Shoppers stayed home in March

A moderating economy and cooler weather gave consumers little incentive to shop in March and left retailers with tepid sales for the second month in a row. The later arrival of Easter this year also hurt business.

As the nation’s merchants reported their monthly results Thursday, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., J.C. Penney Co., Gap Inc., Abercrombie & Fitch Co. and Sharper Image Corp. were among the disappointments. Bright spots were wholesale club operator Costco Wholesale Corp. and Nordstrom Inc., both of which beat Wall Street expectations.

Martha Stewart to design Macy’s line

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. on Thursday said it will design a line of upscale home merchandise for Federated Department Stores Inc., operator of the Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s chains, set to roll out next year.

The Martha Stewart Collection will include home items such as bedsheets, dishes, cookware, holiday decorations and garden furniture. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.

Martha Stewart already sells a line of home furnishings at Kmart. The new Macy’s collection will be more expensive and aimed at a more affluent audience, Stewart said.

Houston

Former Enron CEO must wait to testify

Jeffrey Skilling, the former Enron chief executive whose reputation for nurturing innovations that woke up the once-sleepy energy industry shattered along with the company, must wait until next week to provide testimony in his fraud and conspiracy trial.

He spent Thursday awaiting his chance to testify, but attorneys on both sides spent the day questioning Enron’s former top in-house lawyer, pushing the ex-CEO’s lengthy testimony to Monday.

Skilling, 52, is expected to repeat statements he made years ago to congressional panels and the Securities and Exchange Commission during the storm of scrutiny touched off by Enron’s swift 2001 collapse: He committed no crimes and he believed the company was strong when he abruptly resigned a few months earlier.

Chicago

Boeing stock reaches new high

Boeing Co.’s stock rose to the latest in a series of all-time highs Thursday, boosted in part by two Wall Street upgrades after the jetmaker delivered more commercial aircraft than expected in the first quarter. The aerospace company also announced more new orders that have helped its outlook this week.

Shares in Boeing crossed the $80 threshold for the first time, reaching $80.13 before closing up 71 cents at $79.82 on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock is up 37 percent from a year ago.

On Monday, Boeing said it delivered 98 commercial planes in the first quarter.

Compiled from wire reports