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Costco Wholesale Corp's (COST.O) quarterly profit rose slightly as strong results from its gasoline stations helped to offset weak consumer demand for all but the most essential household items.The warehouse club operator on Thursday also said Wall Street estimates for earnings in its current second fiscal quarter, which includes the winter holiday shopping season, are on the high side of expected results and it intends to be "aggressive" cutting pricing to win sales."We haven't seen sales improve. The trend in the quarter was lower, not higher," said Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti on a call with analysts, of recent results.Shares were down 30 cents or 0.6 percent at $53.39 in afternoon Nasdaq trading.Warehouse clubs like Costco had been seen as a relative safe heaven amid a beaten-down U.S. retail sector as shoppers seek out their discounted prices on food and toiletries. But Costco's results showed that its business is not immune from a year-long U.S. recession that has crimped spending among even higher-income shoppers.Analysts also said the boost Costco received from its gasoline business in its latest quarter was expected to be temporary."It's unlikely that they will see this sort of positive performance in future quarters," said Neil Currie, a retail analyst with UBS.Net income rose to $262.5 million, or 60 cents per share, for the fiscal first quarter ended November 23, from $262 million, or 59 cents per share, a year earlier.Excluding a charge for accounting adjustments on insurance contracts and an impairment of corporate investments, earnings were 65 cents per share, compared with analysts' view of 62 cents, according to Reuters Estimates.Quarterly sales rose almost 4 percent to $16.04 billion, excluding membership fees, which increased 6 percent to $358.7 million. Sales at its clubs open at least a year, a key retail gauge known as same-store sales, increased 1 percent.It said demand for groceries was strong, but demand waned for most other merchandise."Clearly, food is driving our business," Galanti said.CUTTING WALL STREET EXPECTATIONS FOR THE CURRENT QUARTERCostco is the largest U.S. warehouse club operator, competing with Wal-Mart Stores Inc's (WMT.N) Sam's Club and BJ's Wholesale Club Inc (BJ.N).It has won customers by offering unexpected items, like Burberry handbags, alongside typical warehouse club goods, such as bulk-sized packages of napkins and crates of fresh fruit. As a U.S. recession has squeezed budgets, customers have come to its clubs for low prices on food.But its business has slowed in recent months as shoppers have avoided splurging on unnecessary items, like jewelry.For the second quarter, Galanti said Wall Street expects earnings of 75 cents per share, but that will likely be on the high side.Given the volatile environment, Galanti said providing an updated full-year earnings view was hard. In October, he forecast earnings per share of $3 to $3.25, while analysts were looking for $3.25. The average forecast now stands at $3.01 per share, according to Reuters Estimates.STRONGER DOLLAR TO WEIGH ON RESULTS.Galanti also said that if currency rates stayed where they are now compared with a year ago, that alone would hurt full-year earnings by 10 to 15 cents per share.Costco, with 550 warehouses worldwide, operates stores in international markets like Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan and Mexico. It said its first quarter earnings were hurt by roughly 3 cents per share as the stronger the U.S. dollar reduced the value of foreign revenues converted into greenbacks.Meanwhile, it got a lift from falling gasoline prices, which boosted profitability at the gas stations it operates at its clubs. In its latest quarter the average price for gasoline fell from roughly $3.68 a gallon to about $1.89, according to the Energy Information Administration.Costco replenishes its gas supplies on a daily basis, compared with traditional stations that turn inventory weekly. When prices fall, Costco can sell gas purchased at the current cheaper price, helping margins, while competitors are selling supplies bought when prices were higher.For this current fiscal year, Galanti said the retailer expects to open roughly 22 new warehouse clubs.He expects capital expenditures in the range of $1.5 billion to $1.6 billion, down from an earlier estimate of $1.6 billion to $1.8 billion.(Reporting by Nicole Maestri; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick, Dave Zimmerman)

Chanel said robust sales of luxury ready-to-wear in its boutiques, at prices approaching the opening ranges of couture, proved that a ceiling has yet to be...

Getting a car loan from an online auto loan company is not always a bargain. There are definite pros and cons about going with an online auto loan company to obtain financing for a car purchase. While the convenience of being able to shop for a car loan in your pajamas might be a real positive, the cons may have you getting dressed and heading out to your local bank or finance company. As mentioned above, one of the advantages of shopping for car financing at an online auto loan company is being able to do it at your convenience. No matter the time of day or your attire, you can fill out applications whenever you feel like it. Also, the results are usually received quickly, and they often offer lower interest rates because there are many finance companies vying for your business.On the negative side is the fact that there is no face-to-face relationship like you might have if dealing with your local bank. Also, despite the fact that you might be pre-approved immediately, receiving the actual approval and funding can often take days or even weeks. Then when the loan in finally approved, you might be required to pay extra for overnight shipping of the loan check.Another huge disadvantage to obtaining financing from an online source, is that you dont always know how legitimate or reliable the company really is. Additionally, when theres a problem, customer service can be poor or even non-existent. For some people the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. For them, the promise of a lower interest rate combined with the convenience makes going with an online auto loan company the best choice.Below is the personal testimony of someone who discovered first hand both the pros and cons of going with an internet car financing.Approximately, 10 months ago I tried getting financed from an online auto finance company. This company had everything I was looking for, and saved the headache of actually going to the bank or dealing with obnoxious car salesmen. The form was 3 pages long, was easy to read and understand and I couldn't believe it was just that simple. With a few clicks of filling out the online application, I received the confirmation page and an email detailing that my application was on its way to a lender they worked with. They guaranteed financing no matter what my credit was. Being that I had a fairly good score, I had no worries going into this process. However, within the next few days, I began to notice a large number of inquiries on my credit report. All of these inquiries had declined me financing, which reflected negatively on my credit report. By the end of the week I had a total of 20 inquiries and only one bank had approved me for financing. That bank offered such an absurdly high interest rate, that naturally I decided NOT to take advantage of that financing option. I would not recommend going to an online car loan company unless you realize that once they have your information, they are free to distribute it to whomever they choose, even if they say they wont. Carefully and thoroughly do your research and check the reputation of the company you have in mind. Otherwise you will end up like me with a large number of credit checks declining you for credit and no car in the end.Probably the biggest problem about going with an unknown online auto loan company is the fact that you have given them permission to run credit checks. An unscrupulous company will shop around your application resulting in a lot of fruitless hits to your credit report.The second problem is that the bank that finally did approve the loan, only did so at a high interest rate. It didnt matter that the applicant had a decent credit rating, the low interest rate advertised by the online car loan company was not what was offered by the actual lending institution.The online auto loan company is not always a bargain, and is definitely a buyer beware proposition.

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"Style powerJustin Timberlake didn't always have his act together. Here's how he discovered his own sense of style-and learned to love the details By Sandra NygaardIf you're amused by the oversized suits and gold-rimmed shades Justin Timberlake wears in those Saturday Night Live videos with Andy Samberg, Ethnic minorities in this country, particularly Afro-Caribbeans, have long been exponents of chunky gold. In the art market, taste for the surreal, and the tribal art that inspired it, has been bucking the recession. Is the fashion for exotic gold a badge of approbation of ethnic culture? Dealers, with their eye on the long term, tend to bid less enthusiastically for trendy gold torques and bangles than for safer, mainstream rings and brooches. So the private bidder is well placed. Bonhams' next auction has these three items of chunky gold of about 1870: a 68-gram brick and bead link collar (scrap value pounds 350) estimated at pounds 800-pounds 1,000, a wide-hinged bangle with bead and wire work and clusters of half-pearls and diamonds, est.