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Zacks.com submits:
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST), the second largest off-price retailer of apparels and home accessories, recently marked the 6th consecutive quarter of positive comparable store sales (comps) trends, recording growth of 5.0% for the five-week period ended July 3, 2010. June comps exceeded the company’s expectation of a 3%-4% increase. Ross also boosted its outlook for the second quarter of fiscal 2010.Regionally, Florida and the Mid-Atlantic acted as the catalyst for the increase in same-store sales. Categories like dress, shoes and home accessories left a positive footprint on results. For June, sales surged marginally from $666.0 million in the year-ago quarter to $725.0 million, thereby increasing 9.0% year over year.Complete Story »

Markos Kaminis (Wall St. Greek) submits: The big question Friday was: Which data point is speaking truth between retail sales and consumer sentiment, and which is anomalous? We explore the possibilities here, and offer reasoning for why the contrast exists in the first place. Retail Sales vs. Consumer SentimentComplete Story »

Hickey and Walters (Bespoke) submit:
Retail stocks have been some of the best performers throughout this entire bull market. After today's stronger-than-expected Retail Sales report, more than half of the 31 S&P 500 retail stocks are trading within 2.5% of their 52-week highs. Only four of the 31 names in the group are trading below their 50-day moving averages, and just six are down year to date. As shown below, Ross Stores (ROST), Macy's (M), Nordstrom (JWN), Lowe's (LOW), and Limited Brands (LTD) are the closest to their 52-week highs. Macy's is up the most year to date, and it's the second farthest above its 50-day moving average behind Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF). (Click to enlarge)Complete Story »

The question heading into this morning’s February Retail Sales number revolved around the health of the consumer after the holidays and the inclement weather that pounded the Northeast. As always, there were some winners and losers, and here is a look at a few. (It was much easier to find winners, as about 8 of 10 retailers beat the analyst estimates.)WinnersAbercrombie & Fitch (ANF) - Reports a 5% rise in sales versus the estimate of a decline of 7%. Stock is surging pre-market. The teen retailer has really turned things around and if consumer spending continues to improve it will be one of the biggest beneficiaries.TJX Companies (TJX) - Americans love a deal in good and bad times. The owner of TJ Maxx is a few days from an all-time high and February saw sales increase by 10% versus the 8.8% estimate. I feel the lower end of the spectrum will continue to do well even if economy improves and of course will be an option for consumers if the situation darkens. Stock is actually down on the news, possibly buy the rumor, sell the news action.Buckle (BKE) - The once high-flyer darling of Wall Street has struggled the last year after expectations ran too high for the Midwest retailer. February was a bright spot with sales up 5.1% versus expectations of a drop of 1.4%. This could be a turnaround story and buying off the highs is not a bad long-term play.Nordstrom (JWN) - Same store sales surged 10.3% for the high-end retailer. I actually sold my shares in Nordstrom yesterday at $38 because I felt it may have priced in the good news. That being said, I will look to reenter in the mid-$30’s.LosersBon-Ton (BONT) - The mid-tier retailers are my least favorite and Bon-Ton reported February sales of 0.5%, just below the 1.0% estimate. Stock is up early with the entire market, but I see the mid-tier retailers struggling as the year goes along and consumers migrate to the higher end or remain at the low end.Disclosure: No positionsComplete Story »

Denis Ouellet submits: US retailers released their January same-store-sales last week.Sales at stores open at least a year, the retail industry’s main performance benchmark, rose 3.3% in January over the prior year, according to Thomson Reuters and Retail Metrics Inc. The index doesn’t include retail behemoth Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT).Complete Story »

Paul Price submits:TJX Companies (TJX) is America’s largest off-price retailer of brand-name apparel and home fashions. TJX offers family apparel through its T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, A.J. Wright, Winners and T.K. Maxx chains. It sells home fashions through its HomeGoods and HomeSense stores. TJX operates 2,600-plus stores in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and Ireland. In a recessionary world it’s difficult to find companies that have not only weathered the economic storm but that have prospered. TJX is one of those rarities.FY 2010 (ended Jan 31, 2010) is expected to have come in at about $2.75 /share versus FY 2009’s $2.01 /share. Consumers appear to have traded down to the off-price stores from their higher priced competitors. This was the fourth straight year-over-year improvement in EPS and the 12th in the last 13 FY’s. TJX pays a $0.12 quarterly dividend for a current yield of 1.25% at today’s quote of $38.45 /share. The dividend has been raised in each of the past 13 years. Here are their per share numbers from continuing operations as reported by Value Line:FYSalesC/FEPSDiv.B/VAvg. P/E200323.021.511.080.122.7118.2x200426.701.801.280.143.1115.4x200531.022.001.340.183.4417.8x200634.842.061.290.244.1117.9x200738.372.491.630.285.0516.1x200843.572.951.920.364.9814.8x200946.023.112.010.445.1714.6x2010*50.003.952.750.475.9011.9xComplete Story »

RetailSails submits:One year after the worst holiday shopping season on record, retailers are no doubt breathing a sigh of relief as consumers loosened their purse strings somewhat this year. Things got off to an inauspicious start, as bargain-hunting shoppers held out for the deep discounts they have become accustomed to, and untimely weather dampened prospects for “Super Saturday,” which was expected to be the biggest selling day of the season. However, a last minute surge during Christmas week and strong post-Christmas sales propelled retailers to their best month since April 2008. As we reported yesterday, same-store sales for December increased 3.0% from a year ago, the 4th straight monthly gain after 12 consecutive monthly declines. Overall holiday (November-December) same-store sales increased 2.2% this year, after plunging 5.2% in 2008. While we are a long way from a strong recovery, results over the last few months have shown the first true signs of stabilization in the industry.Complete Story »

• Genzyme seals pact with activist investor. Genzyme (GENZ) signed a deal that could put activist investor Relational Investors LLC on its board of directors later this year. Relational is a $6B investment fund that holds a 4% stake in Genzyme. The deal comes as the biotech firm tries to recover from several production setbacks, and seeks to fend off a possible proxy battle by Carl Icahn, who bought 1.5M Genzyme shares in Q3 and who is expected to increase his stake.
• Japan finmin backpedals on yen. Japan's new finance minister, Naoto Kan, clarified earlier comments on the yen, saying that while he has the ability to intervene in extreme circumstances, "currencies of course should be determined by markets." Kan had previously said he'd like to see the yen weaken a bit more, drawing criticism from government members who felt officials shouldn't comment on currencies.
• Goldman sued over bonus plan. Goldman Sachs (GS) is being sued by an Illinois pension fund trying to recover billions of dollars being paid out as bonuses and compensation in 2009. According to the pension fund's filing, Goldman had set aside nearly $17B for compensation as of the end of September, and may pay out as much as $22B for the past year. The suit claims this "highlights the complete breakdown" of corporate oversight and that Goldman's revenue for the year was artificially inflated by government bailouts.
• Google feels the energy. Google's (GOOG) energy subsidiary has applied to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to become an electricity marketer, allowing the division to buy and sell bulk power at market prices the way large utilities do. Google says the application, which is unusual for a tech company, will help it better manage its own operations, but FERC approval could potentially allow Google to play a larger role in energy markets and even become a wholesaler of electricity to other big buyers. Separately, Google increased the price of its merger agreement with On2 Technologies (ONT) by $0.15/share in cash to account for share price fluctuations.
• RBS sells assets. The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) reached a deal to sell nearly half its asset management business to Aberdeen Asset Management for £84.7M ($135M). The divestiture is part of RBS' efforts to restructure around its core consumer franchises.
• Chinalco holds on to Rio. A senior executive at Chinalco flatly denied rumors that the company is considering selling its stake in Rio Tinto (RTP) to sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp.
• Intel edges AMD with new chips. Intel (INTC) unveiled its latest generation of semiconductor chips, more than a year ahead of rival AMD's (AMD) planned release. In a break from earlier releases, the chips, which are meant to improve laptop graphics and enable additional features on ATMs and other business, are targeted at the higher-volume but lower-priced segment of the market.
• F1 CEO bids for Saab. Saab's closure may not be a done deal yet. Formula One CEO Bernard Ecclestone and Luxembourg partner Genii Capital have made a last ditch bid for Saab to both edge out a rival offer from Spyker Cars and to keep General Motors from winding down the Saab brand. Ecclestone, who called Saab "a good brand that has probably been neglected by the current owners," declined to disclose financing details of the bid.
• Reliance sweetens Lyondell offer. Reliance Industries reportedly sweetened its offer to take a controlling stake in Dutch-based U.S. petrochemical giant LyondellBasell when it exits bankruptcy. Sources say the latest offer is worth around $13.5B, up from an initial $12B offer, but Lyondell appears unlikely to accept the new terms and instead will move forward with a deal to hand the company to senior creditors.
• Retail sales show strong improvements. December's same-store sales looked decidedly healthy, with 21 out of 27 stores reporting better than expected numbers. Overall, sales rose 2.9% compared to the previous year, marking the fourth consecutive month of year-on-year gains and the best monthly showing since April 2008. Stores that beat expectations by more than five percentage points included Aeropostale (ARO), Cato Corp. (CATO), Children's Place (PLCE), Saks (SKS), TJX (TJX), and Zumiez (ZUMZ). (Here's the full breakdown)
• Jobless claims inch up. Initial jobless claims rose 1K to 434K vs. 440K consensus. Continuing claims fell 179K to 4,802,000, the lowest level in around a year.

Earnings: Thursday After Close

• Apollo Group (APOL): FQ1 EPS of $1.47 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $1.3B (+31%) vs. $1.2B. (PR)
• Lawson Software (LWSN): FQ2 EPS of $0.09 in-line. Revenue of $184M (-11%) vs. $176M. Sees FQ3 EPS of $0.07-0.09 vs. $0.10. (PR)

Today's MarketsOverseas markets posted mostly modest gains Friday. Futures are slightly higher on light volume.Complete Story »

Jim Delaney submits:
If there was a clue that the MoM percentage change in Existing Home Sales was going to come in three times its estimate, it came from the sales of “white goods”, or major appliances as the non-cognoscenti refer to them. For the truly uninitiated, that would be things like washers, dryers and refrigerators. Best Buy (BBY) reported a 10% jump in sales of major appliances at stores open at least a year for its fiscal third quarter ended November 28th compared with a 21% drop for the same period in 2008 and the first quarterly increase in two years.Complete Story »

Wall Street Cheat Sheet submits: Last month, star retail analyst Kristin Bentz shared her excellent framework for picking winners in retail for the holiday season. This morning Kristin followed up with her holiday picks as we head into door-busting Black Friday: First, I want to note that Ann Taylor (ANN) is down over 10% since I raised a red flag about their discounts when we talked last month.Complete Story »