NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Walt Disney Co. may see its name back in the news Thursday after an independent advisor recommended that shareholders vote against reelecting Chief Executive Michael Eisner and two directors.
"The Disney board has been notoriously insular, famously gullible and blindly loyal to Mr. Eisner," said Glass Lewis, an independent company that advises Wall Street and institutions on how to cast their ballots in shareholder votes.
The recommendation against Eisner was the second by an independent advisor in two weeks. Glass Lewis' larger competitor, Independent Shareholder Services, Feb. 11 said Eisner "still hasn't gotten it quite right," and Disney was a "poster child" for the need to separate the roles of chairman and CEO.
Disney (DIS: Research, Estimates) shares edged marginally lower to $26.28 on INET electronic brokerage after closing at $26.30 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Thursday's early trading will likely be influenced by the large batch of economic news, including the weekly jobless claims report and January reads on durable goods orders.
The number of Americans filing for initial jobless benefits rose last week, in line with market expectations, while new orders for manufactured goods dropped unexpectedly in January.
First-time claims for state unemployment insurance benefits rose to 350,000 in the week ended Feb. 21, up 6,000 from an unrevised 344,000 the prior week, the Labor Department said. Wall Street economists had expected claims to tick higher to 348,000.
Orders for durable goods -- items meant to last three years or more - fell 1.8 percent last month after an upwardly revised gain of 1.6 percent in December, the Commerce Department said.
Starbucks Corp., the world's No. 1 coffee shop chain, said sales at company-operated stores open at least a year grew 13 percent in February from a year earlier, beating analysts' expectations for a 10 percent increase and matching its largest gain in more than eight years.
Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz, however, warned the increase may only be short-term.
"The current high level of revenue performance is not sustainable. February 2004 benefited from strong post-holiday Starbucks card redemptions and an early start to our annual brewing event," Schultz said in a prepared statement.
Starbucks (SBUX: Research, Estimates) shares closed at $38.95 on the Nasdaq after having hit a record high of $39.68 earlier in the session. The shares were off 4.4 percent to $37.25 on INET.
On the earnings front, retailer Men's Wearhouse Inc. posted a higher quarterly profit thanks to stronger same-store sales in the United States.
Fourth-quarter net income rose to $20.8 million, or 55 cents per share, from $19.9 million, or 50 cents per share, a year earlier.
Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of 53 cents per share for the quarter, according to Reuters Research.
Men's Wearhouse (MW: Research, Estimates) shares jumped more than 3 percent to $26.80 on INET after closing at $26.00 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Video game publisher Midway Games Inc. (MWY: Research, Estimates), meanwhile, reported a wider net loss for the fourth-quarter because of weak holiday sales.
Midway Games' quarterly loss grew to $28.6 million, or 52 cents per share, versus a year-earlier net loss of $25 million, or 54 cents per share. The per-share loss narrowed because of more shares outstanding in the fourth quarter than a year earlier.
Its shares skidded more than 10 percent to $4.60 on INET from its $5.12 New York Stock Exchange closing price.
The earnings showcase continues Thursday with retailers JC Penney (JCP: Research, Estimates), Limited (LTD: Research, Estimates), Gap Inc. (GPS: Research, Estimates), and Kohl's (KSS: Research, Estimates) presenting their quarterly figures.
Additionally, Payless ShoeSource Inc. (PSS: Research, Estimates), Four Seasons Hotels Inc. (FS: Research, Estimates), and Piedmont Natural Gas Inc. (PNY: Research, Estimates) are set to announce their financial results on Friday.
--Reuters contributed to this report.
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