Legal

Landlords anxious to know whether their centers will be affected by the Borders reorganization will have to wait a little longer. The bankruptcy court granted the retailer an extension to decide which leases to keep and which to terminate. In addition, the court approved $505 million in debtor-in-possession financing Borders arranged prior to filing for Chapter 11.

Golden Gate Capital Corp., a private equity firm, agreed to sell a majority stake in the J. Jill clothing business to Arcapita Bank BSC, a Bahrain-based investment bank, less than two years after buying the company.

Wal-Mart, Target and other large retailers are ratcheting up a political campaign to force Amazon to collect sales taxes, sensing opportunity in the budget crises gripping statehouses nationwide. The big-box stores are backing a coalition called the Alliance for Main Street Fairness, which is leading efforts to change sales-tax laws in more than a dozen states including Texas and California.

On the issue of taxes applied to internet retailers, former President Bill Clinton appeared to more fully shift away from the laissez-faire stance he struck while in office, arguing that a "consumption tax" should be placed on e-commerce. Clinton spoke at the 40th public meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the body that oveersees the Domain Name System (DNS) at the heart of the internet.

The Associated Press and a clothing maker distributing merchandise based on artist Shepard Fairey's work have settled copyright claims stemming from the use of an AP photograph to create the artist's Barack Obama 'HOPE' image.

The Associated Press has sued Urban Outfitters and other clothing retailers in federal court, accusing them of selling T-shirts that violate the news agency's copyright of a photograph of Barack Obama that an artist's "HOPE" image was based on.

Rugged Bear is closing all 29 stores after more than 30 years of selling children's clothes throughout the Northeast. The liquidation comes after the struggling retailer announced it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Jan. 25. Going-out-of-business sales began in all stores on March 4 and will continue until all merchandise is sold.

Wal-Mart Watch, a union-funded group that advocates for Wal-Mart Stores' workers, said Justice Antonin Scalia should disqualify himself when the U.S. Supreme Court considers the company’s bid to derail a gender-bias suit on behalf of potentially one million employees.

Amazon said it's severing ties with affiliates in Illinois, citing a law signed that imposes taxes on consumers who make online purchases. The affiliates — websites that send customers to Amazon through links — will no longer be paid for sales that result from the referrals, Seattle-based Amazon said in an email.

A group called Alliance for Main Street Fairness argues that by failing to collect sales taxes, online retailers like Amazon have an unfair advantage over brick-and-mortar stores that's costing jobs, killing businesses and contributing to state budget deficits.