SKS

Many of America's best-known retailers, including Walmart, Home Depot and JCPenney, will be stepping into the earnings spotlight this week. Their reports come on the heels of disappointing January retail sales numbers from the Commerce Department.

With the prospects for economic recovery iffy at best and consumer spending still sluggish, retailers are closing their weakest stores in order to protect profits.

The retail sector will likely be weak in the next few years, as excessive consumption and over-expansion face the reality of tighter credit and weak employment. But Saks will likely be one outstanding exception.

"Better than expected" is the new catchphrase for retailers, most of whom posted August sales that were weak but not as bad as many had forecast. Sales reported Thursday showed that shoppers continue to focus on must-have items such as food and toiletries, while luxury sales are dragging....

Saks Inc. (SKS) has long embodied the glitz of American luxury. With its iconic flagship store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, and his-and-hers stores across the street from each other on Chicago's swank Magnificent Mile, it's long been one of the landmarks of luxury retail. But since the recession...

Home Depot Inc. (HD), the largest home improvement retailer, reported better-than-expected quarterly results. The numbers suggest that consumers are investing in their most valuable assets -- their homes -- as the economy continues its slow climb out of the worst economic crisis since the Great...

UBS (UBS) revised its 2008 loss wider by around $1 billion, and said earnings will be at risk for some time to come. Switzerland's biggest bank, posted a 20.9 billion Swiss franc ($18 billion) loss for 2008, 1.19 billion francs wider than figures reported on Feb. 10, and said it remains "extremely...

While his name may conjure up images of Wild West gunslingers, Carlos Slim is, by all accounts, among the shyest multi-billionaires in the world. However, as he increases his holdings of The New York Times (NYT) and appears to be considering a possible takeover of Saks (SKS), it seems likely that...

Aloha, Target (TGT). In an exceedingly rare bit of good news, the discount retailer announced earlier this week that it is celebrating the opening of 27 new stores on Sunday, including its first locations in Hawaii, as well as stores all over the continental US, including Rogers, Arkansas; Santa...

Faced with shrinking sales and rumors of pending bankruptcy, luxury retailer Saks Inc. (SKS) announced a retrenchment plan that it hopes will enable it to weather the recession. In a February 25 conference call with investors, CEO Stephen Sadove stated that bankruptcy is not on the table at this...