Price Cuts

Consumer spending is boosting the outlook for the nation's retailers, but some major discounters are still lowering prices to woo bargain-hungry shoppers. Retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Friday that it was cutting prices on more than 10,000 items, while Kmart has been permanently reducing prices on merchandise such as women's layering shirts and children's T-shirts. "Promotions and things that drive traffic are still critically important," said Mark Snyder, chief marketing officer at Kmart.

With average gasoline prices topping $4 a gallon, fewer Southern California residents say they plan to take a leisure trip over spring break, according to a survey by the Auto Club of Southern California. The annual survey of Auto Club members found that 47% said they plan at least one leisure trip this spring break season, compared with 57% in 2012 and 55% in 2011. High gasoline prices prompted 69% of those polled to say they made at least one significant cut to their budget, compared with 66% in 2012 and 61% in 2011.

Cash-strapped food shoppers in Southern California are spending more of their grocery budgets at discounters and superstores that are rapidly expanding their food selections. And the big supermarkets are fighting back. Vons has turned to more aggressive pricing in recent months. Ralphs revamped its price structure and customer loyalty program last summer to grab back market share from competitors. Stater Bros.

Smokin' Jonny's BBQ opened less than a year ago, but pricey corn on the cob has already disappeared from the menu. Rising beef prices are causing owner Jon Sekiguchi headaches as well. His Gardena restaurant sells beef ribs only on the weekends, when customers are more willing to splurge. And he's struggling to find affordable beef sausage for his $6.95 smoked sausage sandwich. Scorching weather this summer in the Midwest left crops parched and livestock famished. Restaurants, already struggling with high fuel costs and a sluggish economy, are starting to feel the pinch of higher food costs.

Some of the nation's hot housing markets may experience price declines as the industry returns to more sustainable levels of activity, economists predicted last month at a National Assn. of Home Builders conference in Washington, D.C. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.

Inspectors and police raided stores to enforce sweeping price cuts imposed to curb Zimbabwe's soaring inflation, and shoppers fought over rapidly disappearing supermarket staples. At least 20 business executives were arrested over the weekend on charges of hoarding goods and violating the government's order last week to slash prices of most products by half, the official Sunday Mail reported. Gasoline prices were ordered reduced 70%, and stations quickly ran dry.

The information used in your "Sitting on Empty Nests" article from Kathy Dantagnan, vice president of marketing for Urban West Communities, was not accurate. An accurate statement would have been, "In Moorpark, builder Urban West Communities slashes $40,000 off the price of the final 32 homes immediately after selling the first 22 homes at their highest asking price." The information was given to you by Urban West in a manner clearly designed to mask the large losses suffered by the first 22 home buyers (we call ourselves the "First 22")

Apple Computer Inc. on Tuesday slashed prices by up to 37% on most of its Macintosh personal computers and low-end notebook models in a move to boost its growing market share. Computer buyers, who heard rumors of the cuts for more than a week, flocked to stores for discounts offered just ahead of the list price reductions, retailers said.

Wilderness Experience, a Chatsworth-based maker of outdoor gear, reported a $164,000 loss in its first quarter ended Jan. 31, contrasted with a loss of $30,000 a year ago. Sales were down 14%, to $1.2 million. The company attributed its widened loss to price cuts needed to reduce inventories. It said sales have started to improve since the quarter ended, and that savings from a cost-cutting drive are also starting to become apparent.

Astro Sciences Corp., a Chatsworth maker of computer networking products, saw its loss in the six months ended Sept. 30 zoom to $968,242 from $25,745 a year before. Its six-month revenue rose 8%, to $5.85 million from $5.41 million. The company attributed its increased loss to its decision to cut prices to increase sales volume.

It took more than two years and several price cuts, but a compound in Malibu owned by now-divorced couple Mel Gibson and Robyn Moore Gibson has sold for $9,261,250. The property had been listed in March 2010 at $14.5 million. The buyer is recently divorced reality TV producer Mike Fleiss. Described as an "old world hacienda," the main house features hand-painted details, stone and hardwood floors, several fireplaces, six bedrooms and 5 1/2 bathrooms. The master suite has a sitting room with a fireplace and two walk-in closets.

Gamers could become winners in a price war this holiday as console manufacturers slug it out for scarce consumer dollars, according to a report released this week.  With Nintendo due to release its next-generation Wii U game console on Nov. 18 at prices starting at $299.99, rivals Sony and Microsoft are under pressure to make their current-generation consoles more appealing to consumers who don't already have one. One way to do that is to...

Exxon Mobil Corp.andOccidental Petroleum Corp.said second-quarter earnings took a hit from lower oil and natural gas prices, a pattern that analysts expect to be repeated throughout the energy industry. But in an economy that is struggling to gain momentum, the oil business is still posting numbers that many others would love to have. Exxon Mobil, in fact, reported record profits, but it needed the help of asset sales to do it. Analysts said the stage for this week's earnings reports was set when oil declined nearly 9% and natural gas plunged 46% during the quarter compared with year-earlier prices.

The Lumia 900, Nokia's flagship phone that has been in the U.S. just a few months, has had its price cut in half. The former $99 Lumia 900, which runs on Windows Phone 7, saw its price drop to $49.99 early Sunday on AT&T's website . Price cuts for phones aren't rare, but one so soon after a phone hits the market is. "This move is a normal strategy that is put in place during the life cycle of most phones," Nokia spokesman Doug...

When Barnes & Noble launched the Nook Tablet last fall, it did so at a higher price and with more storage space than the rival Amazon Kindle Fire. But on Tuesday, Barnes & Noble's Nook Tablet was dropped down to Amazon's level. Barnes & Noble has announced a new version of its Nook Tablet with 8 gigabytes of storage and a price of $199 , matching the Kindle Fire on both points. The previous version of the Nook Tablet , which was released in November, is exactly the same as the new lower-priced offering, except it has 16 gigabytes of built-in storage and sells at a price of $249 . Barnes & Noble's other 8-gigabyte tablet, known as the Nook Color, was cut from $199 to $169 on Tuesday as well.

Video game software sales rebounded in November, a crucial month for the industry as gift buying takes off in the weeks leading up to the holidays. Sales of games sold as discs jumped 15% to $1.67 billion last month compared with a year earlier, the most that's been rung up for a November sales period, according to a report from market research firm NPD Group Inc. "Content sales grew substantially thanks to a great slate of new titles," said Anita Frazier, NPD's game analyst.

CVS Corp.'s second-quarter earnings dropped 11%, hurt by price cutting and increased advertising spending. Net income fell to $176.4 million, or 43 cents a share. Sales gained 9% to $5.99 billion. Shares of Woonsocket, R.I.-based CVS rose $2.37, or 9%, to $28.60 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, faced with criticism of his economic policies ahead of July 6 general elections, asked his Cabinet to ensure that Japanese consumers benefit from the strong yen. A government spokesman said Nakasone told the Cabinet: "The public knows the prices of such imported goods as mangoes, grapefruits, pineapples and onions have dropped," but they want more.

Did Frank McCourt's decision to sell the Dodgers spur fans to sign up for season tickets? That's debatable. But the team says reduced prices did the trick. The Dodgers' season-ticket sales are up 30% from this time last year, according to a person familiar with the team's business but not authorized to discuss it publicly. David Siegel, the Dodgers' senior director of ticket sales, said there had been "no discernible bump" in sales in the days after last week's announcement that McCourt would sell the team.