This is the first that I've heard of Gap actually revealing what their growth plan is for the brand.

I think the Gap had to come up with something new. It's possible they're trying to target the baby boomers next. Old Navy has been driving growth for the Gap Inc. but it's starting to slow. Its namesake Gap stores are facing market saturation, and the higher-priced Banana Republic brand is a niche concept. Banana Republic has been doing great but there's a limited opportunity to expand it further.

I don't see anything mitigating that, except people taking money out of homes. The negative savings rate means most consumers won't be able to dig deeper into cash supplies.

The questioning [about compensation] on conference calls hasn't gotten any tougher than it was four years ago.

Having that backlog helped IBM through the worst part of the recession.

As of the September quarter it didn't appear that things were getting any better.