NEW YORK — Macy’s Inc. reported a disappointing profit for its second quarter and cut its outlook for the year on Wednesday. The department store chain blamed shoppers’ reluctance to spend for a rare slip in sales. The second-quarter weakness ...

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NEW YORK — Americans kept spending this summer despite their escalating fears about the slow economic recovery and surging gas prices. A group of 18 retailers ranging from discounter Target to club-operator Costco reported monthly sales on Thursday that rose ...

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NEW YORK — Shoppers showed some spending muscle in July, once summer clearance sales and the hottest July in 50 years got them in the mood. Solid sales reports from retailers Thursday took some of the sting out of weak ...

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WASHINGTON — Retailers are paying significantly less every time a customer swipes a debit card under a rule capping the fees that banks are allowed to charge. The Federal Reserve says in a report Tuesday that the average fee paid ...

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FREDERICK — A century and a half ago many of Frederick’s downtown buildings served as hospitals to care for wounded soldiers from both sides of the Civil War. Downtown merchants were urged last week to use that historic connection to ...

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NEW YORK — Retailers reported mixed sales results for January in a sign that American shoppers are continuing to be cautious about when and where they spend their money in the shaky economy. Of the 12 merchants reporting monthly sales ...

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NEW YORK — Many retailers delivered solid sales gains for December, but heavy discounts needed to get shoppers to buy exacted a high price, clouding the holiday shopping season. Merchants had to mark down coats and other gifts to get ...

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WASHINGTON — Americans spent more on autos, furniture and clothing at the start of the crucial holiday shopping season, boosting retail sales for a sixth straight month. Retail sales rose 0.2 percent in November, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. That’s ...

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NEW YORK — Popular online reviews site Yelp is going public, the latest in a slew of Internet businesses to do so. Yelp Inc. said in a regulatory filing Thursday that it plans to raise $100 million in an initial ...

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NEW YORK — Groupon, the company that pioneered online group discounts, saw its stock rise sharply in its public debut Friday, showing strong demand for an Internet company whose business model is considered unsustainable by some analysts. Groupon’s stock jumped ...

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