Nordstrom temporarily shutters headquarters on coronavirus fears

Nordstrom Inc has temporarily shut down its corporate headquarters in Seattle due to the spread of the coronavirus in the area, the retailer said in a filing on Wednesday.

The department store chain operator also warned that its results for the first quarter and beyond would be "significantly" hurt by the fallout from the pandemic.

The retailer, like many others, has closed stores, furloughed most of its employees and suspended dividends.

Nordstrom is also looking to raise $500 million in the bond market to bolster liquidity, securing the new bond against a newly established property company with $1 billion-$1.1 billion of real estate assets, IFR, Refinitiv's capital markets publication reported earlier in the day.

The company has also drawn down $800 million from its existing credit line.