Financial/Banking

Stanley Black & Decker and Newell Rubbermaid reported modest but steady growth in the fourth quarter, results that position both companies on solid ground going forward.

At Stanley Black and Decker, net sales for the fourth quarter came in at $2.98 billion, up from $2.88 billion in the fourth quarter of 2013. This was mainly due to increases in volume and price, but partially offset by currency. In terms of net income, the company pulled in $145.8 million, up considerably from last year's $56.1 million.

Mumbai, India – Alibaba may not be the only large Asian e-commerce retailer selling shares in the U.S, stock market. Leading Indian e-commerce platform Flipkart is reportedly considering launching a $5 billion U.S. IPO.

Fort Worth, Texas – Hedge fund Standard General LP is reportedly arranging to act as the lead “stalking horse” bidder for troubled electronics retailer RadioShack Corp. According to the Wall Street Journal, Standard General, which is RadioShack’s largest shareholder and has already provided financing that allowed RadioShack to operate through 2014, is currently negotiating a stalking horse deal with the company.

Issaquah, Wash. -- Costco Wholesale Corp. has declared a special one-time dividend of $5 per share that will result in approximately $2.2 billion being returned to shareholders.  

In its mostly recently reported quarter, Costco posted a 17% increase in profits, driven by lower gasoline prices and strong growth in store sales and membership fees.

Purchase, N.Y. – Several major retailers, including Neiman Marcus and Office Depot, have committed to enable MasterPass to provide seamless, secure online transactions for their customers. MasterPass will soon also be available on Blue Nile, Broadway.com, Chegg, Fareportal/CheapO Air, Market America/Shop.com, and Rue La La.

MasterPass enables consumers to pay with any enrolled payment card, anywhere online or in app, using any device and eliminates the need to enter detailed payment and shipping information with every purchase.

Matthews, N.C. – Howard Levine, CEO of Family Dollar Stores Inc., reportedly plans to sell between one and two million shares of company stock in the next 10 days. According to the Charlotte Business Journal, Levine filed his intention to make the sale with SEC.

San Francisco – Sabrina Simmons has been elected to the board of directors of Williams-Sonoma Inc. Simmons has served as executive VP, CFO of Gap Inc. since January 2008.

Indianapolis – Hhgregg Inc. had a difficult third quarter of fiscal 2015, swinging to a loss from a profit the prior year period and missing Wall Street expectations for both profit and revenue. The retailer posted a net loss of $86.9 million compared to net income of $5.05 million, which was a wider loss than projected by analysts.