Finance & Capital Management

WASHINGTON -- The nation’s court is set to hear arguments on Tuesday in a decade-old legal fight that could cost Wal-Mart Stores billions of dollars if the 500,000 women claiming sex bias are allowed to band together in a class action.

Wal-Mart is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to end the massive sex discrimination lawsuit in which the women are claiming that the retailer favors men over women in pay and promotions.

City of Industry, Calif. -- Hot Topic said Monday that it is taking a series of steps it hopes will encourage growth, including closing its ShockHound.com music and merchandise website.

The teen retail chain said it will write down unproductive inventory and fixed assets that are not vital to the company's strategy. It also said it plans to stop reporting sales monthly in the third quarter.

Berlin, N.J. -- A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts reported Tuesday that net loss for the quarter ended Jan. 1 was $4.8 million, widened from a loss of $500,000 in the year-ago period.

Sales for the fourth quarter decreased 4.4% $143.2 million, from $149.7 million. Same-store sales fell 4.3%.

Kohl’s will open its third distribution center devoted to e-commerce by July as it looks to build on the 50% growth rate experienced last year and surpass annual online sales of $1 billion in 2011.

Columbus, Ohio -- Retail Ventures, parent of off-price shoe retail chain DSW, reported Monday that net income for the quarter ended Jan. 29 was $5.7 million, compared with a loss of $5.3 million a year earlier.

Sales for the quarter were $468.5 million, up from $402.6 million in the year-ago period. DSW same-store sales increased 14.9%.

For the full year, net income was $51.8 million, compared with a loss of $65.6 million the year before. Sales were $1.82 billion, compared with $1.60 billion for the prior year.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Retail Ventures reported that income from continuing operations for the quarter ended Jan. 29 was $5.7 million on net sales of $468.5 million, compared with the loss from continuing operations of $5.3 million on net sales of $402.6 million for the same period last year. DSW same-store sales increased 14.9% during the fourth quarter versus an increase of 12.9% last year.

Dallas -- A Wall Street Journal report on Monday said that, according to court filings, Blockbuster will start closing 186 more stores by the end of the month, bringing the number of its U.S. locations closed or slated for closure to 1,145, or more than a third of its total, since the video-rental chain filed for bankruptcy protection in September.

In filings Friday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, Blockbuster said it will reject the leases on 186 of its stores by March 31.

Washington, D.C. -- A report released Monday by the Commerce Department showed that consumer spending in the United States rose more than forecast in February as incomes climbed.

Bloomberg News estimated spending would advance 0.5%.

Purchases increased 0.7%, the most since October, after advancing 0.3% the prior month. Incomes increased 0.3%, less than the 0.4% projected.