Sales | featured news

Activision Blizzard's said the newest title in its popular Call of Duty franchise generated more than $500 million in worldwide retail sales in the first 24 hours of its release... Sales of "Call of Duty: Black Ops II" topped last year's launch of "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3," which made $400 million in sales in North America and the U.K. in the first 24 hours.

Samsung sold more than 97 million mobile phones in the third quarter, besting Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone by more than 74 million units. According to Gartner (NYSE: IT), nearly 428 million mobile phones were sold during the quarter. Approximately 23.5 million of those phones were manufactured by Apple — 97.9 million were made by Samsung.

Microsoft said sales of "Halo 4," the latest in its sci-fi alien shooting-game series, topped $220 million in global sales during its first 24 hours of availability.

McDonald's Corp. is having trouble stomaching the competition. The world's biggest hamburger chain said Thursday that a key sales figure fell for the first time in nearly a decade in October, as it faced the double whammy of a challenging economy abroad and intensifying competition at home. The company, based in Oak Brook, Ill., says global revenue at restaurants open at least 13 months fell 1.8 percent for the month. The last time it dropped was in March 2003.

U.S. retail sales rose in September as Americans bought more cars and gasoline, while a gauge of consumer spending pointed to stronger-than-expected economic growth in the third quarter.

Delivery times have climbed quickly as Apple takes orders for the iPhone 5, suggesting strong demand. Apple began taking orders for the phone at 12 a.m. Pacific time. It initially promised delivery by next Friday, when the new phone also goes on sale in stores.

Retail sales in the U.S. increased in August by the most in six months, boosted by demand for automobiles along with higher gasoline prices that left consumers with less to spend on other goods. The 0.9 percent gain followed a revised 0.6 percent advance in July that was smaller than initially reported, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. The median forecast of 84 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for an increase of 0.8 percent. Sales slowed at department stores, apparel retailers and electronics outlets.

Target (TGT) and Macy’s (M) announced that June same store sales were below analyst estimates. Sales at Target increased by 2.1 percent, below expectations of a 2.8 percent gain. Macy’s reported a 1.2 percent increase in same-store sales, well below the estimate of 2.3 percent.

Target Corp. said Thursday a key sales figure rose 1.1 percent in April, but it fell short of analysts' expectations. Analysts expected the discount retailer to post a 2.8 percent increase in stores opened at least one year, according to Thomson Reuters. That metric is a key gauge of a retailer's health because it excludes results from stores recently opened or closed.

Never mind that you're probably still recovering from holiday travel and may have no interest in heading to another airport. Faced with a traditional post-holiday lull in travel, several airlines are hoping their New Year's sales will lure travelers back into the air at a discount.