WASHINGTON — Factory orders rose in February, bolstered by strong demand for industrial machinery and commercial aircraft. It was the 10th increase in 11 months as manufacturing continues to provide crucial support for the U.S. economic recovery. “We’re not a red-hot economy,” said Tim Quinlan, an economist at Wells Fargo. “But the recovery is still [...] [...]
Bundle, the new social money comparison site, has released its first-ever annual consumer spending report, “How America Spends.” It includes a 50-state ranking of household budget behavior and a data analysis of trends by marital status/kids, income level and age. The State of Mississippi’s residential household spending average is $27,740. That is 48th among the [...] [...]
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. reported a 22 percent increase in its fourth-quarter profit as the world’s largest retailer cut costs and slimmed down its inventories. But a key measure of sales showed its third consecutive quarterly decline, the discounter said Thursday, as it continues to grapple with deflation in groceries and electronics and a tough economy. [...] [...]
NEW YORK — Americans backed off from holiday spending in January, but retail sales rose for a third month in a row compared with a year earlier, largely because of gas price hikes, according to figures released today by a key data service. Including goods from food to clothing to gasoline — but excluding cars [...] [...]
NEW YORK — Retailers elated by stronger-than-expected holiday sales are expected to report today that they saw an unintended consequence in January: sales up only 1 percent from last year by one measure. Stores ordered so conservatively for the holidays that they ended December with relatively little excess inventory — and less than usual to [...] [...]
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Electronics retailer Best Buy says a key sales figure rose in December as consumers snapped up notebook computers, TVs and mobile phones ahead of the holidays. Sales in stores open at least one year rose 8.2 percent, compared with a 6.5 percent drop a year ago. That includes a 9.3 percent rise [...] [...]
NEW YORK (AP) – Last-minute holiday shoppers brought relief to the nation’s retailers, handing them modest sales gains for the holiday season and prompting several to raise their fourth-quarter profit outlooks. The improved profit picture comes because retailers never had to resort to drastic price-cutting after keeping inventories lean. Still, retailers may be facing chilly [...] [...]
STARKVILLE — Even as national news reports indicate more positive outlooks on the public’s confidence in the economy, recent third-quarter results from the state’s Index of Consumer Sentiment shows something different. Survey findings from the quarterly online business forecaster of Mississippi State University’s (MSU’s) College of Business describe an overall decrease of 4.7 percent in [...] [...]
WASHINGTON — Average annual expenditures per consumer unit rose 1.7 percent in 2008 following an increase of 2.6 percent in 2007, according to results from the Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The spending increase was less than the 3.8-percent increase in prices from 2007 to 2008 as measured by [...] [...]
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