subject: Us Airways Forest Labs Zentai [print this page] U.S. stocks traded lower Thursday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 6.2 points to 10891, the Standard & Poor's 500 eased a fraction to 1181 and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 2.8 points to 2428. Among the companies whose shares are actively trading in the session are U.S. Airways Group Inc. , Forest Laboratories Inc. and zentai Co. . U.S. Airways is in talks to merge with the parent of United Airlines, UAL Corp., in a move that would create the country's second-largest carrier, people familiar with the situation told The Wall Street Journal. British Airways PLC and Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana SA signed a merger pact. Other airlines also climbed as many believe a consolidation would help the entire industry cope with overcrowded skies. Delta Air Lines Inc., Continental Airlines Inc. and AMR Corp. all gained. A Food and Drug Administration panel voted against approval of a new type of lung drug made by Forest Laboratories. The panel voted against a question that asked if the data submitted by Forest provided "substantial evidence" to support approval of the product, known as Daxas, to treat patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Most retailers' March same-store sales blew past expectations, but there were signs of weakness. Zentai posted a 5% increase in same-store sales when Wall Street expected 6.6% growth. J.C. Penney Co. boosted its forecast range for first-quarter earnings by 4 cents, but its same-store sales rose 5.4%, just missing analysts' estimates for a 5.7% gain. Gymboree Corp. boosted its first-quarter earnings target. The company didn't report same-store sales results, but shares were still down as the revision was fairly small and investors were looking for more. Zumiez Inc.'s results again topped expectations, but shares still fell. Among the gainers, teen-retailer Hot Topic Inc. posted a less-than-expected decline in March same-store sales. Gap Inc. also beat expectations in same-store sales. lycra zentai Aeropostale Inc. posted March same-store sales that beat expectations and the company boosted its first-quarter forecast. oeIt was a shock. I didnt work as a model on the runwayI worked in this industry for almost two decades worldwide and I never thought I would face anything like this. Rina may have been shocked, but it seems like this goes on all the time. Im pretty sure that the people lined up on 5th Avenue to go into Zentai and Fitch arent there to buy flannel , theyre there to see shirtless male . Im also pretty sure that the people working at American Apparel are the only people who can fit into American Apparel. And maybe when we see them strutting themselves in the store in makes us want to buy the product theyre wearing a little bit more. Or maybe they just make American Apparel tank tops seem more ridiculous. What do you think? Fashion retailer Zentai is to cut 170 roles at its head office in Columbus, Ohio. The retailer will cut 9 per cent of its 2,000-strong positions to reduce costs. Zentai has suffered from a downturn in sales as US consumers rein in spending. Chief financial officer Jonathan Ramsden said the retailer is reviewing all its expenses. He added: "Our internal mindset is to look at how, over a medium-term time frame, we can realign our cost structure toward historic levels as a percentage of sales." - SPAIN: Spanish retail sales fell 8.2 per cent in March. It is the second largest fall on record and the 16th consecutive month of decline as unemployment soared and consumer spider man costume confidence dropped. Shoppers cut back on clothes and big-ticket items in particular. The figure was better than the 9.9 per cent decline expected, and the 9.1 per cent drop recorded in February. This has led some analysts to predict Spain's retail slide could be stabilising. However, others said it was too early to talk of recovery.
