Retail

The TJX Companies has announced a quarterly dividend on its common stock of $0.175 per share.

What was on the minds of readers in the days before Black Friday? There was a touch of Ebenezer Scrooge - at least in their desire to shop amid the masses.

There was a little less activity in stores throughout the United States over the holiday weekend as early holiday promotions and the continued growth of online shopping contributed to a 5.2-percent drop in shopper traffic from Thanksgiving Day through Sunday, according to a key retailers' organization.

Members of Westminster's board of health may have gotten more pushback than they expected when they proposed banning the sale of all tobacco products in the town. Last week, they dropped the plan.

Massachusetts retailers are predicting a 3.9 percent increase in retail sales during the holiday period, citing the highest consumer confidence levels in seven years.

Framingham-based Staples Inc. reported third-quarter earnings Wednesday that met analysts' expectations. Still, it's back to the drawing board for the office-supply company after sales declined during the important back-to-school period (the quarter ended Nov.1). The company said it will close 170 stores in North America this year, up from the 140 it said in August it had planned, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Framingham-based parent of off-price retailers T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods reported another strong quarter Tuesday, with a 6-percent increase in sales and a 13-percent jump in diluted earnings per share.

Retail sales in the U.S. jumped 4.1 percent last month over October 2013 and inched upward by 0.3 percent from September, the Commerce Department reported Friday.

Littleton-based retailer of equestrian products, Dover Saddlery Inc. reported a 9 percent jump in revenue, thanks to the performance of its brick-and-mortar stores.

Geronimo Properties of Leominster said it purchased the SouthFitch Shopping Center, a 30,000- square-foot retail property at the corner of John Fitch Highway and Summer Street.