NEW YORK — A major retail trade organization is announcing that holiday sales rose 4.1 percent, better than its forecast for a 3.8 percent gain. But the season was clouded by heavy discounting needed to get shoppers to spend, particularly ...

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Americans are gaining faith that the economy is on the upswing. An improving job outlook helped the Consumer Confidence Index soar to the highest level since April and near a post-recession peak, according to a monthly survey by The Conference ...

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NEW YORK — With the final Christmas countdown begun, the nation’s largest retail trade group has upgraded its holiday sales forecast reflecting growing optimism that much more spending is to come. The National Retail Federation said Thursday it now expects ...

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NEW YORK — Shoppers seem to be just as enthusiastic about shopping on their computers and smartphones on Cyber Monday as they were about finding deals over the Black Friday weekend. Online sales on Cyber Monday, which was started in ...

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More Americans hunted for bargains over the weekend than ever before as retailers lured them online and into stores with big discounts and an earlier-than-usual start to the holiday shopping season. A record 226 million shoppers visited stores and websites ...

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WASHINGTON — Consumers are giving a modest lift to the economy. They spent more on autos, electronics and building supplies in October to boost retail sales for the fifth straight month. The gains provide an encouraging start for the October-December ...

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NEW YORK — The National Retail Federation, the nation’s largest retail trade group, expects winter holiday sales to rise 2.8 percent to $465.6 billion this year. That would be smaller than 2010’s 5.2 percent increase, but it’s higher than the average ...

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NEW YORK — It looks like retailers will have to work extra hard to keep this holiday season from turning into a bah humbug. A new forecast indicates that sales growth will likely not be as high as last year ...

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The next time you swipe your credit card at check-out, consider this: It’s a ritual the rest of the world deems outdated and unsafe. The United States is the only developed country still hanging on to credit and debit cards ...

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You can ask anyone that knows me — there are not that many things that can bring me as much joy as shopping. I know, it sounds shallow, but I can’t help it. I adore shopping, and all the tasks ...

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