JCP Preview -- Focus on the Forecast By Gary Dvorchak About this article: Macy's guides down, Wal-Mart is discouraging, Kohl's guides down ... is anyone expecting a robust holiday season? The debate now is whether retail managements are truly downbeat, or whether they're merely trying to reset soaring expectations after not-bad October sales results. J.C. Penney management will weigh in tomorrow morning when they report quarterly results. The Street is looking for earnings of 11 cents a share on $4.117 billion of sales. Investor expectations are probably not too aggressive for the company; the stock has headed straight down since the mid-October high. J.C. Penney reported October sales down 3.5% and comps down 4.5%, not particularly impressive. Management noted that sales were good the first two weeks of October before trailing off in the second half of the month (which helps explain the stock move). Management is on record with ongoing concern for consumer health given the... Or, call us at 1-866-321-TSCM (8726) Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. ET. Outside the U.S. and in Canada, call 1-212-321-5200.

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