Dillard's Doldrums

Dillard's Inc. (Little Rock, Ark.) announced a loss of 22 cents a sharefor its second quarter. Sales of $1.82 billion were down 1 percent from$1.84 billion in the same period last year. The company suffered a net$19 million loss, which was off from the $6 million profits posted inthe same quarter a year ago.

However, the department store retailer said internal improvements couldlead to better times. A sign of improvement: Sales drops of 4 percent inMay and June were followed by a 7 percent sales increase in July.