Check Out Line: No discounts? no customers
Check out Abercrombie & Fitch’s falling profits. The company played a remix of “Cold as Ice” as hold music for its conference call with analysts. It’s hard to tell if it is supposed to be ironic,...
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Consumer bankruptcy filings jump in May
More Americans filed for bankruptcy in May, slammed by job losses and home forclosures, according to the latest data from the American Bankruptcy Institute. More than 124,800 people sought protection...
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Check Out Supervalu’s shopper woes
Check Out Supervalu’s troubles from consumer thrift. The third-largest U.S. supermarket operator, with about 2,500 stores, said that its earnings in the first quarter, which ended on June 20, were...
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Check Out Line: Retail profits surprise, but still down
Check out the Retail Metrics earnings snapshot. About two-thirds of the way through the second-quarter earnings season, retailers are beating earnings expectations by 5.1 percent on average, the...
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The U.S. recession ends, but not for you
Talk about a disconnect. Experts say U.S. economic growth has returned, signaling the end of the longest and deepest recession since the Great Depression. But the good news for Wall Street — where...
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Check Out Line: Frugal fatigue?
Check out what women buy when they get tired of being a frugalista: boots, plaid and outerwear. Those were some of the products that helped October U.S. retail sales improve from a year ago, when the...
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Check Out Line: Consumers spending again?
Check Out home-related retailers Sears Holdings and Williams-Sonoma reporting better-than-expected quarterly results. Does this mean consumers are feathering their nests again? Somewhat, according to...
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Check Out Line: A mixed bag of consumer news
Check out a mixed bag of results from the consumer world. Investors looking for yet another clue to gauge the strength of the U.S. consumer spending recovery might find some solace in online retailer...
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Diners say Olive Garden, Papa John’s are tops
Papa John’s and Olive Garden got top marks in their respective restaurant categories in the University of Michigan’s 2010 American Customer Satisfaction Index, while McDonald’s and Chili’s Grill &...
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Starbucks drive thru menu getting makeover
Starbucks’ drive thru menus are getting a facelift — as the cafe chain takes a page from the fast-food industry’s playbook. At the end of August, the menu boards at Starbucks’ 2,600-plus drive thrus in...
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