Toy retailer Toys 'R Us has unveiled its top toy-buying trends for this holiday season. Topping the list is a focus on nostalgic playthings like hula hoops.    Read More

Forget what the analysts say. Retail is making a comeback.   Read More

Stocks rose on Thursday after a surprise profit from Alcoa sent materials names higher and generated an overall feeling that earnings season had gotten off to a strong start.   Read More

Commodities and commodity stocks higher pre-open on Alcoa earnings. While Alcoa is getting all the attention, Australia is again helping Asian markets due to a much better than expected jobs report there...Australia reported an increase of 40,600 jobs in August versus a forecast of a drop of 10,000 jobs.    Read More

Folks are starting to speculate about whether September chain-store sales can be seen as a barometer of how Christmas holiday sales will ring in. But there's another gauge that may influence tomorrow's monthly retail sales reports: the thermometer.    Read More

September retail sales: improving, but is it enough? September same store sales, out tomorrow, are expected to decline by 0.8 percent year over year, according to RetailMetrics.    Read More

Let the holiday price wars begin. Target is expected to announce that it will match toy price discounts put in place last week by rival Wal-Mart Stores.    Read More

Plus, get calls on Friday's jobs number, tech, retail and more.   Read More

It's a pretty simple story: year over year retail comparable store sales in September will begin showing improvement because the fourth quarter was a disaster last year. But that's not good enough: bulls need to show SEQUENTIAL improvement; August was better than July, and bulls need to show that September is better than August.    Read More

It's been a weird week, and we have a weird list of outrageously less-than-stellar performances in the world of business. Here are our nominees. Vote for your favorite in the poll below.   Read More