Moody’s upgrades outlook for US apparel industry

Moody’s Investors Service said on Thursday that children’s retailer Gymboree Corp. would benefit the most from plummeting cotton prices and steady demand. When cotton prices peaked last year, Gymboree’s profit margins took the hardest hit, but an ongoing decline coupled with a slow and steady economic recovery in the U.S. should benefit the company, with most gains coming in the second half of the year.