retail sales

Above-average temperatures across the United States thus far are hurting retail sales, and retailers are running out of time to sell their winter inventory.

Layoffs soared as the holiday shopping season ended. Still, 2011 was a record year for retail sales, even though the year ended on a weak note for stores.

Here is a recap of the top news items from this week on Wall Street: 1. Most stocks traded lower throughout Friday's session despite much better-than-expected gains in nonfarm, private and manufacturing payrolls.

Nonfarm gains totaled 200,000, above the 155,000 expected by economists. The reading for November was revised lower from 120,000 to 100,000.

Private-sector payrolls added 212,000 positions, compared to a gain of 120,000 in November. The employment rate fell from a revised reading of 8.7 percent in November to 8.5 percent. 2.

Although retail sales have remained relatively strong, high levels of consumer debt make it unlikely that rapid growth will help power economic expansion.

Economic growth is picking up in the final three months of the year, fueled by higher consumer spending, rising business stockpiles and modest increases in hiring.

Retail sales broke records on Thanksgiving weekend, hitting an estimated $52 billion, the National Retail Federation said Sunday.

US retail sales rose by 1.1% in September, with vehicle sales showing the biggest gain, but grocery store sales fall.

These zero-star movies of the past decade are so pathetic, you'll wonder how they found their way into production in the first place.

A strong report on retail sales in July sent U.S. stock prices higher Friday after a week of record-setting gains and losses on Wall Street.

It’s no secret that U.S. retail sales collapsed in 2008 and 2009 because of the recession.