Wall Street Waits for Retail Holiday Report CardsNow that the holidays are over, retailers have to turn in results and set the tone for the year ahead.

[Collection]Wall Street is bracing for the official holiday reckoning — hoping for signs of joyous celebration, but cleared-eyed about the prospects of a promotion-induced hangover. This week, merchants are expected to start updating investors on the Christmas rush from Black Friday and through the new year. Generally sales are seen as having increased, but the question remains just who gained the most ground and the toll of price cuts to lure shoppers. While the fiscal year for most retailers doesn’t officially end for another few weeks, the post-holiday read is an important wrap-up for many companies, which also use the occasion to set the tone for the year ahead and layout cuts to the store base. Antony Karabus, chief executive officer of HRC Advisory, said many retailers are seeing store sales lag online growth. “That store fleet is going to be less profitable than it was before, which means retailers are going to have to take a harder look at closures of marginal stores because the balance is shifting,” Karabus said. “The total size of the market available to the traditional brick-and-mortar retailer has declined because Amazon has continued to take billions upon billions [of dollars] out of the market,” he said. “The bar is

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