en-us Reuters UK) - Marks & Spencer's chief executive designate Marc Bolland could start his new job sooner than expected after stepping down from executive duties at Wm Morrison Supermarkets two months earlier than planned.An industry source said the two retailers were still discussing Bolland's start date, which M&S chairman...]]> Fri, 04 Dec 2009 05:15:35 -0800 Reuters) - Several U.S. retailers posted weaker-than-expected sales for November, getting the key holiday season off to a sluggish start as consumers worried about the economy and double-digit unemployment.Eight of the 11 retailers that reported by early Thursday missed estimates, including Costco Wholesale Corp COST, Children's Place...]]> Thu, 03 Dec 2009 05:01:56 -0800 ARO AMZN BBY PLCE COST HOTT LTD PIR WMT WAG ARO,AMZN,BBY,PLCE,COST,HOTT,LTD,PIR,WMT,WAG Wed, 02 Dec 2009 19:33:08 -0800 SIGM SIGM Reuters) - U.S. auto sales edged higher in November, led by an outsized gain for Hyundai Motor Co and mixed results for rivals in a trend automakers said pointed to a grudging recovery in the U.S. economy.Hyundai posted a 46 percent gain in...]]> Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:00:39 -0800 F GMGMQ 11760 F,GMGMQ,11760 Reuters) - Staples Inc SPLS reported third-quarter results that topped analyst estimates and forecast higher sales in the current quarter as trends improve at its North American retail business.The results, which sent Staples shares to their highest level since September 2008, contrasted those...]]> Tue, 01 Dec 2009 09:00:51 -0800 ODP OMX SPLS ODP,OMX,SPLS Reuters) - Citigroup said there are substantial risks facing U.S. bank stocks now, but in the near term these stocks can grind higher given a combination of the Federal Reserve's accommodative stance plus a modest recovery."Since there is above-average risk, we would remain very selective focusing on banks that have...]]> Tue, 01 Dec 2009 06:45:22 -0800 BAC BBT C CMA FITB KEY MTB RF STI UBMT ZION BAC,BBT,C,CMA,FITB,KEY,MTB,RF,STI,UBMT,ZION Mon, 30 Nov 2009 21:54:29 -0800 AAPL T VZ VZ AAPL,T,VZ,VZ Reuters UK) - Carphone Warehouse CPW, Europe's biggest mobile phone retailer, raised its full-year earnings forecast and said it was "quietly confident" about Christmas trading, adding to signs of a consumer recovery.The group, whose TalkTalk arm is Britain's second-biggest broadband provider behind BT BT, also said it...]]> Fri, 27 Nov 2009 01:15:30 -0800 AAPL BBY BTY BT MSFT AAPL,BBY,BTY,BT,MSFT Reuters UK) - UK explorer Heritage Oil HOIL has agreed to sell its Ugandan interests to Italy's Eni ENI for up to $1.5 billion (902.5 million pounds), enabling Heritage to back out of a planned Kurdish tie-up which Iraqi political disputes made increasingly unattractive.Heritage's Chief Financial Officer...]]> Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:46:10 -0800 Reuters) - Stocks could sputter this week as volumes dry up in holiday-shortened trading and with a slew of economic reports likely to illustrate the recovery is still fragile.Investors will also get a glimpse of how holiday shopping could shape up with "Black Friday," which traditionally...]]> Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:45:04 -0800 TGT WMT TGT,WMT Reuters) - Current valuations of waste managers such as Waste Connections Inc WCN, Waste Management Inc WM and Republic Services Inc RSG give the company's shares a lot of room to rise, according to a Barron's story.In its November 23 edition, Barron's said Waste Connections shares could rise...]]> Sun, 22 Nov 2009 12:45:11 -0800 RSG WM WCN RSG,WM,WCN Reuters) - U.S. stocks could sputter next week as volumes dry up in holiday-shortened trading and with a slew of economic reports likely to illustrate the recovery is still fragile.Investors will also get a glimpse of how holiday shopping could shape up with Black Friday, which...]]> Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:30:09 -0800 TGT WMT TGT,WMT Reuters) - D.R. Horton Inc DHI, the No. 2 U.S. homebuilder, reported a much larger-than-expected quarterly loss on Friday, sending its shares down 13.5 percent even though it also said orders increased.Horton said its loss narrowed to $231.9 million, or 73 cents a share, in the fourth quarter...]]> Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:15:23 -0800 DHI KBH PHM TOL DHI,KBH,PHM,TOL Reuters UK) - Dell Inc's DELL quarterly profit plunged 54 percent on lower-than-expected sales as it lost market share to competitors engaged in a budding price war in the PC market.Shares of Dell, the No. 3 maker of personal computers, tumbled 6 percent following the results,...]]> Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:30:29 -0800 DELL HPQ MSFT DELL,HPQ,MSFT Reuters) - Dell Inc's DELL quarterly profit plunged 54 percent on lower-than-expected revenue as its sales to large businesses suffered, driving its shares down 6 percent.The weak results from the No. 3 PC maker reflect the growing divide between it and larger rival Hewlett-Packard Co HPQ,...]]> Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:45:15 -0800 DELL HPQ MSFT DELL,HPQ,MSFT Reuters UK) - Reckitt Benckiser RB shares rose as much as 3.7 percent on Thursday on a report of a link-up with U.S. peer Colgate Palmolive CL, but analysts were sceptical over an immediate tie-up between the two.A spokeswoman at the household cleaning goods group had no...]]> Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:45:39 -0800 CL CL Reuters UK) - Grocer Morrison said the surprise departure of chief executive Marc Bolland to Marks & Spencer would not affect its performance or potential as it reported a slowdown in sales growth."He's been a great member of the team and we're sorry to see him go,"...]]> Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:30:23 -0800 Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:05:19 -0800 LZB LZB Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:54:07 -0800 MDCO MDCO Reuters UK) - Marks & Spencer MKS named Marc Bolland as its next leader, passing over internal candidates to poach the marketing expert who led a turnaround at Wm Morrison Supermarkets MRW.M&S shares rose 5.9 percent to a 17-month closing high of 390 pence,...]]> Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:15:36 -0800