Walmart de Mexico says same-store sales rise 2.6% in December

MEXICO CITY, Jan 8 (Reuters) – Walmart de Mexico, Mexico’s biggest retailer, said on Wednesday that sales at stores open for more than a year in Mexico rose 2.6% last December compared with the same month in 2018.

Walmex, as the company is known, said total sales in Mexico increased 4.1% last December. (Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Stefanie Eschenbacher)

Magnitude 4.8 earthquake strikes off B.C. coast, no tsunami threat: Earthquakes Canada

A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck off the coast of Vancouver Island on Wednesday, Jan. 8.

Earthquakes Canada says the quake struck at about 12:20 p.m. Pacific time, about 215 kilometres west of Port Hardy.

The earthquake was measured at a depth of 10 kilometres.

Nasdaq closes at record as Trump soothes Middle East geopolitical jitters

Stocks finished higher on Wednesday after President Donald Trump played down the importance of an Iranian missile strike on Iraqi bases housing American troops, cooling concerns that the U.S. was being drawn into a conflict with Tehran. The S&P 500 SPX, +0.49% rose 16 points, or 0.5%, to end around 3,253. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.56% picked up 161 points, or 0.6%, to 28,745, based on preliminary numbers. The Nasdaq Composite COMP, +0.67% gained 61 points, or 0.7%, to finish around 9,129, surpassing its previous closing record of 9,092.19 set on Jan. 2. Trump emphasized that the U.S. had suffered no casualties. He did, however, announce fresh sanctions on Iran. In company news, shares of Boeing BA, -1.75% were down 1.6% after one of its aircraft crashed in Tehran en route to Ukraine.

Larry David blasts Trump, compares Fox News with the Berlin Wall

Larry David is pretty, pretty… pretty critical of Fox News:

That’s the man behind “Seinfeld” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” sharing his frustrations in an interview with GQ while noshing at one of the poshest country clubs in Los Angeles, if not the world.

“Stop lying, you asshole!” David shouted at the TV, where President Donald Trump was making a statement.

He didn’t back down when the GQ interviewer asked whether, at a club like Riviera, which counts NFL legend Tom Brady and many other uber wealthy celebrity types among its membership ranks, there might be those within earshot who take exception to him spouting his political views.

“I talk louder on purpose when they’re around,” he said.

Politics aside, the whole interview is worth a read, especially for fans. David dives into the importance of money, his fashion sensibilities and much more.

“Curb Your Enthusiasm” returns on Jan. 19. Here’s a taster:

Fox News parent Fox Corp.FOXA, +0.11%and MarketWatch parent News Corp NWS, +0.27%share common ownership.

Bed Bath & Beyond stock drops on missed Street view, pulled outlook

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. BBBY, -1.13% shares dropped in the extended session Wednesday after the housewares retailer reported a big quarterly miss and pulled its outlook for the year. Bed Bath & Beyond shares dropped as much as 20% and were last down 12% after hours, following a brief halt and a 1.1% decline in the regular session to close at $16.65. The company reported a fiscal third-quarter loss of $38.6 million, or 31 cents a share, compared with a profit of $24.4 million, or 18 cents a share, in the year-ago period. The adjusted loss was 38 cents a share. Revenue declined to $2.76 billion from $3.03 billion in the year-ago quarter. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast earnings of 2 cents on revenue of $2.85 billion. In a statement, the company said it is pulling its outlook for the year because it "expects its sales and profitability to remain pressured during the fiscal 2019 fourth quarter." Analysts had forecast full-year earnings of $1.89 a share on revenue of $11.32 billion. "Our performance in the third quarter was unsatisfactory and underscores the imperative for change and strengthens our sense of priorities and purpose," said Mark Tritton, Bed Bath & Beyond president and chief executive, in a statement. "We will be finalizing the details of our strategic plan over the next few months and appreciate your patience as we embark and pursue this journey to position Bed Bath & Beyond to deliver long-term, sustainable growth."

Hydro Flask maker Helen of Troy beats fiscal Q3 views

Shares of Helen of Troy Corp. HELE, +0.23% rose nearly 6% in the extended session Wednesday after the consumer goods and beauty products maker reported fiscal third-quarter earnings above expectations and raised its outlook for fiscal 2020. Helen of Troy said it earned $69 million, or $2.71 a share, in the quarter, compared with $49 million, or $1.88 a share, in the year-ago period. Sales rose to $475 million, compared with $431 million a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected earnings of $2.15 a share on sales of $466 million. For fiscal 2020, the company said it expects revenue in a range between $1.650 billion and $1.675 billion, or sales growth between 5.5% and 7.1%, compared with a previous expectation of growth between 2.9% to 4.8%. Shares of Helen of Troy, makers of Oxo house goods and Hydro Flask, among other brands, had ended the regular trading day up 0.2%.

Costco December Sales Up 11%

Retail giant Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) Wednesday said its sales for December increased nearly 11%.

Sales for December rose 10.5% to $17.04 billion, up from $15.42 billion in the year-ago period. Same-store sales rose 9%, Costco said.

For the 18 weeks ended January 5, 2020, the company reported net sales of $56.99 billion, an increase of 7.5 percent from $52.99 billion during the similar period last year.

The later-than-usual Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday dates “positively impacted” the month’s total and comparable-store sales by about 1%, the company said.