RETAILING

Alexander’s Department Stores Close: Alexander’s Inc., one of New York’s oldest and most troubled retail chains, shut its doors and fired more than 5,000 workers. The company said it had filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and would try to re-emerge as a real estate operating company. The 64-year-old retail chain had lost $40 million in the past two years alone and said it had no hope for making a profit in the future. Alexander’s 11 department stores in New York and its suburbs are located on some of the most valuable real estate in the region.