J.C. Penney (JCP) might be heading for a disaster this spring. 

The judge in the lawsuit filed by Macy's (M) over Penney's rival contract with domestic diva Martha Stewart issued a stark warning: Empty shelves might be on the horizon for Penney customers.

New York State Supreme Court Judge Jeffrey Oing told Penney's attorneys on Monday that he could order home products with Stewart's name off Penney's shelves this spring, according to The Associated Press. That would spell more problems for the retailer, which last Wednesday reported a complete wreck of a holiday quarter.

Empty shelves are never a good sign, but what would make the situation worse is that Penney is planning a big rollout for its Martha Stewart products on Mother's Day, May 12.

 

Look out, investors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) hit new all-time highs Tuesday. Is it the end of the world as we know it or are we movin' on up?

That's what creative thinkers on Twitter were discussing Tuesday, laying down the soundtrack for the day with song titles that best described what was happening to the market.

There were the obvious songs mentioned with the #DowSongs hashtag, such as "Defying Gravity" from the musical "Wicked." And "The Gambler" from Kenny Rogers probably applied to plenty of investors wondering Tuesday whether to hold stocks or walk away.

The non-investing world might be singing Morrissey's "We Hate it When Our Friends Become Successful," suggested one Twitter user. 

Forbes' annual rankings of billionaires is sparking a brawl, with accusations of bias and financial shenanigans flying between the magazine publisher and Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal. 

It's an unusual place to find Forbes' billionaire list, which typically offers the more sedate amusements of providing the have-nots with a glimpse of the huge fortunes behind the likes of Microsoft's (MSFT) Bill Gates and Berkshire Hathaway's (BRK.B) Warren Buffett. (Microsoft owns and publishes moneyNOW, an MSN Money site.)

But this year's annual billionaires list has turned into something of a slugfest. That's because Prince Alwaleed on Monday said he had "severed ties" with the Forbes list, accusing it of using a "flawed' valuation method that's biased against Middle Eastern investors.

 

Heinz (HNZ) CEO William Johnson may prove Woody Allen's claim that "80 percent of success is showing up" is an apt way to describe corporate America.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Johnson is eligible for an exit package worth more than $200 million from the Pittsburgh-based ketchup giant once its $28 billion sale to Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) and 3G Capital, a Brazilian private equity firm, closes. That includes $99.7 million in Heinz shares, a $56 million "golden parachute" and $57 million in pension and deferred compensation. A Heinz spokesman tells MSN Money that no decision has been made about the future of Johnson or any other members of Heinz's management team.

Odds are, though, that Johnson will pursue other career opportunities. 

After jumping up 60 points at Tuesday morning's opening, the Dow Jones Industrial average is last up by 149 points, or 1%, to 14,277. That opening put the widely followed equity benchmark above its previous all-time closing high of 14,164. It's also now also well above its previous intraday high of 14,198, set on Oct. 11, 2007. Investors in the U.S. were cheered Tuesday morning by overnight news that China was planning a new spending program aimed at keeping its economy on a strong growth track.

Also, the Institute for Supply Management's services index for February was released this morning, showing a better-than-expected​ rise for this key measure. The reading of 56 rose from 55.2 in January and gave stocks some extra fuel.

And so far at least, the sequester budget cuts aren't having the worst-case-scenario impact on Wall Street.  

Never underestimate the creativity of cash-hungry organizations looking for new ways to squeeze money out of their customers.

Consider the airline industry. It keeps coming up with new sets of fees that nickel-and-dime passengers from the moment they arrive at the airport until they reach their final destination.

But it's not that the air carriers are simply trying to hassle you. Like everyone else in this financially challenged landscape, they need the money.

"U.S. airlines eked out another year of meager profitability as expenses grew faster than revenues with record-setting fuel prices serving as a primary driver," John Heimlich, chief economist for the trade group Airlines for America, told the Los Angeles Times.

 

"American Idol," the singing competition that introduced the world to Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson and Clay Aiken among others, is running out of gas.

Ratings for the onetime must-see show on News Corp.'s (NWS) Fox network recently hit a decade low, according to Advertising Age. Its numbers have been on the decline for years, which isn't surprising given the show's longevity. But one recent broadcast drew just 13.1 million viewers, the fewest since August 2002, Ad Age notes, citing Nielsen data. 

Not only has ABC's "Modern Family" and CBS'  (CBS) "Big Bang Theory" bested it among viewers 18 to 49 -- the demographic that advertisers most covet -- but as Vote for the Worst recently pointed out, so has "Duck Dynasty," a show chronicling the adventures of millionaire hillbillies who own a duck-call business. 

Is love all around us, or is it just in the front aisles between the displays of "Wreck-It Ralph" DVDs and discounted Lee Riders?

For a lucky 15 states in this lovelorn union of ours, the best hope for bringing a little romance into their citizens' lives lies just beyond the customer service counter of the local Wal-Mart (WMT). CNNMoney notes that, according to a study of "missed connections" posts on Craigslist conducted by Psychology Today magazine, Wal-Mart was the most popular place to find love in the U.S. overall.

It's not that there's any romance to rolled-back prices or an aphrodisiac effect to the last-minute splurge items situated in front of the registers. It's just that, in certain states, Wal-Mart is the population's best chance at a universal, communal experience.