Business news for Fri, 28 Mar 2008 & with word department. 26 news.

The department store chain warns of back-to-back monthly sales drops, as neither a new product line nor Oprah helped

(AP) — Industrial conglomerate Textron Inc. said Friday that one of its units received a $10.4-billion, five-year contract from the U.S. Department of Defense for 167 Osprey aircraft. Bell Boeing, an alliance Textron's Bell Helicopter unit has with Boeing Co., received the contract. The ...

The city of Sacramento will receive $200,000 from the U.S. Department of Energy to advance solar technologies citywide, Rep. Doris Matsui announced Friday.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Bell Boeing, a strategic alliance between Textron Inc.'s Bell Helicopter and Boeing Co. , said late Friday it received a $10.4 billion contract from the Department of Defense for 167 V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. The five-year contract calls for 26 Osprey for the Air Force Special Operations Command and 141 Osprey for the U.S. Marine Corps.

PLANO, Texas (AP) - J.C. Penney Co., the big middle-market department store chain, warned...

At least three developers who purchased land in northeast Phoenix's Desert Ridge area when times were good are seeking relief from the terms of their purchase from the Arizona State Land Department.

The Drug Enforcement Administration is losing more guns but fewer laptops than it was about five years ago, the Justice Department's inspector general said Friday. The follow-up report found that some of the same problems cited in a 2002 audit remain:...

A Commerce Department report on consumer spending was in line with Wall Street's expectations, but personal incomes rose more than forecast.

Stocks rose modestly Friday after a government report confirmed that personal spending came in at its weakest level in 17 months in February and after a profit warning from J.C. Penney Co. weighed on retail stocks. The Commerce Department's report showed...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Department store operator JC Penney Co Inc on Friday cut its first-quarter earnings forecast and said it expects the environment to remain difficult throughout 2008, stoking fears that the second half of the year will not bring relief to struggling U.S. retailers.

Reuters - Department store operator JC Penney Co Inc on Friday cut its first-quarter earnings forecast and said it expects the environment to remain difficult throughout 2008, stoking fears that the second half of the year will not bring relief to struggling U.S. retailers.

Department store operator J.C. Penney on Friday slashed its first-quarter earnings forecast, saying sales through the Easter ...

Department store operator J.C. Penney said Friday its first-quarter earnings will be well below its previous forecast because of waning consumer demand. Its shares tumbled almost 12 percent and prices of other retailers also headed lower.

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland signed an executive order Thursday consolidating most work-force development programs in the Ohio Department of Development, allowing the state to spend some federal job retention money the administration said often lay fallow when previous Gov. Bob Taft was in office.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- J.C. Penney Co. led a broad retreat in the retail sector early Friday. Shares of the department-store chain fell more than 9% after it slashed its first-quarter profit forecast to 50 cents a share, compared with previous guidance of 75 to 80 cents a share. J.C. Penney's dour outlook hurt other department store operators. Shares of Macy's Inc , Nordstrom , and Saks Inc. all declined more than 3%. Overall, the S&P Retail Index dropped 1.9%, or 7 points, to 382.5.

In UK, flights at London Heathrow airport's Terminal Five are subject to delays for the second day running due to chaos at the baggage-handling department. On Thursday, thousands of passengers were stranded, with many of them having to be put up in hotels.

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Treasury bonds first dipped before posting gains Friday, sending yield lower, after news that consumer spending was flat in February, while inflation moderated in February. The benchmark 10-year Treasury bond was down 0.01% at 99.246, yielding [s:$tnx] 3.529%. Ahead of the data, the yield which moves inversely to price, stood at 3.538%. The Commerce Department on Friday reported a third consecutive month of weak consumer demand. Meanwhile, inflation moderated in January, with consumer prices rising just 0.1% for the month. Core consumer prices - which exclude food and energy costs - also rose 0.1% as expected by economists.

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. dollar was little changed against the euro and posted a slight gain against the Japanese yen Friday after the Commerce Department reported that consumer spending was flat in February and that inflation moderated in January, with consumer prices rising just 0.1% for the month. Core consumer prices - which exclude food and energy costs - also rose 0.1% as expected by economists. The dollar was changing hands at $1.5814 against the euro, unchanged from the previous day. The dollar was up 0.3% on the day against the Japanese yen at 99.75 yen, little changed from its level before the release of the data.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. consumer spending was flat in February after adjusting for inflation, the third consecutive month of weak consumer demand, the Commerce Department reported Friday. Inflation moderated in January, with consumer prices rising just 0.1% for the month. Core consumer prices - which exclude food and energy costs - also rose 0.1% as expected by economists. Nominal incomes rose 0.5% in February, driven largely by the timing of some government transfer payments. Economists were looking for incomes to rise 0.3%.

The retail price of petrol will increase by between 66c and 68c a litre on Wednesday April 2, taking it to a new high, the Department of Minerals and Energy says.