In case you needed more evidence that an economic recovery is far from imminent it’s here.Consumers buffeted by unemployment or fear of job loss and a tightening of credit aren’t yet ready to open their wallets and spend.Walmart (WMT) the world’s largest retailer says third-quarter profit rose 3.2% on cost-cutting and tight inventory controls. The company looks for a so-so holiday shopping season and expects sales to be flat in the fourth quarter.Walmart’s net income rose to $3.24 billion or $0.84 a share for the period ended October 31 from $3.14 billion or $0.80 for the same period a ...

The tech sector posts early gains, boosted by advances in shares of chip makers and semiconductor capital-equipment companies.

In an 8-K filing made with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Tuesday Adobe (ADBE) announced it will be cutting 680 full-time positions -- roughly 9% of its workforce -- over the next year.According to the company the layoffs were essential to align costs with its fiscal 2010 budget which it referred to in the filing as "The Restructuring Plan."Ross MacMillan an analyst at Jefferies estimates the savings will add about $0.15 to $0.20 to Adobe's full-year adjusted earnings per share. He bumped his price target for the company's stock up to $40 from $37.The current layoffs aren't the ...

Stocks stopped to catch their breath after recent robust rallies but the Dow did post a fifth straight gain to end at its best level since October of ‘08. For the market overall optimistic investors say yesterday was just “the pause that refreshes.” (Conversely Coca-Cola (KO) which once employed that phrase in its advertising is in no need of a rest after it rose to a yearly peak.) Tiffany (TIF) the retailer no longer a rough diamond also sits atop a 52-week high though J-Lo who once talked of “the rocks that I got” there has had better days. ...

U.S. stock futures Wednesday point to gains for a second time this week, as traders interpret a flurry of Federal Reserve officials’ speeches as a green light to buying up dollar-denominated assets while selling the greenback.