JCPenney and Nordstrom -- retailers that represent 15 percent of annual department-store revenue -- reported September sales that were lower than analysts estimated and reduced their profit forecasts, signaling what may be the worst holiday shopping season in five years.

Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, said Thursday that sales at stores open at least a year climbed 1.4 percent from a year earlier, at the lower end of its projection. The company boosted its third-quarter profit forecast on reduced costs.

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