Stocks edged higher on Thursday, as investors digested a raft of earnings and a drop in initial jobless claims, though declines in Dow components ExxonMobil and 3 M Co capped the advance. **IMPERIAL OIL LTD, $39.36, up 0.6 pct.
April 25- Safeway Inc on Thursday reported first-quarter sales below analysts' forecasts, sending the supermarket operator's shares tumbling as much as 20 percent in morning trading.
ConocoPhillips reported lower quarterly earnings on Thursday as oil and natural gas production edged down along with crude prices. **COLGATE-PALMOLIVE CO, Wednesday close $117.90. Colgate-Palmolive Co posted lower quarterly profit on Thursday as sales grew but the recent devaluation of the Venezuelan bolivar led to a hefty charge.
Stocks were poised for a higher open on Thursday, as investors dealt with a raft of earnings, including those of 3 M Co and ExxonMobil, with added support from a drop in initial jobless claims. **EXXON MOBIL CORP, Wednesday close $89.43. ConocoPhillips reported lower quarterly earnings on Thursday as oil and natural gas production edged down along with crude prices.
The company, which operates Safeway, Vons and Dominick's supermarkets, said it earned $118.9 million, or 49 cents per share, in the first quarter ended March 23, up from $72.9 million, or 27 cents per share, a year earlier.
ConocoPhillips reported lower quarterly earnings on Thursday as oil and natural gas production edged down along with crude prices. **COLGATE-PALMOLIVE CO, Wednesday close $117.90. Colgate-Palmolive Co posted lower quarterly profit on Thursday as sales grew but the recent devaluation of the Venezuelan bolivar led to a hefty charge.
**COLGATE-PALMOLIVE CO, Wednesday close $117.90. Colgate-Palmolive Co posted lower quarterly profit on Thursday as sales grew but the recent devaluation of the Venezuelan bolivar led to a hefty charge. Net income rose to $550 million, or 46 cents per share, in the first quarter from $412 million, or 35 cents per share, a year earlier.
April 24- Supermarket operator Supervalu Inc, trying to slim down its business, on Wednesday reported a wider quarterly loss mainly on weak sales at its retail food segment.
*Cardtronics did not comply with 2007 nationwide settlement. *Cardtronics says most of its ATMs comply with disability law. The accord with Massachusetts and the National Federation of the Blind called for Cardtronics by July 2010 to install voice guidance features that could be activated by plugging headphones into jacks on its ATMs.
March 7- U.S. supermarket operator Kroger Co reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit and said business remains strong despite higher taxes and gasoline prices, sending shares to their highest point in more than four years.
March 7- Kroger Co, the biggest U.S. supermarket operator, on Thursday reported a quarterly profit that easily topped Wall Street's expectations after it lured customers from rivals. The results from the Cincinnati- based grocer, which operates the Kroger, Ralphs, Smith's and Food 4 Less chains, sent shares up more than 3 percent in early trading.
March 6- Safeway Inc issued a 2013 forecast on Wednesday that suggests the grocery store operator will surpass Wall Street's expectations, and its shares rose to their highest level in nearly two years.