ThinkstockMost of the big retailers had a “choppy” July, and many are hoping for a strong back-to-school selling season. Since school starts around the country anywhere from mid-August in the South to…
courtesy of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.Companies can return capital to shareholders in many ways. Dividends are one of the favored methods. So is retiring outstanding debt, as it decreases the amount of capital…
ThinkstockVery little in the Consumer Federation of America’s (CFA) “Nation’s Top Ten Consumer Complaints” was unexpected. The results of the survey show how hard it may be to operate in some of the businesses in which…
ThinkstockInvestors love dividends. Becoming one of the 30 members of the Dow Jones Industrial Average does not come with assurance that a company will pay a dividend, nor does it come with…
courtesy of KFCThe country’s largest fast-food chains are expected to see walkouts in seven cities today as workers protest the industry’s low wages at some the nation’s most profitable companies. Walkouts are…
ThinkstockThe rising price of crude probably already has done some damage to the economy. And in the future it is certain to do more. The costs of gas and heating oil will rise for…
ThinkstockIn what may be a Pyrrhic victory, Anglo-Dutch oil supermajor Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE: RDS-A) is the market leader among branded gasoline sellers in the U.S. for the first half of…
ThinkstockRetailers are announcing June same-store sales figures today. Research firm Retail Metrics projected an overall gain of 3.9% year-over-year, compared with a 3.5% gain in May and a 2.8% gain in April.…
courtesy Wal-Mart Stores Inc.Supporters of an effort by District of Columbia lawmakers to set required private company pay well above the national minimum will regret the day they passed a bill to do so. D.C. needs…
ThinkstockThe chief executive officer of Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) never really ran the company. The family that has control of the book firm did. But someone had to be the…
courtesy of Leonid Mamchenkov, via WikimediaJust over a decade ago, Sony Ericsson was one of the hottest cell phone makers in the world. Similarly, Cingular was one of the most popular wireless…
ThinkstockBarnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS), like rival book company Borders before it, will not survive as a standalone company. That leaves its board and investors with the challenge of where it…
courtesy Making Change at Walmart and UFCWSome retail analysts believe that if Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is to keep its presence as the largest retailer in the United States, it eventually…
U.S. equity markets opened lower this morning adding to yesterday’s carnage following the FOMC announcement yesterday. The widespread belief that sometime this year the Fed will start reducing its $85 billion in…
courtesy of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.You can try to interpret the news line by line, or you can just watch the ticker tape to see what it is telling you. When you have…
