Food Retail

The Kroger Co. of Michigan, an affiliate of The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), and United Food and Commercial Workers (U.F.C.W.) Local 876 have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract, the company said today. The tentative agreement covers over 12,000 Kroger associates who work in 118 stores in...

The clubs and discounters have gained food market share in 2009 at the expense of supermarkets, as the “recession drove traffic to these value-oriented destinations.” Citigroup says, “However, share gains moderated YOY, especially at Wall Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT). In 2010, we expect price...

The Employment Trends Index for the month of May stands at 95.7. It has risen for the ninth consecutive month. In April, the revised index was at 95.2. The Conference Board commented, "The ongoing growth in the Employment Trends Index suggests that the disappointing uptick in payroll employment in...

Cusick’s Corner The market is lower into the Midday, but has had a nice run hitting highs today, ESM10 1105. But, (and there is always a “but”) the volume has been light and the Euro has started to weaken, cutting $1.22, which has impacted the current trade. The light action looks to continue...

Analysts at Jefferies & Co initiate coverage of Susser Holdings (NASDAQ: SUSS) with a "buy" rating. The target price for SUSS is set to $14. Jefferies & Co expects SUSS to deliver impressive EPS growth over the next 12 months as “pent-up benefits from its Town & Country acquisition in...

Supervalu Inc. (NYSE: SVU) continues to operate in a competitive environment, however its management is focused on constantly improving the company. The company’s Chief Executive Officer has revamped the management and has added new faces. Supervalu (SVU) is also looking to improve its consumer...

Shares of Safeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY) are lower on the session today by 0.31%, currently trading $22.25. The stock has been trending lower for the past few weeks and it is now fully below the 200-day moving average. Though the stock looks like it may find support around $21, options traders are...

Susser Holdings (Nasdaq: SUSS), the operator of convenience stores in Texas and the surrounding states, saw its earnings estimates pared by JPMorgan Chase, which reiterated a "neutral" rating and $10 price target on the stock. JPMorgan cut second-, third- and fourth-quarter and full-year EPS...

Sprint-Nextel (NYSE: S) is in the midst of rolling out its next-generation 4G WiMax service which it hopes will give it advantages over larger rivals AT&T Wireless and Verizon Wireless. Sprint’s problem in gaining market share may be that its customer service is still sub-par.Zogby and MSN have...

Sprint-Nextel (NYSE: S) is in the midst of rolling out its next-generation 4G WiMax service which it hopes will give it advantages over larger rivals AT&T Wireless and Verizon Wireless. Sprint’s problem in gaining market share may be that its customer service is still sub-par.Zogby and MSN have...

Sprint-Nextel (NYSE: S) is in the midst of rolling out its next-generation 4G WiMax service which it hopes will give it advantages over larger rivals AT&T Wireless and Verizon Wireless. Sprint’s problem in gaining market share may be that its customer service is still sub-par.Zogby and MSN have...

Shares of Safeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY) are trading slightly higher on the session today, currently at $23.37, but one trader is betting that the stock makes a move lower. The June $20 put was just purchased over 1,750 times for $0.15 on open interest of 2,507 contracts. This may indicate that a...

In a research report released today by Jefferies & Co., the firm said that the economy appears to be at an inflection point, where "one road leads to the promised land for the supermarkets of more jobs, additional spending on food-at-home items and inflation. The other road is to the not-so-...

So much for the new normal. Several high-end consumer discretionary firms have reported better than expected sales and increased earnings this past quarter, shattering the notion the consumer is dead. High-end Handbag maker Coach (NYSE: COH) reported that its sales in the first quarter were up...

Stocks tumbled in the final hours of trading Thursday as cautious comments from Cisco CEO John Chambers and department store operator Kohl’s Corp.’s unimpressive outlook gave investors reason to pull money out of the market.  Absence of market-moving catalysts also weighed on sentiments even as...