News Summary

Shares of Family Dollar Stores Inc FDO dropped about 8.7% after the company reported weaker-than-expected Q1 earnings. The company's net income came in at $0.58 per share, up from $0.49 per share, in the year-ago quarter. FDO's sales surged 9.5% y/y to $2 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings at $0.61 per share, on revenue of about $2 billion. Family Dollar projects 2011 earnings of $3.08 per share to $3.23 per share. However, analysts estimated 2011 earnings at $3.18 per share. The US dollar moved up against the euro and Japanese yen after ADP reported that private payrolls increased by 297,000 in December. Against the greenback, the euro lost 0.9696% to $1.3169. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar gained 1.1707% to 83.0200 yen. Walgreen Co WAG reported a 2.8% rise in its December same-store sales. WAG's comparable non-pharmacy sales increased 3.6% for the same period. The company's total sales increased 7.5% y/y to $6.81 billion. However, analysts were expecting a rise of 3.3% in December sales and a 3.7% rise in non-pharmacy sales. Read more from Benzinga's Markets.