In a series of Wall Street Transcript interviews found on Yahoo Finance, we took note of some interesting comments regarding the restaurant sector. We were especially intrigued by a portion of an interview with KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Lynne Collier saying that California Pizza Kitchen and Cheesecake...

CORTE MADERA, CA-Catterton Partners is bidding $4.50 per share for the 102-store home-furnishings chain.

CORTE MADERA, CA-Catterton Partners is bidding $4.50 per share for the 102-store home-furnishings chain.

NEW YORK CITY-The handbag retailer will open at least 40 stores annually over the next several years, management says.

We started off the year writing articles on GlobeSt.com announcing plans by major retailers to either shut down or scale back their expansion plans. Ethan Allen is consolidating locations, Talbots is discontinuing its men's and children's chains and Pier 1 and Ruby Tuesday are holding off on new units....

'We're in a growth mode, so we're looking at all sorts of opportunities.'

We think that if German bodybuilder Markus Rhl decides to go grocery shopping more often, he could single-handedly stop the consumer slowdown. (Courtesy of atomini.) [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEa6xgUyKVI&rel=1]

Amidst worries that consumer spending is lagging due to the credit crunch, housing slump and high energy prices, Reuters goes and releases a report saying that consumer confidence in January rose on its Surveys of Consumers index of confidence, to 80.5 from a 75.5 tally in December. The survey, done...