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The holiday shopping season forecasts are starting to roll in, and the slow pace of the recovery is dampening expectations.
Deloitte said Monday that it predicts holiday sales for November through January will increase 2 percent to $852 billion, as households remain focused on reducing debt and increasing savings. Get the full story »
Sales at U.S. retailers increased more than expected in August, notching their largest gain in five months on strong receipts at gasoline stations and clothing outlets, according to a government report that further assuaged fears of a double-dip recession. Get the full story »
U.S. consumer spending rose at the strongest pace in four months in July, supported by a small gain in incomes that offered hope consumers will be able to keep contributing to a modest recovery. The Commerce Department said on Monday spending increased 0.4 percent, the largest gain since March, after being unchanged in June. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected consumer spending to rise 0.3 percent. Get the full story »
U.S. economic growth slowed more sharply than initially thought in the second quarter, held back by the largest increase in imports in 26 years, a government report showed on Friday. Gross domestic product expanded at a 1.6 percent annual rate, the Commerce Department said, instead of the 2.4 percent pace it had estimated last month. Get the full story »
U.S. housing starts rose but to a much weaker rate than expected in July, while permits for future home construction fell to their lowest level in more than a year, according to a government report on Tuesday that pointed to a weak housing market.
The Commerce Department said housing starts rose 1.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 546,000 units. June’s housing starts were revised to show an 8.7 percent fall, which was previously reported as a 5 percent drop. Get the full story »
Retail sales managed a modest increase in July after two consecutive declines, but the strength was concentrated in higher sales of autos and gasoline. Most other retailers saw their sales fall.
The Commerce Department says sales rose 0.4 percent last month while sales excluding autos were up 0.2 percent. Both figures were slightly below expectations.
U.S. economic growth slowed in the second quarter as companies invested heavily in equipment from abroad and the pace of consumer spending eased, raising concerns about the recovery in the rest of 2010. Gross domestic product expanded at a 2.4 percent annual rate, the Commerce Department said in its first estimate on Friday, after an upwardly revised 3.7 percent growth pace in the January-March quarter.
Financial markets had forecast GDP, which measures total goods and services output within U.S. borders, growing at a 2.5 percent rate in the second quarter from a previously estimated a 2.7 percent rate for the first three months of this year. Get the full story »
U.S. wholesales sales fell unexpectedly for the first time in more than a year, lifting inventories to their highest level in 11 months, a government report showed on Friday.
Total wholesale inventories rose 0.5 percent to $398.81 billion, the Commerce Department said, following a revised 0.2 percent gain in April. Get the full story »
Orders to U.S. factories declined broadly in May after nine straight months of gains, raising new concerns that the recovery is stalling. The Commerce Department said Friday that orders for manufactured goods decreased 1.4 percent in May. It was the biggest drop since March 2009.
U.S. consumer spending rose slightly more than expected in May even as savings touched their highest level in eight months, a government report showed on Monday. The Commerce Department said spending edged up 0.2 percent after being flat in April. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected consumer spending to rise 0.1 percent. Get the full story »
U.S. economic growth was slower than previously estimated in the first quarter as estimates of business and consumer spending were cut, according to government data on Friday. In its final estimate, the Commerce Department said gross domestic product expanded at a 2.7 percent annual rate instead of the 3 percent pace it reported last month. Get the full story »
Sales of new homes collapsed in May, sinking 33 percent to the lowest level on record as potential buyers stopped shopping for homes once they could no longer receive government tax credits.
Chicago suffered a particularly steep decline in visitors from overseas in 2009, but merchants, restaurateurs and hoteliers should start to feel a modest rebound this year.
That forecast will be delivered to the Greater North Michigan Avenue Association this week by Helen Marano, director of the U.S. Commerce Department’s Office of Travel and Tourism Industries. Get the full story »
