AP: August Retail Sales Hurt by Job Worries (WalMart Hits 3.5-yr Low)

[stopbush]

In a normal country, this would be but another nail driven into the bush coffin. But as we're living in Bizarro USA...


The New York Times
September 2, 2004
August Retail Sales Hurt by Job Worries
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 12:48 p.m. ET

NEW YORK (AP) -- The August start of the back-to-school shopping season was a disappointment for major retailers, giving the industry a third straight month of tepid sales. Higher gasoline prices and consumers' ongoing worries about jobs contributed to the poor showing.

As storeowners reported their monthly results Thursday, the discouraging news came from all sectors, though discounters and wholesale club operators like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corp. were particularly hard-hit.

Wal-Mart, usually the industry leader, suffered its weakest performance in more than 3 1/2 years.

The big exceptions were high-end stores whose well-heeled customers have been the first to benefit from the economic recovery and have not been as vulnerable to rising gasoline prices.


http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-Retail-Sales.html?hp=&pagewanted=print&position=

[The_Casual_Observer]

1. So what ? chimp is keeping us safer

with strong steady leadership, nothing else matters!

[stopbush]

2. As the ending of Thelma & Louise buzzes thru my head...