Financial News

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Consumers will take a conservative approach to spending this holiday season. According to NRF’s holiday consumer spending survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, the average holiday shopper will spend $737.95 on gifts, decor, greeting cards and more, 2% less than the $752.24 they actually spent last year. Despite this reduction in individual holiday budgets, NRF is forecasting holiday sales will increase 3.9% to $602.1 billion.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart will be opening more small stores next year and beyond as the company pursues a vision of omnichannel retailing that it contends no other company is capable of executing.

LONDON — AstraZeneca has acquired a British developer of biotech drugs for treating cancer, AstraZeneca said Tuesday.

The company said its MedImmune subsidiary had acquired privately held Spirogen and also entered into a collaboration with ADC Therapeutics to develop two of ADC's antibody-drug conjugate programs, currently in pre-clinical development. MedImmune will make an equity investment in ADC, which has an existing licensing agreement with Spirogen.

ZAANDAM, Netherlands — Dutch supermarket operator Royal Ahold has bought back more than a quarter of the shares it intends to as part of a share-repurchase program announced earlier this year.

The company said Monday that it had bought back 2.23 million for $38.8 million. The purchases are part of the $678 million buyback program announced in February and increased by $2.03 billion in June.

The total amount repurchased so far is 42.8 million shares, for a total price of $711.9 million.

PLEASANTON, Calif. — Safeway on Thursday announced, as part of its plan to exit the Chicago market, it has sold four of its Dominick's stores in the greater Chicago area to New Albertsons, which operates Jewel-Osco grocery stores.  

Safeway announced today that it intends to exit the Chicago market altogether, where it operates 72 Dominick's stores, by early 2014. "We expect to use the cash tax benefit and any other cash proceeds from the disposal of Dominick's properties to buy back stock and to invest in growth opportunities," the company stated.

PLEASANTON, Calif. — Safeway on Thursday evening may have posted what analysts have described as disappointing earnings, but that's not stopping Wall Street from recognizing the value Safeway is unlocking with its exit from a pair of markets — Chicago and Canada. After closing at $31.57 Thursday, Safeway's stock was selling at more than $2 higher early Friday afternoon, and at least one analyst has targeted $40 as the potential inherent in Safeway stock. 

SAN FRANCISCO — Del Monte Foods will sell its consumer products business to Del Monte Pacific Limited for $1.675 billion in order to focus on the pet products market, Del Monte Foods said.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Fred's sales increased to $177.3 million in September, the discount store chain said Thursday.

The Memphis, Tenn.-based company, which operates 702 stores in the South, said the monthly sales figures represented a 4% increase over September 2012. Same-store sales increased by 2.8%, compared with a 3.8% decrease last year.

For the year to date, sales were $1.3 billion, a 1% increase over $1.3 billion during the same period last year. Same-store sales increased by 0.8%, compared with a 1.2% decrease last year.