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Thousands of small merchants depend on Amazon.com to reach customers who otherwise wouldn't know they exist. But some complain that Amazon itself often spots their popular products and then starts muscling in.

Barnes & Noble posted a loss for its fiscal fourth quarter on sales that barely inched higher. The loss, while narrower than the one a year earlier, was larger than expected and revenue growth fell short of hopes. Sales of the Nook e-reader fell.

Drug retailer Walgreen Co is buying a 45 percent stake in European health and beauty group Alliance Boots for $6.7 billion in cash and stock, creating the world's biggest buyer of prescription drugs.

J.C. Penney Co.’s transformation team started to unravel on Monday. Penney president Michael Francis was fired after only eight months as the No. 2 executive at the Plano-based department store chain. Francis’ abrupt departure appears to be another corrective step from CEO Ron Johnson, who recently acknowledged that Penney’s marketing message has confused shoppers.

Barnes & Noble told the U.S. Justice Department that a proposed price-fixing settlement with several major book publishers will hurt the company and consumers.

The company’s founder, Richard Schulze, said he was leaving the board immediately and also said he was looking to sell his 20.1 percent stake in the retailer, worth about $1.3 billion.

Amazon has set a torrid hiring pace in recent months, accelerating a rate of employee acquisitions that was already well ahead of most large corporations.

Macy's reported higher fiscal-first-quarter earnings on solid sales gains and constraints on overhead costs.

Buying a smart phone from a third-party, discount online retailer might seem like a shrewd move, but a $50 discount could cost you $400 later if something goes wrong.

The online retailer is now using its vast resources to become a major seller of high-end clothing.