Editors Note – In this feature, we check on the health of the Fortune 500 companies which have a presence in San Juan Capistrano.
It was another four-day week for the market this week, which started strong, but ended in a whimper. Bank stocks led the charge for the second week in a row.
While perhaps counterintuitive for this time of year, many retail stocks struggled. But not Ross Stores. Its sales in existing stores improved 9 percent on the quarter.
Find out what's happening in San Juan Capistranofor free with the latest updates from Patch.
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Find out what's happening in San Juan Capistranofor free with the latest updates from Patch.
on the Week
Bank of America BAC 6.82+10.36
* Financial data provided by Google Finance
Some business briefs for you:
Some people like to invest in what is called the "Dogs of the Dow," the worst-performing stocks in the Dow Jones Index, in hopes that the companies will turn things around. Maybe it worked for two of the SJC Patch 25 companies, because McDonald's and Chevron have both left the "dogs" behind, according to seekingalpha.com. McDonald's gained 30.71 percent on the year. No SJC Patch 25 companies are in this year's doghouse.
Retail sales were up in December, not surprisingly, but profits were down, as shoppers went on the hunt for bargains, according to the Wall Street Cheat Sheet. "Retailers likeTJX Companies, which beat analysts’ expectations for same-store sales by a wide margin with an 8 percent gain, have had to price products 'aggressively.' ”
Starbucks announced that it's going to raise coffee prices (on the tall, which really isn't all that tall), but thankfully, not in California.
Did you know FedEx flies mail for the U.S. Postal Service? FedEx's new contract with the federal agency will reduce revenues from that contract by 27 percent in 2013. Ouch.
Drats, I didn't win! A Lakeside woman was declared the big winner in a contest among San Diego Gas & Electric users to see who could conserve the most energy.
Quest Diagnostics completed its previously announced agreement with Lovelace Health System to acquire S.E.D. Medical Laboratories of Alburquerque. Under the terms of the transaction, Quest Diagnostics has acquired the assets of S.E.D. Medical Laboratories and will manage in-patient labs for the four Lovelace hospitals, as well as serve Lovelace Health Plan members. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Wanna learn leadership strategies from a Fortune 500 CEO? Yum! Brands' David Novak offers just that in a new book, "Taking People With You: The Only Way to Make BIG Things Happen" (Portfolio Penguin, January 2012).