Walmart's New Health Food Push: Is It Too Hard to Swallow?
Bonds Are a 'Safe' Investment: A Big Lie Gets Even Bigger
Before the bell: Futures decline with the dollar (HRB, MOT, UBS)Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) shares are trading over 1.1% higher in premarket trading after the discount retailer reported that same-store sales rose 2.6% in February due growth in grocery, electronics and health items. Analysts expected a 1.1% increase according to Thomson Financials. The overall weak sales trend, however, continued into February and shows no sign of improvement.
While discount retailers and wholesale clubs expected to do better, most retail stores were expected to do worse. For example, specialty retailer Limited Brands Inc. (NYSE: LTD) reported that same-store sales fell 9% in February, a smaller drop than the 11% analysts were expecting. While sales fell 10% at Victoria's Secret, they rose 1% at La Senza. Total sales fell 16% and the company expects March to show much the same results.
Meanwhile, Thornburg Mortgage Inc. (NYSE: TMA) is dropping over 58% in premarket trading after it disclosed Wednesday that it failed to meet a $28 million margin call, causing a series of cross-defaults.
Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) will team up with Toei Animation Co.and several other Japanese companies to produce animation for television in Japan, a leading market, according to unnamed sources at Disney.
GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) earned a slap on the wrist, but nothing more, after Britains' Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency declined to press criminal charges against the drugmaker for "not quickly releasing data on increased suicidal risk in patients under 18 who used its Seroxat antidepressant drug."
Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI) is expected to report earnings of 17 cents a share in the fourth quarter. BBI should report before the market opens Thursday.
A new Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone rumor has surfaced, as Robert Scoble posted on this: Apparently, despite Steve Jobs saying otherwise, some claim to have worked Adobe Flash on their iPhones.
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