Better-than-expected | featured news

Most retailers, including Costco Wholesale Corp and Limited Brands Inc , posted better-than-expected sales gains at existing stores in August, in what is expected to be a healthy month as parents and students wrapped up back-to-school purchases.

Stocks edged slightly higher on Thursday, up for a fifth session, on better-than-expected jobless claims and trade data in the United States and hopes of further stimulus action from China's central bank.

AT&T Inc pulled back its outlook for business services this year, sending its shares down 3 percent despite its better than expected quarterly profit as it reduced costs from customer upgrades to smartphones such as the Apple Inc iPhone.

Stocks are shaking off a two-week slump after a report on retail sales wasn't as bad as economists had predicted... The government said Tuesday that retail sales edged down 0.2 percent last month, the first decline in nearly a year. That was slightly better than analysts were expecting. Americans bought fewer cars during the month, but the decline reflected temporary supply chain disruptions caused by the earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan. Excluding weak car sales, retail sales rose 0.3 percent.

Exxon Mobil Corp reported a better-than-expected 53 percent increase in quarterly profit, helped by a lower tax rate and a surge in natural gas production in the United States and Qatar.

Retail sales in the U.S. climbed more than forecast in September, easing concern that unemployment stuck near a 26-year high will bring the recovery to a halt.

Blockbuster iPhone sales helped Apple Inc. blow past Wall Street's expectations with a 90 percent leap in net income for the most recent quarter. Shares of the company skyrocketed to an all-time high in extended trading Tuesday.

Apple said it sold a record 8.8 million of its popular iPhone smart phones in the three months that ended March 27, more than double the number sold a year ago. Revenue from the phones made up 40 percent of Apple's total revenue. The previous high was 8.7 million phones sold in the October-December quarter last year.

General Electric Co called the end to its two-year slump on Friday, reporting earnings that beat Wall Street forecasts and saying profit should rise through the rest of 2010.

The 0.3 percent rise in consumer spending in February was considered a respectable showing, given the winter weather.

U.S. stocks rose broadly, with investors encouraged by a government report that job losses were less than expected in February.