U.S. equity markets opened lower this morning and continued a slow downward slide throughout the day. In Europe, flash PMI data from the eurozone came in below expectations on both manufacturing and…
ThinkstockSafeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY) reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2012 results before markets opened this morning. For the quarter, the grocery store chain posted adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.94 on…
ThinkstockThe January expiration of the 2% temporary cut in payroll taxes is beginning to exact its toll on the U.S. economy. A recent survey from the National Retail Federation (NRF) confirms what…
courtesy of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is out with earnings. The world’s largest retailer spooked the markets recently with an internal memo about sales starting out very soft, but…
Jon C. Ogg U.S. equity markets opened flat to lower this morning as it waited for data on U.S. housing starts and producer price inflation. In Europe, markets got some downward signals from a higher-than-expected…
courtesy of Office DepotIf the press is correct, there is a very good chance that OfficeMax Inc. (NYSE: OMX) and Office Depot Inc. (NYSE: ODP) will merge, hundreds of stores will be…
courtesy of Office DepotRumors came out over the weekend that Office Depot Inc. (NYSE: ODP) and OfficeMax Inc. (NYSE: OMX) finally are considering a long-awaited and long-speculated merger. This will not be…
ThinkstockIn its quarterly report on estimated e-commerce retail sales released today, the U.S. Census Bureau said that adjusted online sales jumped 15.6% year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2012. On an unadjusted…
White House Photo by Pete SouzaBerkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B, BRK-A) and Warren Buffett may have surprised the markets with the $28 billion purchase of H.J. Heinz Company (NYSE: HNZ), but there…
Wikimedia CommonsAmazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) place so high on most customer satisfaction surveys that the repetition has made the conclusions commonplace. Unfortunately for several financially battered retailers,…
ThinkstockResearch firm comScore reported about 2012 that: For the full year, U.S. retail e-commerce sales reached $186.2 billion, an increase of 15 percent — the strongest annual growth rate since before the…
In case you missed it, 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) became the most recent Dow Jones Industrial Average member to boost its dividend. It also raised its share buyback ambitions. Investors should be…
24/7 Wall St. is still a big fan of dividends. What is even better than a high dividend yield is when companies with solid dividends raise their dividend payouts. Dividend hikes have…
The death of the endless growth of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is finally upon us. That is at least what J.P. Morgan Chase would lead you to believe. The bulge-bracket investment banking…
ThinkstockSame-store sales for January are scheduled to be released this Thursday, and the consensus projection from research firm Retail Metrics calls for an increase of 2.8% compared with January of 2012. Excluding…
