Retailers post better fourth-quarter profits, remain in waiting game with reticent customersA fleet of the nation's biggest merchants reported mostly better fourth-quarter profits Tuesday after a holiday season marked by cautiously stocked shelves and well-managed markdowns. But the rosier results mask a tough reality: To build on their halting ...

Sears Holdings earns $430 million in 4th quarter; profit more than doubles as revenue dipsA return of Kmart shoppers and an effort to cut costs helped Sears Holdings Corp. post its best quarterly profit in three years, the department store chain said Tuesday. Led by financier Chairman Edward Lampert, the ...