J.C. Penney

In the first two weeks of December, the heart of the holiday shopping season, Avon Products (NYSE: AVP), Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) and GameStop (NYSE: GME) saw the largest swings in short interest among struggling U.S. retailers. Others that saw the number of their shares sold short swell somewhat...

Overall U.S. retail sales were up 3.5 percent during the 2013 holiday shopping season, according to MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse.  Big sellers this year were children’s clothing and jewelry. Figures released Friday indicated that sales of clothing, electronics, and luxury goods rose 2.3...

Major indices received a boost in Friday's trading activity following a better than expected third quarter GDP. The surprising economic data is yet another key data that may suggests that the economy is healthy enough and could handle the Fed's recent decision to taper its bond buying program....

Major indices barely budged Thursday following yesterday's monster rally after the Fed announced it will begin tapering. Overall volume was below average which is typical in the final trading days of the year. Next week will be shortened as investors break for Christmas and a week later for new...

After two years of declining sales, shifts in top management and very public battles with activist investors, J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) finally showed some signs of life during Black Friday. The company hopes to continue its momentum by eliminating or drastically reducing some of the high-profile...

In the lead up to Black Friday and the rest of the holiday shopping season, Avon Products (NYSE: AVP), Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) and GameStop (NYSE: GME) saw the largest swings in short interest among the struggling U.S. retailers. Others that saw the number of their shares sold short swell somewhat...

In this clip from the 2002 movie, Minority Report, Tom Cruise, aka John Anderson, walks through a crowded mall where he and other shoppers are besieged by personal ads, based on their proximity to display kiosks. Fast forward to Friday. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) announced it would begin using micro-...

Stock futures declined before the equity markets opened after the ADP employment report showed a higher than expected 215,000 jobs were added during the month of November. Investors and traders were spooked by the report that solidifies the Fed's case to begin tapering. Traders and investors...

J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) indicated on Tuesday that its comps were higher by 10.1 percent for November. This compares to August's decline of 9.8 percent, September's decline of 4.0 percent and October's gain of 0.9 percent. Analysts at J.P. Morgan, (NYSE: JPM) Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) and Deutsche...

Volume was light across the board despite Friday's early close also marking the last trading day of November. In typical fashion, markets close at 1:00PM on the day following Thanksgiving. As was to be expected, news was rather light and the major indices ended the day almost flat. The Dow...

This weekend in Barron's online: a look at Sirius XM, the prospects for retailers this holiday shopping season, a small bank merger, Qualcomm ages gracefully and more. Cover Story "Sound of Success" by Alexander Eule. Though Sirius XM (NASDAQ: SIRI) has a monopoly on satellite radio, a growing...

J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) shares jumped more than eight percent Wednesday closing at $9.44. This, despite a $489 million Q3 loss, compared with a $123 million loss during the same period a year ago. The adjusted loss of $1.81 per share was more than the $1.77 per share loss analysts expected...

Investors and traders welcomed news of lower than expected inflation. The U.S. Labor Department monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for October fell 0.10 percent, compared to an estimated flat reading. Year over year, the index is up 1.00 percent, in line with expectations. The Fed's target...

The focus is on retail as the as the crucial holiday shopping season is set to get underway. Last week, Walmart (NYSE: WMT) and Kohl's (NYSE: KSS) offered weak third-quarter results, while Macy's (NYSE: M) and Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN) turned in earnings beats. Plenty more retailers are on deck this...

Judging by the share price, one would think Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) had turned itself around, though analysts' expectations for the most recent quarter are still very modest. Best Buy has been hitting new highs since August, and it looks like short sellers decided to get out of the way. Other...