Sarah Halzack, Columnist

Even Macy's and JC Penney Enjoy a Rising Retail Tide

Holiday sales were strong, but the chains haven't solved their problems yet.
Photographer: Chris Hondros/Getty Images
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Call it a Christmas miracle. Macy's Inc. and J.C. Penney Co. Inc. -- two troubled department-store chains that have been emblems of the so-called retail apocalypse -- rang up healthy sales results this holiday season.

Macy's said Thursday that its comparable sales for November and December were up 1 percent over a year earlier, a welcome turnabout for a company that has posted 11 consecutive quarters of declines on this measure.