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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 (14920)	1/8/2009 12:14:07 PM
From: Smiling Bob	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 19257

SHLD The puts I bought are down quite a bit despite me buying pretty close to the HOD SHLD never fails to puzzle. Trades in its own universe courtesy of the CEO. It's extremely volatile. Nowhere does it say how or why, just that they will beat. Their story will unwrap quickly. --- Sears Bucks Trend By Raising EPS View; Shares Rise 18% 0 minutes ago - Dow Jones News Related Companies Symbol Last %Chg M 11.19 -1.06% SHLD 48.30 19.11% WMT 51.27 -7.69% As of 12:09 PM ET 1/8/09 By David Benoit Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Sears Holding Corp. (SHLD) reported a drop in sales, but the numbers weren't as bad as some on Wall Street had been expecting, and the struggling retailer boosted its earnings view to well above the Street's, sending shares soaring on a bleak day for many retailers. Shares of the department store chain, which also runs Kmart, were up 18%, or $6.89, at $47.96 in recent trading, by far the top performer on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index on Thursday. Sears posted a 7.3% drop in December same-store sales amid a 13% drop at its domestic namesake stores and a 1.1% dip at Kmart. The namesake stores took a hit on apparel sales, the company said. But steep price-cutting to try and draw in scared consumers and a return of layaway shopping kept the numbers in range with expectations when even the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT), fell short. UBS analysts said in a research note that the comparable sales at Sears were better than they had expected, led by the Kmart banner, which brought back the layaway process, in which stores set aside consumer purchases until they are paid in full, to lure in holiday shoppers. Wal-Mart also cut into its expectations for the quarter, as did Macy's Inc. (M) and a slew of other retailers, painting an ever-worsening picture for the conditions of retail spending and consumer confidence. Analysts said Wal-Mart was a victim of the price-slashing practices at competitors like Sears. But Sears bucked the trend, instead predicting fourth-quarter earnings well above Wall Street's projections. The company projected net income of $300 million to $380 million, or of $2.44 to $3.09 per share, for the quarter ending Jan. 31. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters projected $232.1 million, or $1.90 per share. For the full-year, the company said it expects net income of $1.27 to $1.90 per share while analysts were looking for earnings of 62 cents a share. Sears also said it was in a strong cash position - it will end the year with $1.3 billion - and had lowered its inventories by 6.5%, which UBS applauded. -By David Benoit, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2472; david.benoit@dowjones.com; Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: djnewsplus.com. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.