Discounters show positive movement in January

New York City -- Costco Wholesale Corp. reported a January same-store sales increase of 9%, topping Wall Street expectations and leading the performances of the discount retail category. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a smaller same-store sales increase of 6.1%. Target Corp. didn’t show the same strength, missing expectations because of strong winter storms during the month. Same-store sales edged up 1.7% for the month, missing the 1.9% increase predicted by Wall Street. "Target's January comparable-store sales were below expectations, particularly in portions of the South and the Northeast," said CEO Gregg Steinhafel. Target said it expects February