shorter hours because of COVID-19 pandemic and staffing shortages. Department stores are open Monday but Macy’s has temporarily revised store hours for the rest of January.

►Macy’s store closings 2022:Macy’s is closing more stores in 2022. Will your location close? See the list.

►Bed Bath & Beyond closing sales:Is your Bed Bath & Beyond store closing? See the stores slated to close by the end of February

Are restaurants open for MLK Day?

Yes, expect to find most restaurants open Monday but hours may vary. Starbucks said in an email to customers Friday that some of its locations have shortened hours.

Follow USA TODAY reporter Kelly Tyko on Twitter: @KellyTyko. For shopping news, tips and deals, join us on our Shopping Ninjas Facebook group.

Will Costco Raise Prices for Its $4.99 Rotisserie Chicken? (Or Maybe Its Memberships)

]

Costco last increased its membership price in 2017 and raising it may allow it to keep selling cheap rotisserie chicken.

Customers love Costco’s (COST) - Get Costco Wholesale Corporation Report $4.99 rotisserie chicken. Because of that, the warehouse club took the aggressive step of opening its own poultry farm back in 2019.

That facility produces about 100 million chickens per year – about a third of what the company uses. Now, however, amidst rising prices for chicken (and meat in general) and activist concerns about how Costco treats its chickens while raising them, the company may face pressure to raise the price of its rotisserie chicken above $4.99.

The membership-based warehouse club has kept the price of its rotisserie chickens at $4.99 since 2009. That’s an expensive move as it’s widely believed that the company loses $30-$40 million per year selling rotisserie chicken. That’s a relatively small number for the chain, but it’s one that will increase if the company has to spend more to raise chickens on its farm and prices for poultry rise in general.

Why Does the Costco $4.99 Rotisserie Chicken Matter?

Costco uses a membership-based model. Its business success requires the company to retain and add members at a steady clip. In many ways, what it sells in its stores serves as a membership retention tool since the company sells its items at very low margins compared to other retailers.

Something like a $4.99 rotisserie chicken drives members to visit the warehouse club’s locations. Basically, a member may visit because he or she wants a cheap meal option for dinner that night (and cheap chicken certainly fits) and, while there the member buys a bunch of other things.

It’s not the purchases that matter to Costco. Instead, each visit reinforces the value of being a member. That makes it more likely that the member will renew and that helps the company maintain its roughly 90% retention rate.

Because of that, Costco can afford to subsidize the cost of its rotisserie chickens and it will likely continue to do so. That $30-40 million loss may grow if the company addresses calls from various animal rights groups, including Mercy for Animals, to join the Better Chicken Commitment, “which sets ethical standards for poultry raising and processing,” Grocery Dive reported.

But, even pricier chickens likely won’t lead to a price increase on Costco’s $4.99 rotisserie chicken as management has been resolute in maintaining the price. It’s an optics issue where the goodwill matters more than the money (much like the company’s $1.50 hot dog and soda combo).

Keeping the rotisserie chicken at $4.99, however, does not mean Costco members won’t face a meaningful price increase.

Shutterstock

Costco May Raise Its Membership Price

Costco may hold the line on pricing in certain areas, but it has a consistent history of raising its membership price roughly every five years. The warehouse club last increased membership prices – by $5 for basic Gold memberships and $10 for Executive members – in 2017. Since it’s now 2022 that suggests that Costco will raise its membership price at some point this year.

Raising membership prices at the same rate it did in 2017 would bring in a lot more money than increasing the price of the rotisserie chicken by $1. Costco sells 300 million chickens and year and had 62.5 million, members at the end of its most recent quarter with 26.5 million of those members paying for pricier Executive membership.

So, here’s what price increase would bring in:

Raise the price of rotisserie chicken by $1: $300 million

Increase the price of Gold membership (36 million members) by $5: $180 million

Increase the price of Executive membership (26.5 million members) by $10: $265 million.

The total value of raising prices: $445 million.

When Costco raises its membership price it doesn’t happen all at once. Instead, it happens over a 12-month period as memberships come up for renewal.

Historically, Costco members have shrugged off these increases because they only happen every five years or so. When the company last raised membership prices in 2017, it had no meaningful impact on renewals.

An increase in the price of the rotisserie chicken would have an immediate impact and it would likely lead to negative feelings among the chain’s members. Raising membership later in 2022 likely would not lead to the same backlash.

Costco CFO Richard Galanti did acknowledge that his company has entered the time period where it expects questions on a price increase. He was asked about it during the chain’s first-quarter earnings call.

“And our only thought is we’ll probably start getting questions about now. So it’s still a while away. And – but we certainly feel good,” he said. “As I’ve said in the past, renewal rates – strong renewal rates and loyalty help that process – help that thought process. And we’ll see, but it’s still a little bit of time to think about it.”

Boulder County sheriff’s body cam videos show intensity of response to Marshall Fire

]

BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office released several body cam videos of first responders’ actions in response to the Marshall Fire.

The fire sparked on Dec. 30 and burned more than 6,000 acres and nearly 1,100 homes across Louisville, Superior and unincorporated Boulder County.

In the videos, you can see deputies knocking on doors telling residents they need to leave their homes immediately, helping residents get out and deputies evacuating the Costco in Superior.

One video shows a deputy helping a woman get her dog and cats out and into the deputy’s vehicle. Another clip shows a deputy helping a resident corral a dog into the car to be taken to safety. The frantic scene of deputies yelling at customers at the Costco to head toward US 36 is intense and revealing of the impending danger and importance of time.

Winds up to 100 mph whipped the flames from the point of origin across Boulder County in a matter of hours.

A house on fire was the first structure Mountain View Fire Rescue crews tried to put out after receiving initial calls that it was “downed line.” The fire crew could not find a fire associated with the line, but eventually, they noticed a home that was burning down the road.

BCSO is still investigating the origin of the blaze and has searched the Twelve Tribes property on Eldorado Springs Road.

Walmart and Other Retailers Are Closing Stores and Limiting Hours Amid Surging COVID-19 Cases

]

Before you head out on your next shopping trip, make sure to check the store’s hours first.

Retailers like Walmart and Macy’s are closing stores or adjusting hours due to surging COVID-19 cases.

Macy’s changed its store hours to 11 a.m. to 8 p.m Monday through Thursday for the remainder of January, Karina Frayter, senior director of corporate communications at Macy’s told Money via a written statement. Hours vary by location but most stores were originally open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. The store hours for Friday to Sunday were not changed.

“We will continue to monitor the situation and follow the CDC and jurisdictional guidelines as well as keep enhanced safety and wellness procedures in place,” Frayter added.

In December, nearly 60 Walmart stores and Sam’s Clubs were closed — each for a day and a half — for cleaning, Ashley Nolan, Walmart’s global communications senior manager, told Money in a written statement. The company plans to continue the program for as long as needed, Nolan said. Local news outlets have reported Walmart closures in January in states like Texas and Missouri.

Other retailers and chain restaurants, like Chipotle and Nike, have had to close locations because they don’t have enough people to keep them open, CNBC reported Friday. (Chipotle and Nike did not immediately respond to Money’s request for comment.) Also, when a Starbucks store is experiencing a temporary staff shortage, stores reduce hours on a store-by-store basis, according to a Starbucks spokesperson.

COVID-19 cases are once again surging in the U.S. But on top of concerns around employees contracting the virus, companies have been dealing with a labor shortage for months that has caused them to eliminate drug tests, speed up the hiring process and increase pay to attract workers.

Meanwhile, some stores, like Costco and BJ’s, are still offering special extended hours for shoppers age 60 and older, as well as health care workers and first responders, as part of an initiative that many retailers began offering earlier in the pandemic.

You may see your local stores adjusting their hours as well.

Businesses in downtown Colorado Springs are being forced to change hours as they face staff shortages and supply chain issues, Colorado Springs’ KRDO reported. Liquor stores in North Carolina are also changing hours due to labor shortages amid rising COVID-19 cases, according to the Charlotte Observer and CBS 17.

Ads by Money. We may be compensated if you click this ad. Ad You never know when you might find yourself financially strapped - the good news is you have options. A Personal Loan can help you mitigate losses and get back on track. Click here to explore your options! Apply Today

Costco Wholesale Corp. stock underperforms Monday when compared to competitors

]

Shares of Costco Wholesale Corp. COST, -2.69% slipped 3.24% to $518.80 Monday, on what proved to be an all-around dismal trading session for the stock market, with the S&P 500 Index SPX, +0.08% falling 0.14% to 4,670.29 and Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.56% falling 0.45% to 36,068.87. This was the stock’s sixth consecutive day of losses. Costco Wholesale Corp. closed $52.69 below its 52-week high ($571.49), which the company achieved on December 29th.

The stock underperformed when compared to some of its competitors Monday, as Walmart Inc. WMT, -0.28% fell 0.19% to $144.61, Target Corp. TGT, -1.96% fell 1.46% to $227.42, and Dollar General Corp. DG, -2.68% fell 0.82% to $236.31. Trading volume (4.9 M) eclipsed its 50-day average volume of 2.4 M.

Editor’s Note: This story was auto-generated by Automated Insights, an automation technology provider, using data from Dow Jones and FactSet. See our market data terms of use.