Nov. shopping surge spurs higher holiday outlook

[bushisanidiot]

Good to hear!! Thank you, President Obama and Speaker Pelosi!

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Nov-shopping-surge-spurs-apf-1308879914.html?x=0

"NEW YORK (AP) -- A bigger-than-expected surge in holiday spending in November led a prominent research firm to raise its forecast for the season for the second time in a matter of weeks.

The upgraded forecast by ShopperTrak follows an upgraded outlook from the National Retail Federation on Tuesday. The early buying surge is likely to offset a disappointing start to December.

ShopperTrak, based in Chicago, said Wednesday it now expects holiday sales to rise 4 percent over last year, up from a previous projection of 3.2 percent made in mid-November. The original estimate was for a 2.9 percent increase.

ShopperTrak said November's revenue rose 5.8 percent compared with a year ago, as stores successfully pulled in shoppers with discounts. ShopperTrak had expected 3.7 percent.

The National Retail Federation now expects total holiday sales to rise 3.3 percent, 1 percentage point higher than the original 2.3 percent growth forecast.

The increasing optimism comes as government figures released Tuesday showed that retail sales for November jumped 0.8 percent over October, marking the fifth straight monthly gain. The increase was led by department stores, which posted a 2.8 percent gain."

[Atman]

1. Good thing we got rid of all those damned DEMOCRATS!

Obviously, this all happened because the GOP took control of the House...uh, in, uh, January. Well, anyway, we shouldn't let facts get in the way of good news! Clearly this is all because of Mitch McConnell and John Boenher.

.

[bushisanidiot]

2. Yeah, and notice how good news gets ZERO recs.

you'd think we were in freeptard land trying to share good news about he economy.

[nc4bo]

3. Xmas gift list:

New Khakis for hubby - old ones were 2 years old and wore out.
Dollar store mix-matched plates, bowls and glasses for daughter and hubby - got married a month ago - in front of Magistrate in the same building as the county jail.
A mix match set of soft pastels for me - will try to sell some of my art work at a flea market next year (if it works out alright).
Clutch fan for son as his has been broke for a couple months.
Nonskid slippers and socks for mom.
Friends get artwork.

Good Lord - we're definitely on a real spending spree over here.

Merry Christmas!