It must be nice to be a founder. Despite a horrible performance, both financially and for shareholders, Martha Stewart was given a contract extension to act as founder and chief creative officer through June…
Douglas A. McIntyre Retail sales growth in June were expected to be weak compared with sales a year ago, and the predictions came true. Sales growth last June was a tough comparison because sales in…
Retailers will be announcing June same-store sales this week, and industry research firm Retail Metrics is now predicting sales growth of just 1% for the month. The past weekend’s storms on the…
Retail Metrics is out with its preliminary targets on June same-store sales and the report is one of caution. The firm is now expecting only a 1.0% growth in the same-store sales,…
The media was full of stories about the unexpected departure of JCPenney (NYSE: JCP) president Michael R. Francis. Nearly everyone who watches the retailer wonders how a man with his background — a…
RadioShack (NYSE: RSH), at 90 years old, operates in over 7,200 locations. Even with those advantages, the company might as well fold. The company stands as a fine example of how better-run…
Retailers are reporting May same-store sales today and it looks like the predictions for modest growth are being realized. Research firm Retail Metrics Inc. forecast that same-store sales would grow by just…
James Gorman, the CEO of Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), went on the record to say his firm’s behavior was perfect as it led the initial public offering of Facebook (NASDAQ: FB). Morgan…
Costco (NASDAQ: COST) continues to be the cream of big box retailers. May sales were up 7% to $7.67 billion. Same store sales were up 6%. Costco is not as large as…
The S&P Retail Index is down -2% in the late morning today, considerably below the overall DJIA decline of -1.2%, and it’s not entirely clear what’s causing the drop. Sears Holdings Corp.…
Retailers have fared better than many other sectors over the past year, with the majority of share prices having risen although price to book values remain negative. Thus, either the sector is…
Martha Stewart has become chairman of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (NYSE: MSO), the company she founded. Legal trouble had kept her off the board. Now, after a stint as a director, she has…
Douglas A. McIntyre It is rare, but some new chief executives fail early — just after they begin their new jobs. That leaves boards with impossible decisions. How will the stock market react to the admission of…
Jon OggThese are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen in Wall Street research calls this Monday. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE: BBVA) Cut to Sell at Societe Generale. Eastman…
Lost in the last night’s commotion over the $2 billion loss at JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) were weak reports from retail Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN), Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS), and…
