NEW YORK — Home Depot Inc. on Wednesday raised its fiscal 2010 earnings guidance slightly for the second time in two months and said it expects Americans’ increasing preference for small home projects over major renovations to be a long-term ...

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NEW YORK — Generous discounts lured Americans to stores and online for holiday gifts in November, providing cheer and delivering the best gains for retailers in four years. That raises hopes, already buoyed by reports of crowded malls and early ...

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Economists said Thursday they are cautiously optimistic about the prospect of new home sales for the coming year, but that homebuilders must be careful to avoid a second bubble in the region. Although there is still a surplus of existing ...

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DETROIT  — All major automakers but Toyota reported strong U.S. sales increases in November as the auto industry’s slow-motion recovery continued to gain traction. Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, Nissan, Hyundai and Honda all reported double-digit increases, and only Toyota, which ...

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DENVER — Federal authorities have seized 82 Web domain names, including seven based in Colorado, as part of a nationwide crackdown on sites allegedly selling counterfeit goods. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced the crackdown on Monday as Internet retailers ...

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NEW YORK — Holiday shoppers gave retailers a happy Thanksgiving weekend, crowding stores and malls more than last year. Add strong spending earlier this month and robust sales online, and retailers head into “Cyber Monday” encouraged. Particularly because many shoppers ...

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WASHINGTON — The economy grew slightly faster last summer than first thought, benefiting from stronger spending by U.S. shoppers and improved overseas sales of U.S. goods. The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that the economy expanded at a 2.5 percent annual ...

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Laptop computers for $198. Printers for $44. Sterling silver diamond bracelets for $99. Five-gallon Shop-Vac portable vacuums for $15. Large slow cookers for $2.97. As the holiday shopping season nears its official start, local retailers are hoping that special promotions, ...

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The pitch seems almost too good to be true: make unlimited income, work flexible hours and earn rewards for selling something everyone uses to your friends, family and acquaintances. That something in this case is electricity, not knives, makeup or ...

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Third-quarter earnings reports from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Saks Fifth Avenue show the far different streets their customers are living on. Wal-Mart’s third-quarter sales in the U.S. got squeezed as its financially strapped customers dealt with dire economic straits. Saks’ ...

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