Business Analytics

Dallas -- Tuesday Morning Corp. said Monday that net income for the quarter ended Dec. 31 was $17.3 million, compared with $18.5 million in the year-ago period.

Net sales decreased 3.6% to $279.3 million from $289.6 million. Same-store sales decreased 3.2%.

According to Kathleen Mason, president and CEO: "We anticipate that we will return to positive comparable sales for the remainder of the fiscal year.” Tuesday Morning reported four consecutive quarters of same-store sales growth prior to the second quarter.

Cleveland -- Sherwin-Williams Co. reported Tuesday that net income for its fourth quarter increased to $72.9 million, compared with $65.3 million in the prior year.

Revenue rose to just under $1.9 billion, from $1.6 billion. Wall Street expected revenue of $1.78 billion.

Oakbrook, Ill. -- McDonald’s Corp. said net income for the fourth quarter, ended Dec. 31, 2010, rose 2.1% to $1.24 billion from $1.22 billion a year earlier.

Revenue increased 4% to $6.21 billion in the fourth quarter from $5.97 billion a year earlier. Global same-store sales rose 5% in the quarter, reflecting increases of 4.4% in the United States, 3.4% in Europe and 5.5% in the Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa division.

San Jose, Calif. -- Grubb & Ellis Co. announced that Robert Cook has joined the company as senior VP corporate services, based in the company’s San Jose office. 

Washington, D.C. -- A report released Thursday by the Labor Department said that U.S. claims for initial jobless benefits last week posted their biggest decline in nearly a year.

The drop erased the holiday-related spike, and illustrated that a healthier labor market remains intact.

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands -- Ahold reported that net sales for its U.S. division increased 6% to $5.6 billion for the fourth quarter. Identical-store sales for the quarter increased 1.9%(0.9% excluding gasoline), and comparable sales were up 2.1%.

For the full year the company reported net sales of $23.5 billion increased b y  5.1% when compared to the adjusted full year 2009 sales. Identical sales were up 1.5% (0.4% excluding gasoline).

New York City -- Revionics said that it has been selected by Roundy’s Supermarkets as the retailer’s price optimization provider. The supermarket chain said it will leverage Revionics' analytic services, which will provide the retailer with insight into market patterns and consumer preferences to make better, fact-based decisions.

By George F. Brown, Jr., [email protected]

The increased pace of merger and acquisition activity late in 2010, including some huge deals, suggests that 2011 will be an active year. Low interest rates, significant cash on many firms’ balance sheets, and stock prices that are low enough to attract buyers but high enough to move sellers off the sidelines all reinforce that possibility.