In late 2024, Saks Global executive chair and controlling shareholder Richard Baker, a real estate scion, landed his dream trophy in Neiman Marcus (which also owned Bergdorf), achieving his long-held ambition to combine the U.S.’s fanciest luxury department stores into one company. To pull this off, Saks Global borrowed $2.7 billion, an untenable debt load that has put the company on the precipice of a bankruptcy protection filing, or at least a major refinancing. (No one thinks Saks Global is going under, but this can only hurt its prospects as a retailer.)

The Saks-Neiman tie-up was the culmination of a plan Baker hatched in 2005 to snap up retailers with valuable real estate. Over the years, different iterations of the company, known for years as HBC, have included Lord & Taylor (his first big acquisition), and Canada’s Hudson’s Bay.

His bet was that the value of iconic properties like the Saks and Lord & Taylor flagships in Manhattan or The Bay in Toronto could be monetized so long as the underlying retail business remained steady.

But nothing about retail, especially department stores, has been stable. Lord & Taylor shut all its stores in 2019 after HBC sold the weakened retailer, and Hudson’s Bay in Canada liquidated last year, ending its 355-year run.

To be fair, Baker has made some good deals in the world of retail. (He sold Target the locations of its ill-fated Canadian expansion in 2011.) And department stores have been cratering for decades. 

But a constant churn of financial maneuvers (spinning off Saks’ e-commerce, creating co-working spaces in underutilized stores, all while being highly leveraged) brought some benefit but never obviated the need to invest more in basics. Saks Global has said it’s poured tons of money into its retailers, but it has not been enough. Its cash crunch has led some vendors to stop shipping to Saks: it’s very hard to sell merchandise you don’t have, ergo a 13% drop in sales last quarter.

A few months ago, I chronicled the comebacks at Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom (all benefiting from Saks’ problems) alongside the consistent performance of Belk and Dillard’s. Such retailers have improved customer service, renovated stores, and stocked ample and new merchandise. A strong business boosts the value of their underlying real estate.

All that will be key for Baker to consider since he’s just become the new CEO of Saks Global, giving him a direct hand in running the company, not just yanking its financial levers. You can read my full story on the Saks saga here.

Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at diane.brady@fortune.com

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Operating the USS Gerald R. Ford and its aircraft carrier strike group costs more than $9 million per day—adjusted for inflation—since being ordered to Latin American waters in October, according to a prior report from the Center for a New American Security. Those costs do not account for the boat strikes that began in late August—killing more than 100 people thus far—or the Jan. 4 attacks in Venezuela that resulted in the arrests of leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife.

Trump has argued the U.S. does not want a prolonged occupation so long as Maduro’s vice president and now-acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, defers to the U.S. And he is pushing for U.S. oil companies to work in Venezuela to rebuild the dilapidated industry and get oil and dollars flowing again.

The White House did not refute the financial numbers of the blockade nor provide additional information, with spokesperson Anna Kelly saying in a statement that Maduro’s arrest saves American lives, stops the flow of drugs and criminals, initiates a deterrence in the Western Hemisphere, and creates economic opportunities for Venezuelans and Americans.

 David Goldwyn, Atlantic Council fellow and State Department special envoy for international energy affairs in the Obama administration, told Fortune that Trump is operating with an “incoherent strategy.”

“A lot has been spent, and little has been gained,” Goldwyn said. “It’s really hard to see what the upside is. Maduro has been removed, but the rest of the regime are all still in place.”

“The prize he’s trying to manufacture of special access to resources for U.S. companies seems to be unwelcome by most.”

Indeed, Trump is scheduled to meet Jan. 9 with oil executives, including leaders from Chevron, Exxon Mobil, and ConocoPhillips. The companies did not respond to requests for comment.

Chevron is the only American oil company operating in Venezuela—under a special license—producing nearly 20% of the country’s oil.

Trump argued the American oil companies are “ready to go in” and spend billions of dollars to rebuild Venezuela’s energy infrastructure and dramatically increase the flow of oil to bring revenues back to Venezuela and the U.S.

But the reality is different. Once a major player churning out nearly 4 million barrels of oil daily, Venezuela’s volumes have plunged from 3.2 million barrels daily in 2000 down to fewer than 1 million barrels today from a combination of mismanagement, underinvestment, and escalating U.S. sanctions. More than doubling Venezuela’s current oil production likely would take until 2030 and cost about $110 billion, said research firm Rystad Energy.

Apart from Chevron, U.S. companies have previously expressed reservations about returning because of the political instability, high costs, and weaker oil prices. ConocoPhillips and Exxon are still owed billions of dollars from Venezuela from the 2007 expropriation of their assets resulting international tribunal rulings.

“We’ve been expropriated from Venezuela two different times. We’d have to see what the economics look like,” Exxon CEO Darren Woods told Bloomberg in November. “We have our history there.”

How Trump plans to profit from Venezuelan oil

In the meantime, Trump said on social media the U.S. will take between 30 million and 50 million barrels of Venezuelan crude over time to sell from the United States. The proceeds would be controlled by the White House, although the details remained vague.

Presumably, more oil would be sold to U.S. refineries that are configured to process the heavy grade of crude that comes from Venezuela, and Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA would receive most of the proceeds.

Depending on the number of barrels—and based on the current benchmark price for oil in the U.S.—that much oil could be worth between $1.6 billion and $2.8 billion.

PDVSA confirmed in a Jan. 7 statement that it is negotiating with the U.S. in a framework similar to those with Chevron and other international companies. “PDVSA ratifies its commitment to continue building alliances that promote national development in favor of the Venezuelan people and that contribute to global energy security.”

The effort implies the U.S. will auction the oil barrels through the U.S. Department of Energy and hold the proceeds in escrow as leverage for Venezuelan cooperation, said Matt Reed, vice president of the geopolitical and energy consultancy Foreign Reports. Most recently, about 80% of Venezuelan oil exports went to China and nearly 15% to the U.S.

“It sounds like a twist on the old, UN ‘oil for food’ program that allowed Iraq to sell oil but only tap revenue for essential goods like food and medicine. The difference this time is that Washington will decide where the oil goes. U.S. refiners will probably get priority depending on Gulf Coast demand,” Reed said. “It’s unclear how or whether the US will profit from this. Rather, Washington is counting on this leverage to twist arms in Caracas.”

As for the Trump oil summit with executives, Reed said, “Washington can offer incentives but only Caracas can convince American firms to take the plunge and invest over the long term.”

Apotek Hjärtat, one of Sweden’s largest pharmaceutical chains, is trialing a “friendcare” program (“vänvård” in Swedish), where staff are allotted one hour per month, or 15 minutes every week during working hours, to connect with old or new friends.

The year-long scheme was first launched last April, according to reporting from BBC. Volunteers could register for the initiative if they were lonely, or simply wanted to get closer to people struggling with isolation—just 11 out of 4,000 employees opted in 

The business has not only set aside work hours to test the initiative, it’s also been footing the bill for connection. 

All participants are paid 1,000 kronor (around $100) to cover activities with their companions. But the “friendship hour” doesn’t have to be spent dining out for lunch, or biking around town; staffers can use the time for the simplest relationship pastimes, such as chatting on the phone or catching up over text. 

Improving workers’ wellbeing is actually a tax benefit for the company

Monica Magnusson, the CEO of Apotek Hjärtat, told BBC the “friendship hour” scheme came about out of genuine curiosity: the company wanted to see if this allotted employee time would improve staff wellbeing. 

“We try and see what the effects are from having the opportunity to spend a bit of time every week on safeguarding your relationships,” Magnusson told the BBC. 

The program is likened to Sweden’s broader “friskvård” benefit: an annual tax-exempt stipend covering employee wellness activities, such as fitness classes and massages. Magnusson said the “friendship hour” is “a reflection on that, but targeting loneliness and relationships instead.”

But even Apotek Hjärtat employees not participating in the pilot can still benefit emotionally from another initiative; the business provides online training for all its staffers on how to recognize and handle loneliness. 

Fortune reached out to Apotek Hjärtat for comment.

The $154 billion employee loneliness problem

Loneliness has swept through offices across the U.S.; around 79% of white-collar employees have felt lonely as a result of their role within the past month, according to a 2024 study from BSG in partnership with TheLi.st and Berlin Cameron. The issue not only leads to higher turnover, weakened company culture, and sluggish employee morale—it’s also costing businesses billions of dollars every year. 

It’s estimated that loneliness among U.S. staffers results in a $154 billion loss annually, or about $4,200 in lost workdays per staffer each year, according to a 2022 study from Project Connect.

However, there’s hope that these employer-led initiatives could help turn the tide on loneliness—and there’s a business imperative to do so. Employees are 3.5 times more likely to reach their full potential when they feel connected, according to a 2019 study from the Harvard Business Review. When staffers are connected, they also perform better on the job: around eight in 10 workers believe a sense of community would help them be better at work, according to a 2025 Randstad report.

If employers choose to turn a blind eye to their isolated staffers, it could hurt them in the long run. About 55% of professionals would consider quitting if they didn’t feel a sense of belonging on the job, a massive increase from 37% who said the same in 2024, according to the Randstad report. 

Are you a CEO intentionally combating post-pandemic workplace loneliness? Fortune wants to hear from you! Reach out at emma.burleigh@fortune.com