KPBS anchor Ebone Monet and SDSU marketing lecturer Miro Copic discuss some of the week’s top business stories.
This week’s topics:
Padres invest their future in Manny Machado
With spring training underway in Arizona, the San Diego Padres introduced the biggest free agent signing in baseball history. Third baseman Manny Machado agreed to a deal worth $300 million dollars. Machado will be the face of the franchise for the next decade, and team ownership hopes that will translate to a boost in fan interest and revenue.
RELATED: After Machado, Padres Could Be Open To More Big Signings
Payless closing U.S. stores
Discount shoe retailer Payless announced this week that its latest bankruptcy will lead to the closure of its 2,500 U.S. stores. Several are located in the San Diego area. Payless has been an American retail staple since the 1950s but has struggled to compete with online and other discount chains in recent years.
Home sales fall to three-year low
The National Association of Realtors reports the overall number of homes sold in the U.S. in January was just under five million, which is the lowest level in more than three years. Despite the slowdown in sales, prices remain high and ticked upward in January. Compared to the same period in 2018, existing home sales are down nearly nine percent.
