Macy’s turns year-ago loss into Q3 profit

Department-store operator Macy’s Inc. said Wednesday it swung to a profit of $33 million in the third quarter in contrast to a slim loss a year ago.

Earnings adjusted for one-time costs were at the high end of the company’s forecasts. But revenue was little changed and sales at stores open at least a year fell.

The company expects lower same-store sales – a key retail barometer – for the year.

Shares fell more than 7 percent Wednesday.

Net income for the quarter ended Nov. 3 amounted to 8 cents per share versus a year-ago loss of $3 million, or a penny per share.

Revenue edged up to $5.91 billion from $5.89 billion a year ago. Sales at stores open at least a year fell 0.8 percent.

•ConAgra Foods Inc. says it has resumed making the Banquet and private label pot pies that were linked to last month’s salmonella outbreak that sickened hundreds.

The company says environmental tests of its Marshall, Mo., plant have not shown any trace of salmonella since the Oct. 11 recall.

ConAgra said lab tests confirmed salmonella in Banquet turkey pot pies that were produced on July 13 and July 31. Spokeswoman Stephanie Childs said salmonella was not confirmed in any of the other Banquet or private label pot pies the company makes.

The pot pies made by ConAgra have been linked to at least 272 cases of salmonella in 35 states. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said at least 65 people were hospitalized as part of the outbreak, but no deaths have been linked to the pot pies.

•In the game of Wall Street musical chairs, one of the biggest seats has just been taken.

Merrill Lynch & Co. named the New York Stock Exchange’s John Thain to lead the world’s biggest brokerage just two weeks after it ousted Stan O’Neal for presiding over the biggest quarterly loss in its 93-year history.

The 52-year-old will need to lean on his reputation as a consensus builder to win the allegiance of Merrill’s army of some 16,000 brokers worldwide. Many felt betrayed by O’Neal, who was forced out of his job after the broker reported a $2.24 billion loss during the third quarter.

The biggest challenge: Help guide Merrill Lynch through the unfolding credit market turmoil that threatens Wall Street’s biggest investment houses. The broker took a $7.9 billion write-down during the third quarter – an amount that shocked investors because the broker originally pegged the amount at $4.5 billion.