A2: Business

The Los Angeles Times reports on the financial struggles of Ann Arbor-based Borders Group: “Starting off as a used-book store in 1971 in the Michigan college town of Ann Arbor, Borders grew into a successful nationwide chain of superstores, widely castigated at one time for helping stamp out many small, independent stores around the country. But after a series of competitive blunders and missteps in the last decade, Borders Group Inc. itself is now under siege, cutting staff, shuttering stores, shaking up top management and flirting with bankruptcy. Critics said the company botched its move into the digital age and instead saw sales drop and earnings plummet.” [Source]