Gap said on Thursday that higher profit margins contributed to a rise in quarterly net profit that beat Wall Street projections by a penny, even as sales trends proved disappointing at its chains.

Gap announced Thursday that it has named Tom Wyatt, a 30-year retail veteran, as president of its struggling Old Navy chain.

Shares in IAC InterActive, run by media veteran Barry Diller, rose more than 9 percent Thursday after the company was divided into four publicly traded entities and IAC announced a one-for-two reverse stock split.

British retail sales unexpectedly jumped in July even as prices rose at their fastest rate in a decade, official data showed on Thursday, calling into question the scale and speed of the consumer slowdown.

With the housing market in the doldrums and inflation running at a pace unseen in nearly two decades, consumers are not buying new homes. Instead they are fixing up the ones they have, a trend that is beginning to show up in the financial reports of retailers, the New York Times reported.

Staples, the U.S. office supply chain, said on Tuesday that tough market conditions hurt quarterly results and that its acquisition of Dutch rival Corporate Express would add slightly to 2008 earnings.

Home Depot, the world's largest home improvement retailer, reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit Tuesday as it held down costs and consumers took on spring projects.

Lowe's said Monday its second-quarter profit fell nearly 8 percent, but managed to top Wall Street expectations as the home improvement chain benefited from green thumbs repairing last year's drought-stricken gardens, tight expense controls and better-than-expected sales.

J.C. Penney said on Friday quarterly profit fell 36 percent and forecast earnings for the current quarter below Wall Street expectations, hurt by cutbacks in consumer spending.

Swedish fashion giant Hennes & Mauritz posted better-than-expected sales figures for July on Friday, defying an economic slowdown, as cost-conscious shoppers appeared to favor its moderately priced clothes.

An August poll of fund managers  showed a shift in favor of U.S. assets with a more positive attitude towards the dollar.

Total sales at U.S. retailers edged down 0.1 percent in July on another big drop in auto sales, as consumers strain to keep up spending amid rising prices.

Best Buy will start selling the iPhone on Sept. 7, becoming first U.S. chain to do so outside of Apple's and AT&T's own stores.

Chinese shoppers turned in a gold-medal performance in July as annual growth in retail sales accelerated to a record 23.3 percent on the back of rising incomes.

Dell introduces their new line of laptops, designed to have the greatest security, the longest battery life and the most robust design, while Warnaco's Speedo is the most desired swimwear for Olympic swimmers. Following are today's top videos: