Finance & Capital Management

Pacific Sunwear overcame weak mall traffic and bad weather to log its eighth consecutive quarter of same-store sales growth with a 2% comp increase in the fourth quarter.

The teen and young adult retailer said sales from continuing operations during the quarter ended Feb. 1 totaled $218.6 million compared to sales of $222.8 million during the fourth quarter the prior year, a period which included the benefit of an additional week which added sales of $9 million. PacSun ended its most recent fiscal year with 618 stores compared to 644 in the year earlier period.

Philadelphia – A new $500 million retail/residential development is reportedly planned for downtown Philadelphia. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, a block of stores located on Market Street between 11th and 12th Street in Philadelphia will be razed or moved to make way for a new complex that will be known as East Market.

Bloomington, Minn. -- Mall of America has launched a $325 million expansion project in cooperation with Mortenson, a U.S.-based construction and development services company, Hotel Development LLC, an enterprise of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, and the city of Bloomington, Minn.

Dallas — SRS real Estate Partners has appointed Adam Baxter as first VP in the Birmingham office. He will focus on tenant and landlord representation in the Birmingham market.

General Mills’ third-quarter sales and operating profit reflected lower volumes. The company said weak food industry trends during the period as a result of a severe winter affected its results, as did increased consumer marketing and merchandising investment in its U.S. yogurt business.

Net sales for the quarter ended Feb. 23 totaled $4.38 billion, down 1% from year-ago levels. Third-quarter net earnings totaled $411 million and diluted earnings per share totaled 64 cents per share.  

Las Vegas -- 1960s-era The Boulevard Mall will receive a $25 million makeover in hopes of prompting an overall redevelopment of the Maryland Parkway corridor of Las Vegas.

The rehab, to be launched by owner Sansone Cos., which acquired the mall last December for $54.5 million, will be the property’s first major renovation in more than two decades. Sansone is looking at the renovation of the Boulevard as a catalyst in the overall redevelopment effort of the Maryland Parkway corridor.

New York -- Ralph Nicoletti, executive VP and CFO of healthcare services and insurance provider Cigna, will become the next executive VP and CFO of Tiffany & Co. His appointment to those offices will become effective on April 2, 2014.

New York -- The Deloitte Consumer Spending Index remained flat in February 2014, showing only a marginal change. The Index tracks consumer cash flow as an indicator of future consumer spending.

The Index, which comprises four components, tax burden, initial unemployment claims, real wages and real home prices, ticked down slightly to 3.9 from 4.0 last month. Highlights of the Index include:

Tax Burden: The tax rate stayed at 11.8%, consistent with recent months.