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Clearances, heat lured shoppers to spend in July
NEW YORK — Shoppers showed some spending muscle in July, once summer clearance sales and the hottest July in 50 years got them in the mood. Solid sales reports from retailers Thursday took some of the sting out of weak June manufacturing data. And improving trends in unemployment benefit applications provide hope for slightly better […]
Lottery sets another sales record
Goher Khawaja says the best part about selling lottery tickets is that the sales are always there, “no matter what.”
Wholesale stockpiles grew in May but sales fell
WASHINGTON — U.S. wholesale companies added modestly to their stockpiles in May. But sales at the wholesale level dropped by the largest amount in three years, a troubling sign for future growth. The Commerce Department said Wednesday that wholesale stockpiles rose 0.3 percent in May. That followed a 0.5 percent increase in April, which was […]
Retailers accuse Pfizer of delaying generic drugs
TRENTON, N.J. — Five large drug and grocery chains are suing Pfizer Inc. and a second drugmaker, alleging they conspired to delay sales of cheap generic versions of the blockbuster cholesterol drug Lipitor. Lipitor, the world’s top-selling drug ever, had peak sales of nearly $13 billion a year several years ago. Sales dropped sharply after […]
Jobless aid applications fall to 6-week low
WASHINGTON — Fewer people applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week, and a private survey showed hiring picked up in June. The reports offered some hope for the job market after three sluggish months of hiring. Weekly unemployment benefit applications dropped by 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 374,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s the […]
Md. proposes baby bumper pad ban next year
ANNAPOLIS — Maryland’s health department on Friday officially proposed the first statewide ban on the sale of crib bumper pads in cribs to begin next year. The proposed ban would start June 21, 2013. The department started investigating the risks the pads pose to infants last year. Since then, the department has convened a panel […]
Shoppers cautiously pushed up spending in May
NEW YORK — Americans are spending, but they may not be for long. Some major retailers such as Target and Macy’s on Thursday posted May sales increases that beat Wall Street estimates as shoppers were lured in by Mother’s Day promotions and new, brighter styles of clothing. The gains follow a dismal showing during the […]
Fed says retailers paying a lot less in debit fees
WASHINGTON — Retailers are paying significantly less every time a customer swipes a debit card under a rule capping the fees that banks are allowed to charge. The Federal Reserve says in a report Tuesday that the average fee paid by merchants for debit card transactions covered by the rule was 24 cents in the […]
Small retailers don’t want tobacco tax hike
ANNAPOLIS – Raising tobacco taxes in Maryland may only force smokers across state lines, where neighboring states and Washington, D.C., impose lower levies, a lobbyist for small retailers told a Senate panel Wednesday. Senate Bill 526 would raise taxes on a pack of cigarettes by $1 — from $2 to $3 — and also raise […]
Job openings jump to near a 3-year high
WASHINGTON — The number of available jobs in the United States jumped in December to near a three-year high, supporting other data that show a brighter outlook for hiring. Companies and governments posted 3.38 million jobs in December, the Labor Department said Tuesday. That’s up from the 3.12 million advertised in the previous month and […]
Retailers post mixed sales results for January
NEW YORK — Retailers reported mixed sales results for January in a sign that American shoppers are continuing to be cautious about when and where they spend their money in the shaky economy. Of the 12 merchants reporting monthly sales this week, the number of those who beat estimates and those who missed expectations was […]
Retail sales inched up in December, ending record year
WASHINGTON — Retail sales barely rose in December, but the gain was enough to lift sales to a record level for 2011. It marked the largest annual increase in more than a decade. Sales inched up 0.1 percent in December to a seasonally adjusted $400.6 billion, The Commerce Department said Thursday. It was the second […]
