Economy, Retail Sales | featured news

A healthier job market and warmer weather encouraged more Americans to shop in March.

Bloomberg reports that U.S. consumer confidence is almost back to pre-recession levels. But is that actually good news? Over at the Big Picture, James Bianco says it’s not clear why “consumer confidence” is a useful metric. It’s not correlated with jobs. Or retail sales.

U.S. retail sales rose less than expected in January as consumers cut back on car purchases and did less online shopping.

Growth in retail sales stalled in August after a pitched battle over spending in Congress led consumer confidence to crumble, data showed on Wednesday.

Retail sales at major chain stores beat analysts' expectations, rising 4.4% year-over-year in August, according to Thomson Reuters' tally of 23 retailers. Discounters, including Target Corp. and Costco Wholesale Corp., did well as East Coasters stocked up before Hurricane Irene.

U.S. retail sales rose slightly in June. Initial claims for jobless benefits fell sharply last week but remained at elevated levels.

Stocks are shaking off a two-week slump after a report on retail sales wasn't as bad as economists had predicted... The government said Tuesday that retail sales edged down 0.2 percent last month, the first decline in nearly a year. That was slightly better than analysts were expecting. Americans bought fewer cars during the month, but the decline reflected temporary supply chain disruptions caused by the earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan. Excluding weak car sales, retail sales rose 0.3 percent.

U.S. retail sales climbed at the fastest rate in four months during February, increasing by 1.0% from the previous month to $387.12 billion.

US retail sales rose in December for the sixth consecutive month, but questions about the economy still remain.

Though December was weaker than expected, the overall holiday season was still relatively strong, analysts said.