Financial/Banking

The pace of store closings at Office Depot is accelerating and employee retention costs are rising as the retailer maintains that its merger with Staples will close by year end.

Asheville, N.C. – Profit stayed essentially flat at Ingles Markets Inc. for the third quarter of fiscal 2015. Ingles reported net income of $13.78 million, compared to $13.83 million the same quarter the prior fiscal year.

Lower interest and income tax expenses helped Ingles keep profits steady in the face of net sales declining 3% to $945.97 million, from $978.26 million. Declining gasoline prices negatively impacted sales.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. – Sears Holdings Corp. is expecting to announce some rare good news about profits thanks to a real estate spinoff when it reports its second quarter results on Aug. 20. But the news will be tempered by dismal sales results.

Sears Holdings keeps finding new ways to generate cash and gain financial flexibility, but selling merchandise is not among them.

New York - Barnes & Noble Inc. on Monday completed the separation of its retail store and college businesses.

Following the spinoff, Michael Huseby, former CEO of Barnes & Noble, became executive chairman of Barnes & Noble Education, which will have a separate board of directors.

Minneapolis -- Best Buy is moving further ahead in its quest to make shopping across platforms as easy as possible for consumers.

The retailer, in partnership with American Express, has integrated new technology that allows Amex card members enrolled in the Amex Membership Rewards program to use their points for online purchases on BestBuy.com.

New York -- American Express Co and Costco Wholesale Corp. are at it again.

A lawsuit has been filed accusing American Express of misleading investors about the loss of its contract with Costco after having failed to reveal how significant that business had become to the credit-card company, Reuters reported.

Best Buy is taking another leap forward in its quest to make shopping across platforms as easy as possible for consumers.

The retailer, in partnership with American Express, has integrated new technology that allows Amex card members enrolled in the Amex Membership Rewards program to seamlessly use their points for online purchases on BestBuy.com. In addition card members can use their membership rewards points for all or part of each online purchase and either pick it up in one of Best Buy’s stores or have it delivered to their doors.