Today in business

With little in the way of economic reports due today, investors will pay attention to earnings. Today's also the day for the Detroit Three to submit their bailout plan to Congress.

WILL STAPLES SAY THAT WAS EASY?

Staples, the office supply store chain, has already said same-store sales, a measure of sales in stores open at least a year, slid 8 percent in the United States and 6 percent in Europe during the quarter. The metric is considered a key measure of a retailer's health. But Deutsche Bank analyst Mike Baker says Staples' same-store sales are better than those of competitors Office Depot and OfficeMax. This means Staples is grabbing market share, Baker says. Staples releases third quarter financial results before the market opens this morning.

LOSS OF BIG-TICKET SALES HURT SEARS

Sears is expected to swing to a loss when it reports third quarter earnings before the market opens. Sears and Kmart stores were already hurting from the housing slump when the broader economic downturn began. Now, struggling consumers are cutting spending on costlier items such as appliances, for which Sears is known, Deutsche Bank analyst Bill Dreher Jr. says. He rates the stock "sell" and cut his 12-month target price to $43 from $60.

BEAZER COULD SEE IMPROVEMENT

A glut of unsold homes on the market is pushing down prices, spooking would-be buyers. What's more, tight credit conditions are making mortgages harder to come by. Still, homebuilder Beazer is expected to post a narrower fourth-quarter loss than a year ago. Home prices fell 16.6 percent in the third quarter from year-ago levels, based on the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller National Home Price Index. Beazer reports earnings before the market opens.