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BJ's Wholesale Club to Explore Strategic Alternatives; Possible Sale of the Company
Thursday, February 3, 2011 - 8:40am | 150BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. (NYSE: BJ), today announced that its Board of Directors, upon the recommendation of a committee of independent directors, has decided to explore and evaluate strategic alternatives, including a possible sale of the Company. The independent committee has engaged Morgan...
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US Stock Futures Mixed As Investors Await Earnings Reports, Economic Data; Merck Earnings In Focus
Thursday, February 3, 2011 - 7:45am | 438US stock futures are mixed this morning, as investors are awaiting jobless-claims data and earnings report from Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK). Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 7 points to 11,992 and S&P 500 futures fell 0.40 point to 1,299.60. Nasdaq 100 futures fell 3.50 to 2,316....
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Costco Reports Higher-Than-Expected Rise In January Same-Store Sales
Thursday, February 3, 2011 - 6:28am | 87Costco Wholesale Corp (NASDAQ: COST) reported upbeat rise in its January sales at stores open at least one year. COST January same-store sales increased 9%. Excluding the impact of gasoline price increase and fluctuation in exchange rates, COST same-store sales rose 6%. However, analysts were...
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Rally Stuck at S&P 1300 Highs 02-02-2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011 - 4:18pm | 978Cusick'sCorner Well, the weather in Chicago did turn into a snownami and the market is moving like a car on Lakeshore Drive here in Chicago -- nowhere! The S&P 500 trading range over the last 5 sessions has been 1265-1306, but this latest rally has just stuck to the highs, 1300 on the S&...
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Wal-Mart Hit On Downgrade (WMT, DB)
Wednesday, February 2, 2011 - 2:22pm | 78Shares of Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) were downgraded this morning at Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) from Buy to Hold. The firm believes that WMT will benefit less from an uptick in consumer spending because its core customers continue to be burdened by high unemployment and rising commodity costs. The stock...
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Large Block of Puts Purchased on Costco Wholesale (COST)
Wednesday, February 2, 2011 - 1:01pm | 130Shares of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) are lower on the session by 1.01%, currently trading at $71.69. The stock has been moving largely higher over the past six months and is currently trading above the 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Options traders are buying puts on the name today. A...
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Income, Spending Rise; Savings Fall - Analyst Blog
Monday, January 31, 2011 - 2:03pm | 2237In December, Personal Income rose 0.4%, matching the 0.4% rise in November, and just below the 0.5% increase in October. However, both November and October were revised up by a tick, so relative to where we thought personal income was, this is actually an acceleration. It was, on the other hand,...
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Alert: Walmart Approaching Buy Level
Monday, January 31, 2011 - 1:51pm | 92Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) has fallen sharply over the last two trading days. The stock had been on a recent spike for two straight weeks. This pull back offers a solid short term swing trading long opportunity. This level is the 20 moving average on the daily chart. WMT should see a 1-2...
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Income, Spending Rise; Savings Fall - Analyst Blog
Monday, January 31, 2011 - 1:29pm | 2237In December, Personal Income rose 0.4%, matching the 0.4% rise in November, and just below the 0.5% increase in October. However, both November and October were revised up by a tick, so relative to where we thought personal income was, this is actually an acceleration. It was, on the other hand,...
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Rite Aid's Slow but Steady Comps - Analyst Blog
Friday, January 28, 2011 - 4:01pm | 633Leading drugstore chain operator Rite Aid Corp. (RAD) reported growth of 1.1% in same-store sales for the four weeks ended January 22, 2011. The company reported two consecutive months of same-store sales increase after 18 consecutive months of decline ever since May 2009, when it had registered...
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Rite Aid's Slow but Steady Comps - Analyst Blog
Friday, January 28, 2011 - 3:16pm | 633Leading drugstore chain operator Rite Aid Corp. (RAD) reported growth of 1.1% in same-store sales for the four weeks ended January 22, 2011. The company reported two consecutive months of same-store sales increase after 18 consecutive months of decline ever since May 2009, when it had registered...
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Where the Q4 Growth Came From - Analyst Blog
Friday, January 28, 2011 - 2:31pm | 3991In the fourth quarter, the economy grew at an annual rate of 3.2%, up from 2.6% in the third quarter, and up from the 1.7% pace in the second quarter of 2010. The growth rate was somewhat below consensus expectations, 3.5%, and frankly a bit lower than I was expecting. However, the quality of the...
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Brian Sozzi Negative On New Wal-Mart Appointment (WMT)
Friday, January 28, 2011 - 2:28pm | 192Brian Sozzi of Wall Street Strategies is out with a research report on Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), after the company announced that Duncan MacNaughton will become the position of EVP and Chief Merchandise Officer of the U.S. operation. In the note, Sozzi writes, "We would have viewed more favorably...
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Where the Q4 Growth Came From - Analyst Blog
Friday, January 28, 2011 - 2:18pm | 3991In the fourth quarter, the economy grew at an annual rate of 3.2%, up from 2.6% in the third quarter, and up from the 1.7% pace in the second quarter of 2010. The growth rate was somewhat below consensus expectations, 3.5%, and frankly a bit lower than I was expecting. However, the quality of the...
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NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR) is Cashing in on Transactions
Friday, January 28, 2011 - 12:38pm | 1105It's not easy for large institutions to reinvent themselves. Look at Blockbuster (BLOAQ.PK) - the video rental outlet was asleep at the wheel while Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) and Coinstar (Nasdaq: CSTR) zipped right past it to grab market share. Blockbuster soon crumbled...