Marie Heitmeyer blog

Nordstrom sees more gains in 2011, buying HauteLook

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Nordstrom Inc (JWN.N) reported higher-than-expected fourth-quarter profit as sales surged over the holidays, and forecast higher profit and sales for its new fiscal year.

Nordstrom said it expected same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, to rise 2 to 4 percent in fiscal 2011 and forecast earnings of $2.95 to $3.10 per share, compared with $3.06 per share analysts, on average, had been expecting, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Nordstrom also said it was buying online private sale marketplace HauteLook for $180 million in Nordstrom stock.

Nordstrom attracts many of the same shoppers as upscale stores such as Saks Inc (SKS.N) and Neiman Marcus (NMRCUS.UL) and competes with mid-tier retailers like Macy's Inc (M.N).

It said delinquencies on sales on its private label credit cards fell to 3 percent from 5.3 percent a year earlier, allowing it to reduce its reserve for bad debt to $15 million.

Unlike some other retailers, Nordstrom has avoided profit-draining price-cutting, helping gross margins to continue to rise during the holiday quarter.

But the company said gross margins may have peaked. For 2011, it forecast gross margin range of a decline of 0.1 percentage point to an increase of the same degree.

Net profit rose 34.9 percent from a year earlier to $232 million, or $1.04 a share, in the fourth quarter ended January 29. Analysts, on average, had been expecting $1 a share.

Revenue grew 10.9 percent to $2.82 billion, helped by a 6.7 percent rise in same-store sales.

Nordstrom operates 115 department stores, 86 Nordstrom Rack outlet stores, and two Jeffrey boutiques. It plans to open three department stores and 17 Rack locations this year.

Nordstrom shares fell 1.5 percent after hours after closing at $46.48 on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday. The shares hit a 52-week high on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Phil Wahba; Editing by Richard Chang)

U.S. intelligence: Iran leaders reopened nuke debate

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. intelligence agencies believe Iranian leaders have resumed closed-door debates over the last four years about whether to build a nuclear bomb.

But a recent update to a controversial 2007 U.S. National Intelligence Estimate on Iran's nuclear ambitions also says its leaders have not decided about going ahead with an atomic weapon, according to U.S. officials familiar with the latest assessment.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper described the new document on Wednesday as a "memorandum to holders" of the 2007 report.

Clapper, testifying to the Senate Intelligence Committee about threats to the United States, did not reveal many details of the new assessment of Iran, which officials said would not be published by the government in an unclassified form.

But the spy chief did offer a summary of U.S. concerns.

"Iran is keeping open the option to develop nuclear weapons in part by developing various nuclear capabilities that better position it to produce such weapons, should it choose to do so," he said.

Iran's progress in research and development, particularly its capability to enrich uranium, "strengthens our assessment that Iran has the scientific, technical and industrial capacity to eventually produce nuclear weapons," Clapper said.

"These advancements contribute to our judgment that Iran is technically capable of producing enough highly enriched uranium for a weapon in the next few years, if it chooses to do so."

But he said U.S. agencies believe a "central issue" remains whether Iranian leaders have the will to build a bomb.

Iran has been at loggerheads with the United States and other Western powers over its nuclear program, which Tehran insists is solely for the peaceful generation of electricity.

'RESUMED INTERNAL DISCUSSIONS'

The principal assessment at the heart of the National Intelligence Estimate update, one official told Reuters, is that Iranian leaders "resumed internal discussions" at some point between 2007 and 2011 about whether to move ahead and build a nuclear weapon.

The 2007 report -- key elements of which were published by the administration of President George W. Bush -- said that, until the autumn of 2003, Iranian military entities were working under government direction to develop nuclear weapons.

But U.S. agencies said in the 2007 report they had "high confidence" that "Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program" in late 2003 and "moderate confidence" it had not been restarted as of mid-2007.

Many conservative foreign policy experts criticized the 2007 report as inaccurate and for undermining efforts by some U.S. and Israeli officials to build support for harsher sanctions against Iran or for a military strike against Iranian nuclear facilities.

Several officials said the U.S. government has believed for some time that Iran has been conducting research and development -- including uranium enrichment efforts -- that could be used for civilian or military nuclear purposes.

Some U.S. officials and Israeli officials have said they believe that, over the last year, Iran's nuclear progress has been slowed by mysterious attacks on Iranian scientists and by the effects of a computer virus known as Stuxnet which targeted control systems at its nuclear installations.

But given its apparent ambiguities, the latest National Intelligence Estimate is unlikely to resolve heated debates among nuclear experts about how long it would take Iran to put together a bomb if its leaders gave the green light to do so.

(Editing by John O'Callaghan and Mohammad Zargham)

Devils G Martin Brodeur back to skating again

NEWARK, N.J. – A little more than a week after spraining his right knee, New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur has started skating again.

Devils coach Jacques Lemaire said Brodeur skated on his own Tuesday at the Prudential Center. The 38-year-old goaltender hopes to skate again Wednesday, if his knee feels OK.

"He was on the ice today for a little while and came off," Lemaire said, "so he should go back on tomorrow."

The Devils have not announced a timetable for Brodeur's return. He has missed three games since being injured in the first period of a 4-1 win over Montreal on Feb. 6.

Johan Hedberg has replaced him the past three games, giving up four goals in winning all three games. New Jersey has posted a 12-1-2 record in its last 15 games to give it a faint hope of making the playoffs for a 14th straight season after a dismal start to the year that eventually cost coach John MacLean his job.

Lemaire, who replaced MacLean, did not say how long Brodeur skated, but he noted he had no problems.

"He wanted to (skate)," Lemaire said, "because he felt better."

The Devils placed Brodeur on injured reserve Tuesday, retroactive to Feb. 6. The move clears the way for him to return whenever he is healthy. He was not in the locker room after practice.

The Devils, who have not played since beating San Jose, 2-1, on Friday, will play the Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Rangers in Newark on Wednesday and Friday, respectively. They will face Carolina on the road again on Saturday. Hedberg will probably start all three.

"It's what I do for a living," Hedberg said. "I'm told to play, I'll play."

Veteran forward Brian Rolston said that Brodeur will be back when he is ready.

"Whoever we practice with is our guy," Rolston said. "Heddy has been awesome for us, and we expect him to continue to be awesome for us. We feel very confident with him and when Marty comes back, Marty comes back."

Pujols deadline passes with no deal

JUPITER, Fla. – The deadline for Albert Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals to reach a new contract agreement passed Wednesday with no new deal, making it likely the three-time MVP will test the free-agent market after the season.

"We are greatly disappointed at this outcome," Cardinals chairman William DeWitt Jr. said at a news conference. "We will revisit it again following the 2011 season, at which time we will again make every effort to keep him as a Cardinal."

Pujols, a nine-time All-Star, is the only player in major league history to hit 30 or more home runs each of his first 10 seasons — all with the Cardinals, the franchise he has said in the past he wants to remain with for the rest of his career.

But the sides failed in recent months to reach common ground, raising the possibility the three-time NL MVP may be on the cusp of his final season in St. Louis.

"We felt very good about the offer we made," general manager John Mozeliak said.

Pujols will make $16 million this season in his contract's final year, with $4 million of the money deferred with no interest.

Pujols said he doesn't want to negotiate during spring training or the season. The Cardinals say they are open to talks.

"It's not as if he's a free agent at this point," Mozeliak said.

St. Louis said it made an offer at the start of the year and then discussed possible modifications.

"They were lengthy and in depth," DeWitt said of the talks.

Pujols said through his agent, Dan Lozano, that he does not want to discuss his contract status publicly when he arrives at camp or during the season.

"He is not only the best player in baseball, and on his way to having a Hall of Fame career, but an iconic figure in sports," Lozano said in a statement . "The expiration of today's deadline does not eliminate the possibility of Albert returning to the Cardinals in 2012, but simply delays negotiations until the conclusion of the Cardinals' season."

The closest Pujols came to an appearance at camp Wednesday morning was a sighting of his black pickup with Missouri license plates in the parking lot of the team's spring training complex.

Pujols was not with the vehicle. The team expects him to arrive Thursday, and teammates say they can't wait to see him.

"It really doesn't matter to us," said Cardinals pitcher and union rep Kyle McClellan, when asked about the ongoing Pujols contract watch. "It's none of our business. It's none of anybody's business. ... The truth is, I've never been on the mound and thinking of Albert Pujols' contract."

A handful of St. Louis position players were at work ahead of schedule; pitchers and catchers are in camp, and position players weren't required to arrive until Saturday.

St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said Tuesday that he believes Pujols was feeling pressure from the union to "set the bar" with his next deal. The baseball record is Alex Rodriguez's $275 million, 10-year pact with the New York Yankees.

On Wednesday, La Russa insisted that he'd said too much already.

"It was kind of omitted. I said if I was running the union or part of the union, I'm not sure I'd handle it any different," La Russa said, about two hours before the noon deadline passed. "I checked with some of our veteran coaches. It strains credibility a little bit to think there hasn't been any contact or mention. He's too significant."

Union officials have denied pressuring Pujols or Lozano. And McClellan said La Russa's comments did not create an awkward situation for him, even though as the union rep in the Cardinals' clubhouse, he had to take a decidedly different stance than his manager.

"It doesn't really have anything to do with me. I just represent the players," McClellan said. "All I can do is get the facts that I know, that the union's job is to make sure that the players and agents are informed. They're not going to overstep any boundaries and tell anybody what to do. Everybody's a grown man. They can make a decision for themselves."

La Russa said often Wednesday morning that his focus is on spring training and the NL Central, not what will or won't happen with his slugger.

"We don't want to get our minds cluttered as a team," La Russa said. "There's enough to do. ... The competition in the Central and the National League has got our complete attention. And that's just what we're going to think about. You can choose what you think about. That's what we're going to think about."

Pujols has a .331 career batting average and averaged 41 homers and 123 RBIs. He's also won six Silver Slugger Awards and two Gold Gloves.

Last year he batted .312 with 42 homers and 118 RBIs and finished second in MVP balloting.

"I don't think there's a better guy for us to have on the team," Cardinals second baseman Skip Schumaker said. "He's the face of the franchise. You respect both sides of it. You respect what the Cardinals are doing, you respect the management and what Albert's agent is doing. It's a tough situation, as everybody knows. He's an iconic player."

Man convicted in Chandra Levy case seeks new trial

WASHINGTON – Lawyers for the man convicted of killing Washington intern Chandra Levy are asking for a new trial by claiming juror misconduct and an inappropriate closing argument by prosecutors.

Lawyers for Ingmar Guandique filed the motion for a new trial Tuesday in D.C. Superior Court. The filing says that one juror improperly used the notes of others in reaching a verdict during Guandique's trial late last year. In addition, prosecutors improperly appealed to the jury's emotions and facts that weren't part of trial evidence in making a graphic final statement, the lawyers contend.

"It was as if the prosecutor were narrating a horror movie, with its tricks of foreshadowing to whip up fear in the audience. But this was not a movie; it was supposed to be a trial during which the jury clinically evaluated the facts," Guandique's lawyers wrote.

The 17-page document says that at the outset of the trial, jurors were told that they could take notes if they wished but that jurors who did not should rely on their memory and "should not be influenced by another juror's notes." A similar instruction was given at the trial's end.

Once the jury was released, however, one juror told a newspaper reporter that a juror who had not taken notes was given others' notes to review over the weekend before coming back and agreeing to convict.

Guandique's lawyers also said that prosecutors' closing argument during the trial was improper because it was full of "appeals to the jury's emotions and references to facts not in evidence."

For example, the jury was told that it was Guandique's face that Levy "looked up at and begged for mercy" and "his face that was the last face that she saw as she laid there naked and disabled." But no evidence presented at trial detailed the end of Levy's life, Guandique's lawyers wrote.

A spokesman for the prosecutors' office declined comment on the motion, noting the matter is pending before a judge.

Guandique's conviction came nearly a decade after Levy disappeared in May 2001. Her disappearance drew widespread attention when she was romantically linked with Gary Condit, then a California congressman. Condit was initially suspected by police, but they later indicated they no longer believed he was involved.

A year after the disappearance, Levy's remains were discovered in Washington's Rock Creek Park, where she had gone jogging. Guandique, a Salvadoran immigrant who had been convicted of attacking other women in the same park, was charged with Levy's death in 2009.

Prosecutors had no physical evidence or eyewitnesses linking Guandique to Levy's death but said it fit the pattern of his other attacks. In addition, a former cellmate of Guandique's testified that while Guandique was in prison on other charges he acknowledged he killed Levy.

Guandique faces up to life in prison at a sentencing hearing currently scheduled for Feb. 11.

(This version CORRECTS Corrects that juror's statement was not made at news conference)