Research Topic

WASHINGTON -- The National Retail Federation announced that it welcomed the House of Representatives' vote to repeal a provision in last year’s healthcare reform law that would widely expand the number of IRS 1099 tax forms businesses would be required to file.

NEW YORK -- Consumers always want more. Whether it is a thinner, lighter iPad, a faster car or a muffin with more blueberries. The same is true in the world of coupons where a stumbling national economy caused shoppers to demand more coupons from consumer packaged goods companies.

Nashville, Tenn. -- Genesco said Friday that its net income rose 19%, boosted by acquisitions and higher revenue from its stores.

Net income rose 19% to $30.9 million, from $25.9 million in the prior-year period. Revenue rose 17% to $560.5 million, from $479 million. Analysts expected revenue of $539.8 million.

Same-store sales were up 9%.

For the full year, net income rose 85% to $53.2 million. Revenue rose 14% to $1.79 billion, from $1.57 billion.

Reference to the posthumous gyrations of Walmart’s legendary founder Sam Walton were quite common in recent years as the company pursued a wide range of disruptive strategies in the name of Project Impact. You never had to look far to find someone with an opinion on how Walton would feel about some aspect of Walmart’s business, as the universe of those who profess to have some unique insight into his psyche is so large.

The March issue of Fortune contains the magazine’s annual ranking of the most admired companies and this year’s list shows Walmart slipped two spots from the prior year and now occupies the 11 position.

New York City -- Walgreens said Thursday its same-store sales in February rose 3.1%, but the growth was slower than Wall Street expected. Analysts expected, on average, expected a 3.5% increase.

The company said pharmacy same-store sales rose 2.7% but were hurt by generic drug introductions over the last year. Non-pharmacy, or front-end, revenue increased 3.8%.

Rite Aid Corp. said Thursday that its same-store sales rose 1% in February, less than the 1.5% increase analysts had predicted.

Walmart executives will take to the road next week to speak at two investor conferences where it would seem unlikely that little if any new information will be shared since the conferences are just two weeks removed from the release of Walmart’s fourth-quarter results.

NEW YORK -- Sales at Macy’s, JCPenney and Kohl’s surpassed analysts’ estimates in February amid gradually moderating temperatures and rising consumer confidence. However, analysts warned that a late Easter and rising gasoline prices could impact sales going forward.

Confidence among U.S. consumers rose in February to the highest level in three years, according to a Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index, as a drop in unemployment helped overcome concern over rising food and fuel costs.