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Strategies & Market Trends : Can you beat 50% per month? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Smiling Bob who wrote (10705)	3/29/2007 9:52:34 AM
From: Smiling Bob	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 19256

The closer we get to 10, the more I see of yellow - new lod on streamer Mkt ready to crack DOW 12357

To: Smiling Bob who wrote (10705)	5/4/2007 11:35:39 AM
From: Smiling Bob	Respond to of 19256

Sears Shares Fall on 1Q Outlook Friday May 4, 11:23 am ET Sears Holding Stock Declines As 1st-Quarter Outlook Misses Analyst Expectations NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Sears Holding Corp. fell on Friday, after the operator of Sears and Kmart retail stores offered a first-quarter forecast below analyst expectations. After the market closed on Thursday, the Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based retailer said it expects quarterly earnings between $1.30 and $1.53 per share. Excluding a one-time benefit of 27 cents per share from a legal settlement, Sears expects earnings between $1.03 and $1.26 per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial project earnings of $1.46 per share. Analyst estimates typically exclude one-time items. Sears also said that same-store sales at Kmart are down 4.7 percent for the first 12 weeks of the 13-week quarter due to lower transaction volume in a majority of stores. Goldman Sachs analyst Adrianne Shapira, who rates Sears "Neutral," said in a note to clients on Friday she suspects the weak results were due to lower-than-expected Kmart sales pressuring margins and expenses, while gross margin improvement at domestic Sears stores moderated. She said she expected shares to be pressured in early trading, but a shareholder meeting on Friday could help shares. Deutsche Bank Securities analyst William A. Dreher Jr. on Friday said the outlook was "disappointing." He cut his first-quarter earnings estimate to $1.22 but kept his "Buy" rating on the stock. "We continue to see Sears as a solid cash generator, driven by continued cost cutting and reduced capital expenditures," he wrote in a note to investors on Friday. "The combination of strong...proceeds from asset sales and securitizations will be deployed to enhance shareholder value." Shares fell $6.69, or 3.6 percent, to $181.63 during morning trading. Shares have traded between $134.56 and $195.18 during the past 52 weeks.

To: Smiling Bob who wrote (10705)	6/1/2007 1:05:57 PM
From: Smiling Bob	Respond to of 19256

SHLD story applies to RSH as well Clearance Sale at Sears Evelyn M. Rusli, 05.31.07, 11:41 AM ET Billionaire Eddie Lampertmanaged to squeeze out a bit more value out of Sears Holdings, even as sales at its Kmart and flagship lines continued to stumble. First quarter profits surged 20.0% on one-time charges, according to the company on Thursday, but shares continued to fall as investors questioned the retailer’s health. The giant broadline retailer said earnings jumped to $216 million, or $1.40 a share, versus $180 million, or $1.14 a share, from a year ago. But on a continuing operations basis, which excludes one-time items, such as a legal settlement and retirement benefits, the company netted only $1.10 a share— far below analysts’ expectation of $1.22 a share. At $1.10 a share, the company also fell from the year ago period’s result of $1.11 a share. Revenue also fell 2.6% to $11.7 billion, from $12 billion. Now, investors are wondering whether Lampert, whose hedge fund ESL Investments owns a 40% stake, can keep the Searscash machine chugging. Since Lampert came on board in November 2004, by merging Kmart with Sears, the stock has skyrocketed over 71%. But after drastically cutting operating costs and improving margins, Lampert, America's 67th richest person, seems to be running out of tricks. In the first quarter, Sears managed to improve operating results at Sears Canada and minimize expenses in U.S. Sears stores. But these gains were largely offset by poor sales at Kmart, where same store sales dropped 4.4%. Same store sales data, which are sales at stores open at least a year, is considered an important yardstick in gauging a retailer’s health. Same store sales also slipped 3.4% at the company’s namesake line, where home appliance sales were notably poor. The company deflected blame on Thursday, by pointing the finger at macro-economic trends. "In part, our domestic operating results reflect the impact of some of the same challenges being faced by our customers, such as rising energy costs and a slower housing market," said Sears chief executive officer Aylwin Lewis. "Although one quarter does not justify hitting the panic button, the negative data points in retail are starting to pile up," Adranne Shapira, a Goldman Sachs analyst, said in a research note this month. Analysts have long speculated that Lampert primarily wants to use Sears to raise capital for outside investments at the expense of the retailers. In the past, Lampert has said he will consider investments beyond retail. To allay shareholders' concerns, Lampert has adamantly reiterated his commitment to developing the beleaguered brand this year. "I want there to be no doubt about one thing: It is certainly our intent to grow Sears Holdings, '' Lampert said in a letter to shareholders in March. "Some commentators have asserted that we want to shrink the company, but that is simply not so.'' Under Lampert's stewardship, Sears has amassed a sizable cash reserve of $4 billion. He has used some to make hedge-fund-like investments in derivatives called total return swaps. The company reported that in fiscal 2006 it made $74 million in pretax income on the transactions. It remains to be seen exactly what Lampert has in mind for Sears, but he has some wiggle room before investor confidence snaps. Although "in Eddie we trust," remains the mantra of the day, this buoyant optimism is increasingly tempered by a growing suspicion that while Lampert knows how to raise profit margins in the short term, he doesn't know how to sell Kmart and Sears to the consumer.

To: Smiling Bob who wrote (10705)	7/10/2007 9:27:02 AM
From: Smiling Bob	Respond to of 19256

SHLD Message 23411550 Sears Lowers Earnings Guidance Tuesday July 10, 8:53 am ET Sears Lowers Earnings Guidance on Languid Summer Sales Figures HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. (AP) -- Sears second-quarter earnings will likely fall well below Wall Street expectations due to disappointing sales of home appliances and other products at both Sears and Kmart, the department store chain said Tuesday. ADVERTISEMENT For the quarter ending Aug. 4, executives at the nation's third-largest retailer said Sears Holdings Corp. expects to post earnings between $160 million and $200 million, or between $1.06 and $1.32 per share. That includes an 8-cent per share gain from bankruptcy-related settlements and investing activities. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had expected second-quarter earnings of $2.12 per share for the Hoffman Estates-based company. "We are disappointed with our recent performance," Chief Executive Aylwin Lewis said in a statement. "Although we believe our business has suffered from many of the same factors that have led other retailers to announce disappointing results and lowered expectations, our recent performance underscores our ongoing need to become more relevant to consumers while improving our discipline around expense management." During a nine-week period that ended July 7, same-store sales at Kmart's U.S. locations fell 3.9 percent while same-store sales fell 4 percent at Sears. There were slight increases in women's apparel and footwear sales at Sears stores, but that wasn't enough to offset declines felt across most other categories. Same-store sales figures are an important a retail industry metric of stores open at least one year. Separately, Sears said it approved the purchase of up to $1 billion of its common shares, in addition to the $121 million worth of shares that remain available for repurchase under the company 's current buyback program. Since late 2005, Sears has repurchased nearly 14 million shares at a total cost of $1.9 billion. searsholdings.com

To: Smiling Bob who wrote (10705)	8/30/2007 10:49:11 AM
From: Smiling Bob	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 19256

SHLD - down $42 from March post and playing out as expected Message 23411550 --- Sears 2Q Profit Falls 40 Percent Thursday August 30, 9:39 am ET By Ashley M. Heher, AP Business Writer Sears 2Q Profit Drops on Lower Sales, Weaker Operating Results at Sears Domestic and Kmart CHICAGO (AP) -- Sears Holdings Corp. said Thursday that its second-quarter profit dropped 40 percent because of lower overall sales and weaker operating results from Kmart and its domestic Sears operations. Shares of the big retailer dropped more than 4 percent in morning trading. The earnings were also being compared with results that included a gain on a large legal settlement a year ago. "We are disappointed with our second quarter results," said Aylwin Lewis, Sears Holdings' chief executive and president. Net income for the period ended Aug. 4 fell to $176 million, or $1.17 per share, compared with $294 million, or $1.88 per share, in the previous year. Quarterly revenue dipped 4 percent to $12.24 billion versus $12.79 billion a year ago. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected earnings of $1.13 per share after the company narrowed its earnings projections earlier this month. The analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items. "Our gross margins came under pressure from sales declines and increased promotional activity, and as a result, our net income was significantly below last year and our expectations," Lewis said in a statement. The Hoffman Estates-based company said the lower operating results at Sears Domestic and Kmart were partially offset by improved results at Sears Canada. Still, same-store sales at Sears' U.S. stores fell 4.3 percent while Kmart's comparable store sales declined 3.8 percent. Same-store sales figures are an important retail industry metric of stores open at least one year. Sales in Kmart and Sears stores were sluggish in nearly all categories. However, some increases were recorded in both stores' women's apparel lines and Sears' footwear and consumer electronics. The prior year's results included a gain of $22 million, or 14 cents per share, related to the settlement of Visa/MasterCard antitrust litigation. Sears said it had $2.6 billion in cash and equivalents on hand at the end of the quarter and had repurchased about $1.5 billion in shares. Sears stock fell $6.91, or 4.7 percent, to $138.70 in morning trading Thursday. searsholdings.com

To: Smiling Bob who wrote (10705)	11/20/2007 10:39:17 AM
From: Smiling Bob	Respond to of 19256

SHLD 114+ Who'd have thunk? Down from 180 in Mar. Message 23411550 Now they're using some of their cash. Don't know the details --- Sears Holding acquires 13.7% stake in Restoration Hardware Heath E. Combs -- Furniture Today, 11/20/2007 6:26:00 AM May spark bidding war for retailer CORTE MADERA, Calif. — Sears Holding Corp. has bought a 13.7% stake in Restoration Hardware and is considering an acquisition of the retailer, Sears said in a filing Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The move could spark a bidding war for Restoration, which agreed two weeks ago to be taken private by a private equity firm. Click here! Sears Holding, the Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based parent of Kmart and Sears, paid $30.2 million for the 5.3 million Restoration shares, it said in the filing. On Nov. 8, Restoration Hardware announced that it had agreed to be taken private in a $267 million buyout led by an affiliate of Catterton Partners, a Connecticut-based private equity firm with retail investments that include Build-A-Bear Workshop, P.F. Chang’s and Outback Steakhouse. Gary Friedman, Restoration Hardware’s chairman, president and CEO, was included in that bid as an equity investor along with several unnamed institutional stockholders. The company said the deal was expected to close in the first quarter of 2008. That same day, Sears Holding purchased 1.6 million shares, and on Nov. 12 purchased another 1.8 million shares. Restoration Hardware, a Top 100 company with 110 stores in the United States and Canada, has struggled this year as the housing and home furnishings industries have slumped. Its stock price, which topped $9 per share in late 2006, had languished below $3 per share before the Catterton deal, which was valued at $6.70 per share. For the first six months of its fiscal year, through Aug. 4, Restoration lost $21.7 million or 56 cents per share, and it had projected a loss of 14 cents to 21 cents per share for its fiscal year, which ends in early February.