SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Foot Locker Inc. said late Thursday that it swung to a second-quarter profit of $18 million, or 11 cents a share, from a loss of $18 million, or 12 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose to $1.3 billion from $1.28 billion last year. Analysts surveyed by FactSet Research estimated a quarterly profit of 1 cent a share on revenue of $1.26 billion. The company sees adjusted earnings of 70 cents to 85 cents a share for the year. Analysts expect earnings of 74 cents a share.

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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said late Thursday that he has reached settlement agreements with Merrill Lynch & Co. , Goldman Sachs Group Inc. , and Deutsche Bank AG over the firms' dealings in auction-rate securities. Under the agreement with Merrill, the investment firm will buy back securities from small investors and all retail customers with less than $4 million on deposit beginning Oct. 1 at par value. Under the settlement, Merrill will pay a $125 million civil penalty, with Goldman paying $22.5 million and Deutsche Bank paying $15 million.

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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Gap Inc. late Thursday reported second-quarter profit rose 51% from a year-earlier and backed its full-year profit forecast. For quarter ended Aug. 2, Gap posted net income of $229 million, or 32 cents a share, compared with net income of $152 million, or 19 cents a share, last year. Sales fell 5% to $3.5 billion. Comparable store sales -- or sales at stores open at least one year -- fell 10%. Gap, which has been reducing inventory and cutting costs, reaffirmed its 2008 profit outlook for earnings between $1.30 and $1.35 a share.

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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Pacific Sunwear of California, Inc. on Thursday reported a second-quarter profit of $2.8 million, or 4 cents a share, vs. a loss of $10.5 million, or 15 cents a share, a year ago. Earnings from continuing operations came in at 6 cents a share. Sales rose to $312.7 million from $311.8 million last year. Analysts polled by FactSet Research were looking for a profit, on average, of 6 cents a share with sales of $312.7 million. The company warned that third-quarter results from continuing operations would be in a range of break even to 5 cents a share, well below Wall Street targets for the period.

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