Retail

Americans went about their shopping with a “meh” attitude in February, fretting about delayed tax refunds and higher payroll taxes while giving retailers a middling boost in sales. Three separate measures of same-store sales at locations open at least a year showed revenue dampened by economic factors such as higher gas prices, concerns about the sequester and still-high unemployment. There was also the issue of “very unfavorable weather,” including blizzard conditions on the East Coast, according to Ken Perkins, who puts out one set of data through Retail Metrics Inc. He found that sales were up 1.9%, below forecasts for a 2.5% bump.

Americans hit the stores in February - but with only the barest of enthusiasm as they worried about bad weather, delayed tax refunds and the federal mix of tax increases and spending cuts known as sequestration. Three separate measures of sales at stores open at least a year showed revenue dampened by economic factors such as higher gas prices, stubbornly high unemployment and a payroll tax boost. Pasadena student Elisa Jimenez, 21, said her paycheck as a sales associate mostly went for school and fuel last month.

California officials face mounting criticism from union leaders over plans to let retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. enroll shoppers in President Obama's healthcare expansion. The state wants employees at Wal-Mart and other retailers to help consumers learn about their options and assist them in buying federally subsidized private insurance. These plans are part of state efforts to implement the federal healthcare law and reach out to 5 million Californians eligible for new coverage starting in January.

NEW YORK -- Bullish retail investors are helping push stocks near all-time highs, according to retail brokerage TD Ameritrade. Retail investors have steadily been increasing their exposure to the stock market over the last seven months, said Steve Quirk, senior vice president of TD Ameritrade's Trader Group. Investors seemed to have shrugged off the looming spending cuts because of U.S. budget "sequestration" and the recent Italian election that threatened to rekindle European instability as the continent tries to overcome its debt crisis and recession.

Home Depot Center, the 125-acre sports facility in Carson home to two Major League Soccer teams, will become StubHub Center in June. Online ticket resale outlet StubHub, a subsidiary of EBay Inc., will replace retailer Home Depot as the name sponsor of the $150-million multiuse sports venue owned by entertainment giant AEG. The duration and financial terms of the multiyear agreement were not disclosed. Home Depot paid $70 million for its 10-year sponsorship that is ending. This is the first name sponsorship of a public venue for StubHub, said Danielle Maged, global head of partnerships and business development at the San Francisco company.

Google's Andy Rubin, the company's head of its Android mobile operating system, said the company has no plans to open retail stores. Rubin made his remarks at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, this week. Rubin's comments come after recent reports by the Wall Street Journal and 9to5Google said the Mountain View, Calif., tech company would be opening retail stores later this year in time for the holiday shopping season. “Google has no plans and we have nothing to announce,” Rubin said, according to AllThingsD . QUIZ: How much do you know about Google ?

J.C. Penney Co. stumbled hard during the critical holiday season - reporting yet another quarter of tanking sales and net losses - and now is hustling hard to shake its dowdy patina. After customer traffic missed expectations and its profit margin dipped because of more clearance sales, the company is looking ahead with a new marketing campaign, updated merchandise, a digital makeover and a renewed focus on sales of home goods. "We began this year clean and ready to begin chasing the items that are selling," Chief Executive Ron Johnson said after the company released its earnings report Wednesday.

Barnes & Noble Inc. Chairman Leonard Riggio is hoping to buy out the struggling retail side of the bookstore business he bought some 40 years ago as digital advances and online competition threaten the chain's growth. In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Riggio said he plans to make an offer for Barnes & Noble Booksellers and barnesandnoble.com. The proposal will exclude the separate unit the company created this fall to deal with its Nook e-reader and college bookstores efforts.

It started with Apple stores. Then came Microsoft stores. Are Google stores next? The Silicon Valley company hopes to open retail stores in time for this year's holiday shopping season, according to a report by 9to5 Google , which cites an unnamed source. According to the report, Google 's leaders have decided retail stores are necessary for the eventual launch of Google Glass -- eye glasses with capabilities similar to that of smartphone . QUIZ: How much do you know about Google ?

Just in time for Valentine's Day, Amazon, the behemoth online retailer and knower of all habits and tastes, has released a list of America's 20 most romantic cities. It's high time. Gandhi might have said the best measure of a society is how it treats its weakest members, but we all know that's a treacly platitude. The best measure of a society is how often its members dine by candlelight, walk along the beach at sunset and give and/or receive heart-shaped Mylar balloons. And that's why Amazon's No. 1 most romantic city is - Knoxville, Tenn.