Barnes & Noble CEO Mitchell Klipper told the Wall Street Journal in an interview that his company will have 450 to 500 retail locations in 10 years -- down from nearly 700 now. Still, he insisted "it's a good business model," despite competition from e-books and online retailers.
NBarnes & Noble's first high-definition tablets, unveiled on Wednesday, were well received by analysts who said the devices keep the bookseller in the fight with Amazon.com, Apple, and Google -- for now.
Major stock indexes inched above four-year closing highs in early trading Tuesday. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 50 points at 13,321 shortly after 11 a.m. EDT. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose six points to 1,424.
Retailers are getting back to business after the recession and showing stronger earnings, making them attractive targets for private equity investors -- and each other.