Wal-Mart Stores Web site creates new program that lets outside retailers offer products

July 23rd, 2009 Wal-Mart expands PC offeringsNEW YORK — A move by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to offer more and lower-priced laptops could give it an edge over key rival Best Buy Co.

July 29th, 2009 Microsoft to open stores in Arizona, CaliforniaSEATTLE — Microsoft Corp. said Tuesday it is planning to open its first two retail stores in Arizona and California this fall.

May 5th, 2009 Recession forces new focus in e-commerce marketing NEW YORK — Online retailers are shifting their marketing from traditional advertising to less expensive tools like Facebook.com and Twitter and e-mail as they seek market share or just work to retain customers, according to an industry study being released Tuesday. Conducted by Internet analysis firm Forrester Research for Shop.org — the online arm of the trade group National Retail Federation — the survey found that merchants believe online business is better suited to withstand an economic downturn than physical stores or catalogs, though they acknowledge challenges for both.

July 16th, 2009 Microsoft plans stores 'right next door to Apple'SEATTLE — Microsoft Corp.'s chief operating officer says the software maker is planning to open retail stores "right next door to Apple" in the fall. The executive, Kevin Turner, also says Microsoft is "in the game for the long-term" and has hired a retail team.

September 21st, 2009 Lennar, Wal-Mart, Jack in the Box big moversNEW YORK — The following stocks were among those that moved substantially or traded heavily Monday on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stock Market: NYSE: Potash Corp., down $4.05 at $93.09 The Canadian fertilizer company slashed its third-quarter and full-year 2009 profit forecast because of lagging sales volume. Granite Construction Inc., down $1.71 at $32.10 An analyst cut his rating for the civil contractor and producer of construction materials, saying it isn't getting enough new business.

April 17th, 2009 Record Store Day celebrates indie retailersPORTLAND, Maine — Despite the success of online retailers, explosion of Internet downloads and high-profile closings of Virgin Megastores and Tower Records stores, bricks-and-mortar record stores aren't all spinning toward oblivion. Although hundreds of independent music retailers have gone out of business in recent years, about 2,000 are still around, and many are thriving.

August 24th, 2009 Microsoft reinvents app store for non-smart phonesSEATTLE — Microsoft Corp. is giving people with regular cell phones access to the same kinds of programs smart phone owners have embraced.

July 2nd, 2009 Web retailers, states tussle over tax rulesNEW YORK — In a big break for online shoppers, Web retailers generally don't have to charge sales taxes in states where they lack a store or some other physical presence. Increasingly, states aching under the weight of the recession are seeking a way around that rule.

September 17th, 2009 EBay calls on EU to change luxury brand rulesBRUSSELS — EBay Inc. called Thursday on the European Union to change antitrust rules that allow luxury manufacturers to choose who can sell their branded goods online.

June 4th, 2009 Sears, FTC to settle personal data allegations HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — The Federal Trade Commission announced a preliminary settlement Thursday with retailer Sears Holdings Corp.

June 29th, 2009 BANGALORE - InfoPrint Solutions Company, a joint venture between IBM and Ricoh, today announced a major enhancement to its developer support program, aimed at enabling partners to test and integrate new components into InfoPrint ProcessDirector (IPPD), the flagship output management workflow system. This developer program extension creates a systematic and programmatic way for independent software vendors (ISVs) who want to expand IPPD functionality to interact with the InfoPrint technical team and InfoPrint development support resources.

May 4th, 2009 Sears looks to Web for future growthHOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — The chairman of Sears Holdings Corp.

May 5th, 2009 Sears looks to Web sites, new strategy for growth HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — The chairman of Sears Holdings Corp.

May 4th, 2009 Trent Reznor, the leading man of Nine Inch Nails and a digital music visionary, thrashed Apple the other day because the NiN app was disapproved off an update on the grounds of "objectionable content" (read: too many F-attacks). But anyway, Apple's concern surprisingly was not with content that much but with the song "The Downward Spiral" that can be streamed to the updated NIN iPhone App.

August 10th, 2009 Toshiba to join rival Blu-ray camp, plans productsTOKYO —Having lost the video format war, Toshiba Corp. said Monday it will make Blu-ray disc products and plans to join the once-rival camp, the Blu-ray Disc Association.