Strumors - Serviceshttp://strumors.com/sector/serviceshttp://strumors.com/1881As consumer spending continues to decline, large retailer target posted a 41 percent drop in profits. The company stated that large losses in its credit card business and weak consumer spending for its clothing products led the losses.Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:01:02 -0500http://strumors.com/1881http://strumors.com/1880Office Depot posted a $1.5 billion quarterly loss and warned that it would need to seek new liquidity sources in 2009. The news sent the company's shares down 26 percent.Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:01:02 -0500http://strumors.com/1880http://strumors.com/1876Circuit City, whom filed for bankruptcy protection back in November, is now closing all of its stores as it has failed to attract any potential buyers. The company said it has reached an agreement with Hudson Capital Partners, SB Capital Group, and Tiger Capital Group to liquidate its 567 U.S. stores.Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:01:08 -0500http://strumors.com/1876http://strumors.com/1860Macy Inc. stated that it plans to close 11 of its stores as a cost cutting move. For the month of December, Macy's reported a 4 percent drop in same store sales, leading the company to slash its earnings estimates for its fourth quarter to 90 cents to $1 from its previously announced $1.10 to $1.30.Mon, 01 Dec 2008 08:01:06 -0500http://strumors.com/1860http://strumors.com/1857Verizon has decided to partner with Microsoft as its default search engine for search services on its mobile devices. The news strikes a large blow against Google and Yahoo, after nearly a year of speculation on which company would become the key search provide for Verizon Wireless.Mon, 01 Dec 2008 07:02:00 -0500http://strumors.com/1857http://strumors.com/1854According to an Verizon Wireless Executive, the company is set to provide service to allow Kindle competitors to use Verizon's network to deliver download material including books and newspapers. Tony Lewis, who runs a program to certify third party vendors' products to work on Verizon's network, stated that he expects 2009 to be the year for competitor Kindle devices.Mon, 01 Dec 2008 06:02:00 -0500http://strumors.com/1854http://strumors.com/1849Best Buy is starting to sell hand held video game consoles and games in vending machines at airports to consumers who frequently travel. The new vending machines, entitled Best Buy Express, offer a variety of hand held devices also including digital cameras and headphones. Mon, 01 Dec 2008 03:01:02 -0500http://strumors.com/1849http://strumors.com/1832Until January 1st, AT&T is selling refurbished iPhones for $49. The move could bring an end of the year sales boost for AT&T. The price point may attract more lower income demographics. ComScore reported that while half of iPhone buyers earn over $100,000 annually, adoption by lower income families rose by over 50 percent between June and October.Sat, 03 Nov 2007 05:01:09 -0400http://strumors.com/1832http://strumors.com/1821Amazon.com stated that the 2008 holiday shopping season has been "its best ever." Amazon reported that received more than 6.3 million orders worldwide, more then 72.9 purchases a second. Amazon seems to be the exception this year, as the retail industry on a whole reported its first decline in holiday sales in over 40 years.Sat, 03 Nov 2007 02:01:06 -0400http://strumors.com/1821http://strumors.com/1793Best Buy reported a 77 percent drop in third quarter profits as consumer confidence continues to be at an all time low. The company has offered voluntary severance packages to nearly all of its current 4,000 corporate employees. Chief Executive Brad Anderson stated, "we believe that the environment for consumer spending is likely to get worse before it gets better."Fri, 02 Nov 2007 16:01:08 -0400http://strumors.com/1793http://strumors.com/1774Office Depot is planning to close nearly 10 percent of its retail stores in North America and eliminate 2,200 jobs as the U.S. recession lowers consumer demand. Fri, 02 Nov 2007 10:01:08 -0400http://strumors.com/1774http://strumors.com/1767Netflix stated that their new streaming movie player based on Microsoft's new Silverlight technology has reduced the number of I.T. jobs the company needs. The company plans to layoff the workers in January. Fri, 02 Nov 2007 08:01:08 -0400http://strumors.com/1767http://strumors.com/1735China Mobile Peoples, a subsidiary of China Mobile, announced plans to offer free incoming cell phone calls across Hong Kong and Guangdong. The company is hoping that by offering free incoming calls it will be able to rapidly gain market share.Fri, 02 Nov 2007 04:01:03 -0400http://strumors.com/1735http://strumors.com/1726Today Amazon.com launched its Black Friday Deals page www.amazon.com/blackfriday. The site will host Amazon's Black Friday deals until Cyber Monday, December 1st. Retailers are anxious this year as consumer spending continues to drop due to economic conditions.Fri, 02 Nov 2007 01:02:00 -0400http://strumors.com/1726http://strumors.com/1715Wal-Mart unexpectedly announced the retirement of its current Chief Executive Officer H. Lee Scott. He will be replaced by Mike Duke. Scott will remain as chairman of the board. Wal-Mart remains one of the few companies actually benefiting from the recession as more buyers turn to the store in order to save. Mike Duke will be tasked with how to keep these new customers in the years to come.Thu, 01 Nov 2007 21:01:07 -0400http://strumors.com/1715http://strumors.com/1707PetSmart expects its profits to be between 59 and 62 cents per share in the fourth quarter inline with analysts estimates. The company is expecting same-store sales to rise by a small percentage; however, it plans to cut its capital spending budget for 2009.Thu, 01 Nov 2007 19:01:08 -0400http://strumors.com/1707http://strumors.com/1684Verizon will be directly competing with Comcast with its new FiOS TV Service which allows fiber subscribers to watch TV over their fiber-optic lines. Verizon stated that it plans to provide TV service to one third of households within the next three years. Philadelphia will be one of the first cities to receive the new service.Thu, 01 Nov 2007 13:02:01 -0400http://strumors.com/1684http://strumors.com/1682Microsoft is looking to beat Google in becoming the default search engine on Internet enabled phones from Verizon Wireless. Under the agreement, Verizon would receive payments of $550 to $650 million over the next five years from Microsoft, nearly double Google's current offer. Although, currently the number of mobile searches is relatively small, the market is expected to drastically grow within the next five years.Thu, 01 Nov 2007 12:01:07 -0400http://strumors.com/1682http://strumors.com/1681Best Buy cuts its earnings forecast, stating that full-year profits will fall well below expectations due to a large slowdown in consumer spending. Other large retailers including Target are expected to revise their earnings estimates as well. Thu, 01 Nov 2007 12:01:07 -0400http://strumors.com/1681http://strumors.com/1667Sprint Nextel lost 1.1 million subscribers during quarter three as the company continues to struggle to keep customers. The company posted a net loss of 11 cents a share compared to a net profit of 2 cents a share for the same quarter a year prior sending its shares down 8.4 percent to close at $3.37.Thu, 01 Nov 2007 09:01:00 -0400http://strumors.com/1667http://strumors.com/1649Circuit City announced Monday that it plans to close 155 under performing stores in the U.S. in order to stay a float. Some analyst predict that a bankruptcy is unavoidable at this point. Circuit City is also renegotiating its leases in order to help preserve capital.Thu, 01 Nov 2007 03:01:07 -0400http://strumors.com/1649http://strumors.com/1643Large retailers, including Sears and Home Depot, are expected to lose as much 8 percent of their holiday sales due to stricter leadening standards this year. According to America's Research Group, nearly a quarter of shoppers reported that banks have quietly cut their spending limits on credit cards. As consumer confidence continues to drop retailers are being hit as they enter the holiday season, which often accounts for as much as 35 percent of their annual sales revenue.Thu, 01 Nov 2007 01:00:09 -0400http://strumors.com/1643http://strumors.com/1637The Justice Department signed off on the proposed merge between Verizon Wireless and Alltel. Officials at the Justice Department stated that they would back the $28.1 million merge on the condition that the combined company divests its radio spectrum assets across the 22 states that the two companies overlap. The merge still has to gain approval of the FCC, which is scheduled to vote on the deal at its Nov. 4th meeting. If the deal is approved, Verizon and Alltel will become the nation's largest wireless carrier.Thu, 01 Nov 2007 06:02:02 -0400http://strumors.com/1637http://strumors.com/1633Comcast reported a 38 percent increase in third quarter profits, as the company has been able to prosper off of higher cable TV rates. Comcast also reported that it expects to exceed its free cash flow growth forecast of at least 20 percent for its fiscal 2008.Thu, 01 Nov 2007 05:01:06 -0400http://strumors.com/1633http://strumors.com/1624Netflix has begun releasing video streaming for a portion of its Mac users and is planning to offer wide scale availability the end of the year. The new service is based on Microsoft's silver light technology and allows unlimited video streaming with its DVD rental service. Thu, 01 Nov 2007 03:01:08 -0400http://strumors.com/1624http://strumors.com/1623Verizon Communications reported that its third quarter earning rose by 31 percent despite a cut back in consumer spending. Shares traded up $2.53 or 10.1 percent, as Verizon's 1.5 million new subscribers was higher than analysts had been expecting. The company continues to see declines in its traditional line land services.Thu, 01 Nov 2007 03:01:08 -0400http://strumors.com/1623http://strumors.com/1617Gannet, the largest U.S. newspaper publisher, report a 32 percent decline in profits as its advertising revenues declined. The newspaper company reported third quarter income of $158 million, and it is likely that the company will need to start cutting jobs. Thu, 01 Nov 2007 01:00:08 -0400http://strumors.com/1617http://strumors.com/1608Comcast will be offering speeds nearly twice as fast for most of its consumers. The company reported Wednesday that DOCSIS three will allow the company to offer speeds as high 50 megabits downstream and 10 megabits upstream to consumers. It is also planning on doubling current speeds with no additional costs. Existing customers will be automatically upgraded to 12 megabits downstream and 2 megabit upstream once the roll out has been completed.Wed, 31 Oct 2007 23:02:01 -0400http://strumors.com/1608http://strumors.com/1606Shares of Amazon dropped nearly 14 percent, after the company issued a profit warning cutting its annual forecast on concerns that the recession will hamper holiday consumer spending. For the quarter, Amazon reported a earnings of 27 cents a share compared to 19 cents a share for the same quarter a year prior.Wed, 31 Oct 2007 22:02:02 -0400http://strumors.com/1606http://strumors.com/1599Netflix reported a 30 percent rise in profits as lowered subscriber costs have increased its profit margins significantly. The company released earnings of $20.4 million or 33 cents a share, compared to $15.6 million or 23 cents a share for the same quarter a year prior.Wed, 31 Oct 2007 20:01:07 -0400http://strumors.com/1599http://strumors.com/1584According to data released by NPD, video game sales dropped 7 percent in September. The decline was the first major monthly decline for video game sales since March 2006. Analyst, Anita Frazier, stated that game sales remained quite strong and are set to make nearly $22 billion in sales this year.Wed, 31 Oct 2007 16:02:00 -0400http://strumors.com/1584http://strumors.com/1583IBM reported that its earnings for quarter three rose by 22 percent on strong growth from sales of its software and services. The news reassures analysts that IBM will be able to continue to produce solid results, who have been closely watching the company with concerns that current economic conditions would hinder the company's performance.Wed, 31 Oct 2007 16:02:00 -0400http://strumors.com/1583http://strumors.com/1579EBay, the world's largest online auctioneer, cut its earnings forecast reducing its fourth quarter earnings and annual estimates. EBay is now forecasting revenues between $2.02 billion and $2.17 billion down from $2.18 billion last year. The company's value of goods sold fell 1 percent during its third quarter, the first drop since the company started. CEO John Donahoe is cutting 10 percent of EBay's workforce as well as making acquisitions to bolster PayPals market. The company has been facing increased competition from retailers such as Amazon while having to deal with growth stalls.Wed, 31 Oct 2007 15:01:07 -0400http://strumors.com/1579http://strumors.com/1576Shares of Amazon sunk over 6 percent Tuesday as analyst Stephen Ju or RBC Capital Markets cut his revenue forecast citing major slow downs in consumer spending. Stephen Ju stated, "although Amazon’s product selection is broad enough that we think it will be relatively more shielded, it is certainly not immune." He maintained his outperform rating on the stock; however, cut his target price to $80 from $100.Wed, 31 Oct 2007 14:01:08 -0400http://strumors.com/1576http://strumors.com/1523Shares of Amazon rose nearly 15 percent after a Goldman Sachs analyst said the stock is oversold. James Mitchell, Goldman Sachs analyst, maintain his buy rating on the stock with a price target of $98 per share. The analyst stated that Amazon's business has been proven highly successful in Japan, and also noted that the company finished its second quarter with $1.1 billion in cash allowing it the opportunity to keep investing in its business. Mon, 10 Dec 2007 06:02:01 -0500http://strumors.com/1523http://strumors.com/1513Directv and AT&T have reached an agreement where Directv will be sold to AT&T customers under as a co-branded television service. The move will allow AT&T to bundle satellite television services with its current phone and broadband services. Mon, 10 Dec 2007 03:00:09 -0500http://strumors.com/1513http://strumors.com/1458BestBuy has agreed to acquire Napster for $121 million in a move to expand its online music offerings. The deal is still subject to approval, but it is expected to be finalized by the end of quarter four. Under the terms of the agreement all of Napsters current management will become employees of BestBuy. BestBuy indicated that they are not planning to eliminate any of Napster's 140 employees.Sun, 09 Dec 2007 15:01:08 -0500http://strumors.com/1458http://strumors.com/1450Walgreen Co., the largest pharmacy chain in the U.S., has challenged CVS's bid by offering $3 billion for Longs Drug Stores Corp. The all cash bid is 4.9 percent higher than CVS's current offer. The bid puts pressure back on CVS who now faces either having to raise its offer or to lose out on drugstores in the two fastest growing U.S. states, Nevada and Arizona. Sun, 09 Dec 2007 13:00:09 -0500http://strumors.com/1450http://strumors.com/1448Chipotle Mexican Grill reported Friday that it plans to raise its prices in order to combat higher food costs. The company also issued a profit warning to its investors that due to weak economic conditions it will report lower then expected results. The news sent the stock to its lowest price point since January 2007 at $55.42 just before closing at $56.70 a share.Sun, 09 Dec 2007 12:01:08 -0500http://strumors.com/1448http://strumors.com/1444The largest online retailer has decided to begin selling wine in the U.S. According to wine insiders, the company plans to begin offering wine online by early next month to nearly 26 states. Domestic annual wine sales have grown steadily in the past 14 years with total U.S. wine sales reached between to nearly $32 billion in 2007.Sun, 09 Dec 2007 11:02:02 -0500http://strumors.com/1444http://strumors.com/1420Wal-Mart same store sales climbed just slightly as consumers continue to flock to the company and away from higher priced retailers. It's sales exceeded expectations in what may be the worst back-to-school season in seven years. However, all is not well, as the company faced its slowest growth since 2007 and is anticipating a very slow Christmas later this year.Sun, 09 Dec 2007 04:02:02 -0500http://strumors.com/1420http://strumors.com/1398Comcast, the nations largest cable Internet provider, has finally official set a limit for what it deems as excessive Internet usage. The company announced that subscribers who transfer over 250 gigabytes of data within one month may receive a warning call or possible lose their Internet service. As streaming video continues to become more popular on the Internet, ISPs are wrestling with how to handle the increase demands for bandwidth.Sun, 09 Dec 2007 04:02:01 -0500http://strumors.com/1398http://strumors.com/1392Amazon announced Monday that it has acquired Shelfari, a social networking site for book readers. Shelfari is a social networking site that allows its users to create virtual bookshelves or indexes of all the titles they've owned or read. Users can also comment or discuss their books. The site first started nearly 2 years ago in October 2006.Sun, 09 Dec 2007 02:02:00 -0500http://strumors.com/1392http://strumors.com/1387GameStop reported Thursday morning that its net income nearly tripled during the second quarter due to increased sales of popular titles including "Grand Theft Auto IV" and "Metal Gear Solid 4." Shares of GameStop immediately climbed over 5 percent to $41.29 following the release. The company also raised its annual forecast citing better than expected results during the second quarter.Sun, 09 Dec 2007 00:01:00 -0500http://strumors.com/1387http://strumors.com/1376Gaps cost control inventory strategy seems to have paid off big for the company. Thursday the company reported a 51 percent surge in profits, as their cost cut measure helped offset the stores declining sales. The company has also reduced its capital spending forecast and plans to reduce the number of new store openings.Sat, 08 Dec 2007 21:02:01 -0500http://strumors.com/1376http://strumors.com/1373EBay has take one more large step towards shifting away from its online auction business. The company has decided to cut its fixed-price listing fees by more then 70 percent, a move aimed at helping the company compete directly with large online retailers such as Amazon.Sat, 08 Dec 2007 20:01:09 -0500http://strumors.com/1373http://strumors.com/1357Netflix experienced the company's largest outage since going public. Nearly 3 million of its customers are affected. Netflix reported that it shipped no DVD's on Tuesday, very little on Wednesday, and none thus far Today as a severe system outage has prevented the company from shipping discs.Sat, 08 Dec 2007 14:01:06 -0500http://strumors.com/1357http://strumors.com/1355According to Wal-Mart's Chief Financial Officer, Wal-Mart is dedicated to maintain low prices despite growing pressures from its suppliers. Wal-Mart suppliers are now facing the steepest inflation in the U.S. in over 17 years as rising costs have now stretched beyond oil and food. Wal-Mart stated that they are not only trying to maintain prices, but also increase the number of price cuts in its grocery business. The company is aiming to significantly undercut prices from its competitors Target and Costco.Sat, 08 Dec 2007 14:01:06 -0500http://strumors.com/1355http://strumors.com/1352Comcast has announced a partnership with MGM to launch the first all-action video-on-demand network. The new channel will be dedicated solely to action programming featuring popular action films and shows.Sat, 08 Dec 2007 13:01:07 -0500http://strumors.com/1352http://strumors.com/1350TJX Cos, the owner of TJ. Maxx and Marshalls, reported that its net profit more then tripled as more consumers bought its reduced price clothing and shoes. TJX now expects its full year earnings to rise as high as $2.31 beating its earlier forecasts of $2.25. Sat, 08 Dec 2007 12:01:08 -0500http://strumors.com/1350