May 30 (Reuters) – Apparel retailer Guess Inc
forecast current-quarter sales above Wall Street’s estimates
after reporting a higher-than-expected quarterly profit, sending
its shares up 10 percent in trading after the bell.

The retailer forecast total second-quarter sales of $620
million to $635 million, which beat analysts’ average estimate
of $618.4 million.

May 23 (Reuters) – U.S. retailer Sears Holdings
cast bigger doubts on the progress of its turnaround after
reporting a bigger-than-expected quarterly loss, hurt by cooler
spring weather.

Shares of the company, which also said it was considering
selling its service contracts business, fell 12 percent to
$51.41 in heavy trading after the bell.

By Greg Roumeliotis and Siddharth Cavale

(Reuters) – Private equity firm Apax Partners LLP has agreed to acquire rue21 Inc (RUE.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) for about $1.1 billion, attracted by the teen-apparel retailer’s growth and cash flow and keen to add to a retail portfolio that includes Cole Haan and Takko Fashion.

Rue21 said on Thursday that Apax, whose old funds already own a 30 percent stake in the company, will pay $42.00 per share in cash, representing a premium of 23 percent to its Wednesday close. Shares of the company jumped to $41.90.

April 25 (Reuters) – Occidental Petroleum Corp
posted a higher-than-expected profit as cost cuts blunted the
impact of low natural gas prices, while the fourth-largest U.S.
oil company weighs various efforts to boost its lagging stock
price.

Shares of Occidental rose 3.7 percent to a two-month high on
Thursday, but they are still down about 3 percent in the past
year, compared with a 15 percent rise for California rival
Chevron Corp.

April 23 (Reuters) – Casino operator Caesars Entertainment
Corp said it would spin off assets, with buyout firms
Apollo Global Management LLC and TPG Capital LP
investing $250 million each in a new business free from the
shackles of the company’s debt.

The deal could raise up to $1.2 billion for Caesars, which
was taken private by a consortium led by the two private equity
firms in 2008 for $30.7 billion, went public last year, and is
struggling to cope with a debt mountain in excess of $24.1
billion.

By Siddharth Cavale

(Reuters) – Leather goods retailer Coach Inc (COH.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) reported higher-than-expected quarterly sales after expanding into clothing and shoes to compete with emerging rivals, sending its shares up 11 percent in morning trading.

Coach, which relaunched itself this year as a “lifestyle brand” after demand for its premium handbags began to sag, beat Wall Street expectations by boosting sales in North America in the third quarter.

By Dhanya Skariachan and Siddharth Cavale

(Reuters) – Chubby-faced American Girl dolls and the “descendants” of Dracula and Frankenstein’s monster are helping Mattel Inc (MAT.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) boost sales to pre-teen girls as its iconic Barbie franchise shows signs of aging.

The No.1 toymaker reported that sales of American Girl dolls and accessories rose by a third to just over $100 million in the first quarter, helping it turn in stronger-than-expected earnings and boosting its shares to near a 15-year high.

March 6 (Reuters) – Worldwide demand for its Jack Daniel’s
whiskey helped U.S. distiller Brown-Forman Corp to beat
Wall Street profit estimates for a third consecutive quarter,
and the company said full-year sales would rise.

Cash-strapped Americans are less likely to cut spending on
liquor than on groceries, an Ipsos poll for Reuters this month
showed. Brown-Forman also reported a surge in sales of whiskey
to Russia and other emerging markets over the last nine months.

March 6 (Reuters) – Staples Inc, the largest U.S.
office supply chain, forecast weak full-year earnings and
reported lower-than-expected quarterly revenue on Wednesday as
corporate customers and other shoppers reduced discretionary
spending.

The company’s shares fell 5.1 percent to $12.61 in early
trading.

Staples, whose largest rivals are getting ready to merge,
also raised its quarterly dividend by 9 percent to 12 cents per
share.

By Siddharth Cavale

(Reuters) – Barnes & Noble Inc (BKS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Chairman Leonard Riggio, joining a growing list of executives lining up to buy the fading companies they founded, offered to buy the bookseller’s declining retail business, leaving it to focus on its more promising Nook e-reader and college bookstores.

Barnes & Noble’s shares rose as much as 11 percent to $15.00 in morning trading, valuing it at about $900 million.