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WASHINGTON -- Dirk Rasmussen had Friday off and could have slept in if he wanted to. Instead, the Maryland resident and Teamster rose early and drove to downtown Washington, eager to join a post-Thanksgiving protest against Walmart. "Our local [union] president encouraged us to take part," said Rasmussen, 58, who works in a lumber and building-supply warehouse. "I raised eight children on a Teamsters benefit package and Teamsters wage. I'm a firm believer in collective bargaining, and I'm very concerned about the security of this next generation." Black Friday may be most famous for doorbuster shopping deals, but among progressives...

Once again, we can say "thanks" to a private sector that is routinely berated by the government-loving statists of the Democrat Party. It turns out that the heartless corporations, and not the big-government juggernaut of good intentions, are the ones actually doing good for Americans, their families, and their communities. In a piece of news that is tailored fit to annoy the liberal in your life, it turns out WalmartÂ’s healthcare plans are measurably more compassionate than the stock plans offered by Obamacare. IÂ’ll give you a minute to fit that last thought on a bumper sticker that you can...

Wal-Mart Stores Inc has informed managers of its roughly 5,000 stores across the United States that they can match prices with Amazon.com Inc and other online retailers, the head of the company's U.S. business said on Thursday.

The Internet is moving to a shopping center near you. In Fort Wayne, Ind., a vacated Target store is about to be home to rows of computer servers, network routers and Ethernet cables courtesy of a local data-center operator. In Jackson, Miss., a former McRae’s department store will get the same treatment next year. And one quadrant of the Marley Station Mall south of Baltimore is already occupied by a data-center company that last year offered to buy out the rest of the building. As America’s retailers struggle to keep up with online shopping, the Internet is starting to settle...

Gentlemen and gentlewomen of a certain age harbor fond memories of trips to RadioShack. In days of yore, ham radios and homemade guitar amplifiers would emerge from the mysterious jumble of wires and audio components hawked by this unpretentious electronic retailer. Whatever one’s view of this American institution with about 27,000 employees, it is near death. On Thursday, RadioShack warned that it may file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

After being stiff-armed by Democrats on a liquor-tax dispute, Costco execs have shifted their loyalties to Republicans in this year’s state Senate races.When it comes to politics, Costco Wholesale has a well-deserved reputation as a Democratic-leaning corporation. Company co-founders Jim Sinegal and Jeffrey Brotman have hosted President Obama at fundraisers in their lakefront mansions. Costco executives have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Democratic candidates and causes over the past decade. But in the key battle for control of the state Senate this year, top Costco brass — miffed at Democrats over a liquor-fee dispute — have essentially switched...

Thoubled electronics retailer RadioShack Corp's shares have lost nearly a third of their value since brokerage Wedbush Securities said on Tuesday the company could file for bankruptcy soon, making the stock worthless by the end of this year. The stock fell as much as 20 percent to 76 cents on Wednesday, adding to a 23 percent plunge on Tuesday. "Our price target reflects our expectation that creditors will force a reorganization and wipe out RadioShack's equity," Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter wrote in a note. Pachter, rated four stars out of five by StarMine for the accuracy of his calls on...

As CVS sharpens its focus on customer health, the nation's second-largest drugstore chain will tweak its corporate name and stop the sale of tobacco nearly a month sooner than planned. CVS Caremark will now be known as CVS Health. The signs on its roughly 7,700 drugstores won't change, so the tweak may not register with shoppers.

MINNEAPOLIS — Target Corp. is adding its name to a legal defense of gay marriage, joining other large companies that are taking a stand, just four years after the retailer came under criticism for supporting a strident opponent of same-sex unions. Target said it has signed a court brief backing marriage equality in a pending court case and publicly declared its support of gay marriage, a move similar to those taken by Starbucks, Intel and Apple.

Against expectations of a further rise in inventory build of 0.7%, wholesale inventories rose only 0.3% in June (the same pace as in May) missing by the most since February 2013. With GDP now basically an exercise in inventory expansion and contraction (Q2 inventory estimate amounte to 40% of GDP), this 'miss' offers little hope for the initial Q2 rebound to hold its exuberance. In addition, wholesale sales also missed (up only 0.2% against expectations of a 0.7% rise) with growth slowing for the 3rd month in a row. Inventories miss significantly...

The Target Corporation has traditional marriage and family in the crosshairs of its bulls-eye. Target has now declared its support for homosexual “marriage.” However, the Minnesota-based retailer has gone past the point of articulating support for gay “marriage” and has jumped into the fray to wield its influence with the courts on this issue. Working to overturn the vote of the people regarding the true definition of marriage, Target has filed an amicus brief with the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals pushing for so-called marriage “equality” regarding the ban on same-sex marriage in Wisconsin and Indiana. (The case is before...

The major retailer has joined a group of companies in filing an amicus brief in support of gay marriage

Love Culture Inc on Wednesday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, becoming the latest women's apparel retailer to seek protection from creditors, and said it may be sold after having received interest from possible buyers. The company, which according to its website has 82 stores stretching from Massachusetts to Hawaii, joins Ashley Stewart Holdings Inc, Coldwater Creek Inc., Dots LLC and Loehmann's Inc among retailers to file for bankruptcy since late last year as consumers curb spending and visit malls less. In a court filing, the company's chief restructuring officer, Rick Bunka, said sales remain below projections, while vendors in April...

Dallas Northington spent nearly eight years working for Target in loss prevention, roaming the stores and scanning the surveillance cameras. In an episode at the Leesburg Target store in May that he said was typical, a man was allegedly captured twice on video shoplifting, and Northington responded as he said he always did: He called the Leesburg police, made a report and provided them the videos of the two incidents. But the man in the video may have been a Fairfax County sheriff’s deputy, Northington said he soon learned. And within days, two things happened: The deputy retired from the...

Myles Udland July 11, 2014Something seems off in the economy.Over a three-week span starting next Monday, 72% of the S&P 500's members will report earnings, but some of the early indications about this earnings season, especially from companies highly exposed to the U.S. consumer, have not been encouraging. On Tuesday afternoon, two companies that are all about consumer spending, Bob Evans and The Container Store, reported earnings that were disappointing. But even more discouraging were the comments from company executives. Bob Evans, which wrapped up its fiscal year 2014 in its most recent quarter, said its results were impacted by...

Dubai is already home to the tallest tower in the world, so it was just a matter of time until the glitzy emirate planned another record-breaking construction. Its next project involves building the largest shopping mall on the planet, complete with climate-controlled streets, the world's largest indoor theme park and 100 hotels and apartments. In fact, the ambitious emirate has dubbed the project a 'temperature-controlled pedestrian city'. Occupying 48 million square feet, the Mall of the World will also contain health resorts, theatres, a Celebration Steet modelled on the Ramblas boulevard in Barcelona and 'retail streets network' that will stretch...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)On July 2nd, Target "respectfully" asked law-abiding citizens to "not bring firearms" in their stores. The department store chain did this via an announcement posted on its website and shared by interim CEO John Mulligan. The announcement says: As you've likely seen in the media, there's been a debate about whether guests in communities that permit "open carry" should be allowed to bring firearms into Target stores. Our approach has always been to follow local laws, and of course, we will continue to do so. But starting today we will respectfully request that guests not bring firearms to Target--even in...

During a meeting with analysts and investors on Wednesday, Advance Auto Parts executives were asked how many stores they expect to close as a result of the company's acquisition of Raleigh-based General Parts International. George Sherman, Advance Auto's president, said the company is consolidating 100 stores as part of a first round of closings. "There will be more going forward," he said. "We have to assess fully 1,200-plus stores across the country. There will be a large group of consolidations, but there will be a lot of conversations where we flip the banner and there will be some relocations." General...

Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, recently decided to go into the newspaper editing business. The Arkansas-based company responded to an article from New York Times columnist Timothy Egan, titled “The Corporate Daddy” by doing the work that it felt Egan’s Times editors should have done. “Thanks for sharing your first draft,” reads a red-inked note from Walmart, which is known more for its low prices than its snark. “Below are a few thoughts to ensure something inaccurate doesn’t get published,” continued the note, which was posted at Walmart’s blog and is attributed to David Tovar, Walmart’s director of corporate communications....

I have never met David Tovar, Walmart’s vice president, corporate communications, but I’d like to shake his hand. In this brilliant response to a column by Timothy Egan of the New York Times, Mr. Tovar puts to shame the editors who worked on the Egan piece, literally taking a red pencil to the piece they deigned to publish, and showing them how to do their jobs.For example: As you can suss from this excerpt, the premise of the Egan column is that Starbucks (which dispenses expensive coffee to the type of people who work art the New York Times) is...