Whole Foods shares sink on sales outlook

Shares of Whole Foods Market tumbled Thursday after the organic grocery chain narrowed its outlook for sales this year.

Whole Foods (WFM) shares fell 9.4% to end the day at $87.50.

Late Wednesday, Whole Foods said it expects sales at stores open at least one year to rise between 6.6% and 8% in fiscal year 2013. It had previously forecast same-store-sales growth, a key measure of retail demand, to increase between 6.5% MORE

Fossil proves it's not extinct

Fossil is proving it's alive and kicking.

The accessories maker, best-known for its name-brand watches, reported earnings per share Tuesday that squeaked past estimates by a penny. And sales rose 14% to a record $948 million -- topping forecasts.

Fossil also issued a rosy outlook. The company expects sales to grow 10% in the current quarter and rise between 10% and 11% for its full fiscal year.

The bulk of that will be MORE

JC Penney ensnared in hedge fund games?

JC Penney's latest tangle has many folks speculating about whether there's another hedge fund battle brewing.

The retailer said it received a Notice of Default from law firm Brown Rudnick, which claims to represent an "ad hoc" group who hold more than 50% of JC Penney's bonds due in 2037.

JC Penney says the notice is "utterly without merit" but it's raised speculation as to who is behind this so-called ad hoc MORE

PayPal pays off for eBay investors

Auction site eBay continues to impress investors, thanks in large part to the ongoing success of PayPal.

Late Wednesday, eBay reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue for its latest quarter. And while the company issued slightly weaker guidance for the current quarter, its full-year outlook was rosier.

Shares of eBay (EBAY) rallied nearly 4% to a new 52-week high Thursday. The stock has been on a tear, soaring 41% over the past MORE

Beware the China stock rally

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Paul R. La Monica. Other than Time Warner, the parent of CNNMoney, Abbott Laboratories and AbbVie, La Monica does not own positions in any individual stocks.

So much for that China hard landing.

It was fashionable late last year to predict that China's economy was headed for an epic collapse, akin to the Great Recession in the United States a few years MORE

Even dollar stores find it hard to make a buck

Retailers have had a rough time lately, what with Superstorm Sandy, a sluggish economy and overall weak holiday sales.

You'd think dollar stores would be the exception. Not today.

Family Dollar missed earnings-per-share estimates by 6 cents a share and said profits the current quarter and full year would come in below forecasts. The company, which sells everything from baby care to home goods, blamed a worsening macro environment for ratcheting MORE

Bah humbug! Retailers feel the pinch

Retailers who were hoping for some holiday cheer have found coal in their stockings this year.

According to MasterCard's (MA) SpendingPulse report, retail sales leading up to Christmas rose a paltry 0.7% from last year, which wasn't exactly a stellar year for retailers either. And it was far below the 3% to 4% analysts had expected.

It's been a couple of tough months for retailers, no thanks to Superstorm Sandy. Sales fell MORE

Dollar General: Investors not buying

Anyone spare a dollar?

Dollar General (DG) is having a rough day after reporting decent earnings but less-than-stellar guidance. Shares slumped nearly 5% Tuesday.

The discount retailer beat earnings-per-share estimates by 3 cents but that's where the good news ends. Revenue was just in line with forecasts, and Dollar General's outlook left investors with little to cheer about.

"Although our performance over the Thanksgiving weekend and start of the holiday season has MORE

Abercrombie & Fitch making a comeback as stock surges 30%

Abercrombie & Fitch's stock surged more than 30% Wednesday, logging the biggest one-day jump since its stock market debut in 1996.

The big move came as the teen retail giant posted its first quarter of year-over-year profit growth in a year. For the three months ended Oct. 27, Abercrombie earned $71.5 million, or 87 cents per share, up 40% from a year earlier. Overall revenue rose 9% for the quarter to MORE

JC Penney feeling the pain of its overhaul strategy

JC Penney continues to struggle amid a massive overhaul effort.

Shares tumbled Friday, after the department store posted a $203 million loss for the third quarter.

JC Penney's (JCP) loss amounted to 93 cents a share for the quarter, more than thirteen times worse than what analysts were expecting. And sales at stores open at least a year declined more than 26% , the most since CEO Ron Johnson took the helm MORE