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NEW YORK (AP) - Signs of a weaker housing market gave stock investors another reason to be cautious. Stocks fell Wednesday after the Commerce Department said new home sales dropped for the first time in five months. Sales slid 3.6 percent in September to 402,000 from 417,000 in August, well below the 440,000 analysts had forecast. Investors also pulled back after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reduced its expectation for the nation's economic output for the July-September period. Goldman Sachs expects third-quarter gross domestic product rose at an annual rate of 2.7 percent, weaker than its earlier forecast of 3 percent....

Unintended Consequences By Ian Mathias 10/22/09 Baltimore, Maryland – Follow this one… how the recent rise in retail sales might bust the housing “recovery”: “Retail sales growth is understandably proving meager and hard to regenerate,” writes our macro sage Rob Parenteau, “in a nation where private debt deleveraging is under way and net job generation has yet to return. The early read on consumer expectations for October shows a seven-point drop, which is very indicative of the hesitancy that we suspect will characterize the tentative return to higher spending by U.S. households. Too many rugs have been ripped out from...

Research Firms Predict Sad Christmas David BodamerOct. 20, 2009, 3:09 PM Most of the major predictions are now in for the holiday shopping season. Here we’ve put together a roundup of what various trade associations and research outlets are predicting. Projections range a bit this year. Some groups are calling for a slight decline, other say sales will be flat and some say sales will show a slight uptick. In part, the differences stem from the different way the groups look at the numbers. ICSC and Retail Forward, for example, looks at same-store sales while the National Retail Federation looks...

U.S. State Tax Revenue Drops Most Since 1963 Oct 17, 2009 - 04:57 PM By: Mike_Shedlock Bloomberg is reporting State Revenue Falls Most Since 1963 on Incomes, Sales. U.S. state tax collections tumbled the most in almost half a century in the second quarter as the economic recession curbed levies on incomes and sales. The 16.6 percent plunge was the biggest since at least 1963, the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government said today. For the 12 months to June 30, the fiscal year for most states, revenue declined 8.2 percent, or $63 billion, about twice what states got from...

I just sent an email to John G. Matsuka, President of the Initiative & Referendum Institute at the University of Southern California asking him if anyone has started a petition to overturn Arnold's signing into law AB962 controlling ammo sales in California. See SF Gate article here!

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- In the first month after the end of the "cash-for-clunkers" program, automakers on Thursday are reporting virtually across-the-board sales declines with Chrysler and General Motors seeing volumes nearly halved, but Ford not hit as hard as expected and even robust gains for Hyundai.

There is a great movie scene from the movie Glengarry Glen Ross that most people involved in sales can recite verbatim. In the movie, Jack Lemmon is salesman, who gets up to get a cup of coffee during a sales meeting. The new Sales Manager (Alec Baldwin), screams at him “Put That Coffee Down!” Lemmon looks at him quizzically. Baldwin screams at him again, “Put That Coffee Down! ---Coffee is For Closers.” Even more than coffee, foreign policy is for closers, and unfortunately for the future of the United States, the man running our foreign policy is not a closer.

U.S. auto sales likely fell in September back to the nearly three-decade lows of early 2009 without government incentives to spur buying, leaving in doubt the timing and pace of a recovery for the battered industry. Nearly 700,000 new cars and trucks were bought by U.S. customers through the government "cash for clunkers" incentive program from late July through the first three weeks of August, a leap from recession-stunted sales earlier in 2009.

After posting four straight months of gains, a survey showed Thursday that sales of previously owned U.S. homes unexpectedly fell in August, a minor setback for the housing market's recovery from a three-year slump.

Back-to-school sales flunk Most retailers posting declines in August, indicating continued weakness in the consumer sector. By Julianne Pepitone, CNNMoney.com staff reporter Last Updated: September 3, 2009: 10:29 AM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Back-to-school sales for major national retailers fell from last year, but the results were stronger than analysts expected, thanks in part to discounters. August same-store sales, sales at stores open a year or more, fell 2.9% overall from last year, Thomson Reuters reported. Analysts had expected a 3.8% decline as consumers continue to feel the pinch of the recession. "The overall index was not good by...

If you're planning a garage sale or organizing a church bazaar, you'd best beware: You could be breaking a new federal law. As part of a campaign called Resale Roundup, the federal government is cracking down on the secondhand sales of dangerous and defective products. The initiative, which targets toys and other products for children, enforces a new provision that makes it a crime to resell anything that's been recalled by its manufacturer. "Those who resell recalled children's products are not only breaking the law, they are putting children's lives at risk," said Inez Tenenbaum, the recently confirmed chairwoman of...

Reading positive literature is an absolute must to help you grow into the businessperson or salesperson you want to be and the life you want. Reading, or listening to, positive literature edifies us and is a relatively small task that pays enormous dividends if done consistently and meaningfully. Unlike a physical workout that can take 1-2 hours, the brain workout only involves 10-15 minutes a day. There are two specific reasons that you will want to do so: * Reading positive literature mentally exercises our mind to process new ideas and rekindle old ones that are of value. Reading positive...

In the process of searching for a used car for my children to use to go to school and get to work (summer jobs), I have made a couple of significant discoveries. Many used cars are selling for way below book value because there is no book value due to the incentives for buying new cars and economic conditions. Few banks will give loans on a used car at this time. Many, many used cars are for sale and remain for sale for quite some time. Cars that should have elevated used values are selling for well below "usual" values....

Although consumer confidence may be increasing, it's not showing up at the cash register yet. Many retailers posted disappointing May sales on Thursday, and food and necessities remained high on shoppers' lists. According a Goldman Sachs/ICSC tally, overall same-store sales fell 4.6 percent, worse than the 3 percent drop predicted. The lower-than-expected results did not include Wal-Mart stores, which in recent months has boosted total results but has stopped reporting monthly figures. April same-store sales had edged up with Wal-Mart, but excluding the world's largest retailer, May was the 10th straight month of same-store sales declines, according to a tally...

Selling any used cribs or playpens at your upcoming garage sale? Children’s clothes with drawstrings or zippers? Pre-1985 books? Rubber duckies or pool floaties? Better check them twice. Just like megasize toy manufacturers and stores that sell products from China, the notoriously broad and confusing federal Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act applies to you and your front yard

Conservation Efforts Benefit from 31 Percent Jump in Excise Taxes Firearms and ammunition excise tax collections for fourth quarter of calendar year 2008. SALES REMAIN STRONG FOR MANUFACTURERS . . . Firearm and ammunition manufacturers paid more than $98 million in excise taxes in the fourth quarter of 2008, up 31.2 percent over the same period in 2007, according to figures released earlier today by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. From Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, $27.6 million was collected for pistols and revolvers, $35 million for long guns and $35.5 million for ammunition. Compared to the same period...

The report, just released today, says that if this trend continues, car dealers in the Golden State will sell fewer than 1-million new rides this year, something that hasn't happened since the Gerald Ford administration.

Russia's state arms exporter Rosoboronexport is expecting $7 billion in foreign sales in 2009 despite the ongoing global economic crisis, a defense industry official said on Wednesday. Rosoboronexport sold about $7 billion worth of weaponry in 2008 and has a current portfolio of orders worth a total of $27 billion. "Our situation is stable. We have reached a high level [of arms sales], and we are expecting this year roughly the same amount as in 2008, which is about $7 billion," said Alexander Brindikov, the head of a group of advisers to Rosoboronexport.

Was there anything good about the quarter? Since we're grasping at straws, lets note that February's sales were better than January and March's was better than February's. But, that's happened every year since 1991. Aside from that, the quarter was awful. Sales declined 38.4%, and that followed a 8% dip in the first quarter of 2008. The Detroit 3's domestic sales fell an astounding 46.2%. Import brand sales were down 30.6%--not as bad as Detroit's but not good. GM was the sickest of the sick in the first quarter, down 48.8%. Toyota led the Japanese in futility with a loss...

Sales and Use Tax Rate Increases on April 1, 2009 Effective April 1, 2009, the State sales and use tax rate increases by 1%. In addition, if you are in a city or county that has a new voter approved local district tax rate increase effective on April 1, 2009, your overall tax rate increase will be higher. The combined statewide and district tax rates that apply as of April 1, 2009, are listed on the reverse side of the Special Notice, Sales and Use Tax Rate Increases on April 1, 2009. For more information about the additional new district...

NEW DELHI: Strange are the ways of the US. Just when India had shed its long-standing opinion of the US being an unreliable arms supplier, given its propensity to impose sanctions at the drop of a hat, Washington has let loose a strange missile. The Navy was all set to launch sea trials of the first of the three Shivalik-class stealth frigates being built at Mazagon Docks (MDL) when it got a rude shock on learning the new Obama administration had directed American company General Electric (GE) to stop all work on the gas turbine engines which power the warships....

One more day in February wouldn't have done much to salvage yet another bad month of sales for the U.S. auto industry, but it wouldn't have hurt. All of the big automakers saw sales down around 40% or more last month compared to February 2008. Chrysler Co. (-44%), Ford Motor Company (-48.4%) and General Motors (-52.9%) again took the brunt of it, but Toyota (-39.8%), Honda (-38%) and Nissan (-37%) weren't far behind. This just goes to show that the argument about U.S. domestic automakers not selling what people want to buy is bogus, as people just aren't buying across...

A Calgary police officer who was accused of abusing a gun amnesty program pleaded guilty Tuesday to one charge of careless storage of a firearm. Dean Pankewicz, 43, was also facing four other charges, including trafficking and illegal possession of a firearm, but those were dropped after he pleaded guilty to careless storage. The 18-year police veteran was charged after an investigation into the sales of firearms that were supposed to be destroyed in a provincial gun amnesty. The investigation alleged Pankewicz bought 51 firearms that were supposed to be turned over and destroyed during the 2006 amnesty. It was...

The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), the far left anti-gun group under investigation for voter fraud, could be eligible to receive millions, if not billions of dollars from the economic bailout bill that passed out of the House of Representatives. ACORN was an aggressive supporter of Barack Obama -- who had served as the group's legal counsel and even trained ACORN in "community organizing" -- in the presidential election. The Obama campaign even paid the group $800,000 for "voter turnout," the very activities that came under scrutiny by the FBI. In October 2008, ACORN's Las Vegas office...

China tops USA in car sales for the 1st time everChina sold more vehicles in January than the United States. The US auto market is sinking into a deeper gloom. Manufacturers are trimming back their sales forecasts to suppliers and adding additional shutdown or idle times to their lines. Sales in the US are predicted to be less than 10 million units. This is a 26 year low. Unfortunately, this may be an optimistic estimate. Meanwhile, the Obama Administration is taking moves to make cars and trucks more expensive in the US. He is adding a hidden fuel mileage and...

After 8 years, my first post and it had to be a vanity. Can anyone point me in the direction of a solid and reputable online firearms retailer? I live almost 300 miles away from any sizeable city that would have a decent selection of retailers. I refuse to bend over for the couple of retailers I have in this town, price gouging has always been the name of the game in this community. If it would help, I'm looking for SKS/M-1 Carbine/pump shotgun. Haven't firmed up brands on the shotgun, I'm in shopping mode still (but leaning toward Mossberg)....

PARIS: Music sales worldwide fell by about 7 percent last year as another sizable jump in digital sales failed to make up for a deepening decline in the compact disc market, according to John Kennedy, chief executive of the industry's main international trade group. Revenue from music sold over the Internet, via mobile phones and in other digital forms, rose by 25 percent last year, to $3.7 billion, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry said in a report set for publication Friday. Digital sales accounted for 20 percent of the industry's revenue, up from 15 percent a year earlier....

Drugstore operator/retailer Walgreen Co. said Monday its sales rose 10.8 percent in December, with sales at its older stores growing as consumers stocked up on necessities. The company reported $6.11 billion revenue in December, up from its $5.51 billion total in December 2007. Walgreen said its same-store sales, or sales at locations open at least one year rose 4.9 percent. Sales at older pharmacies increased 8.5 percent, and sales at the front end of those rose grew 0.4 percent. Front-end sales refers to sales of nonprescription products. Same-store sales are considered a key measurement of retailer health because they compare...

Retail sales figures are in the tank...so what to do? NOTE: The author of this comic requests that you visit his web site and please refrain from copying the cartoon within this thread. Thank you very much!

Redding gun stores haven't noticed the economic downturn felt by most of America this holiday season. Just the opposite. Owners of three of the area's largest gun dealerships say their sales have doubled or even tripled as hundreds of worried gun-rights advocates rush to buy firearms before President-elect Barack Obama and a Democrat-controlled House and Senate take power after January. "After the election, there definitely was motivation," said Fred Drollinger, 53, of Shingletown, who picked up a new Kimber .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol earlier this month from Jones' Fort in Redding. "The Democrats have a very different view of guns" than...

CREDIT ratings, cash flow and a willingness to support their brands will mark the difference between the winners and losers in the global economic crunch, the chief marketing manager of one of the world's biggest consumer brands says.

PEORIA, Ill. - How is the economic downturn affecting motivational speakers who rouse breakfast audiences - those seminar stars who promise to spur sales and company coaches that seek to boost the bottom line? The short answer is that when business goes bad, business experts get busy. That's the consensus of several people who make their living addressing companies across the country and around the world. "We call them 'one-day wonders.'" said Mary Pille, CEO of the Employers Association, a group that plans meetings for business audiences throughout the year. "One of the first things to go when times get...

Gun sales have sharply increased in recent weeks as some worry an Obama administration and a Democratically controlled Congress will take away gun rights. Do you think gun owners are justified in their worries? Yes. I'm worried they'll curtail the right to bear arms. 73.9% No. Everyone is overreacting. 26.1% Gun sales surge in Illinois since Obama win -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Loading multimedia... Photos -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AP Steve Swartz, owner of Capitol City Arms Supply, shows off a Barrett 50 caliber rifle in Springfield, Ill., Thursday Dec. 4, 2008. Guns are selling like hotcakes in Illinois, with sales jumping nearly 40 percent in...

NEW YORK (AP) - General Motors' November U.S. sales plunged 41 percent, while Ford's dropped 31 percent, dashing hopes that the industrywide drop in vehicle demand might be easing as Detroit's automakers prepare to state their second case for a federal bailout. Their overseas rivals posted abismal (???) results as well. Toyota's November sales tumbled 34 percent, and Honda's fell 32 percent. A dreary economy, swooning consumer confidence and tight credit markets have combined to keep consumers out of vehicle showrooms this year. On Monday, the National Bureau of Economic Research said the U.S. entered a recession in December 2007,...

Business think tank, Direct Marketing Directions, has released their findings on the worldwide effect of ‘Do not call’ lists throughout the English-speaking world based on six months worth of research and interviews.

EUGENE, Ore. -- National polls continue to show Barack Obama leading John McCain -- and those numbers are affecting gun sales. One south Eugene gun shop manager said business is booming for guns and ammunition. He feels the reason why is out of fear of Congress enacting tougher gun controls. "I think it's pretty well going to happen if Obama is elected president. There's no question," said Baron's Den and Shooting Range Manager Raye Gunter. Gunter said he's seen a rise in sales of military-style rifles, concealed carry guns and signups for shooting classes. "People are buying stuff they feel...

Despite a credit crunch that has driven world central banks to slash interest rates, the National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday that an index of sales contracts on previously owned U.S. homes rose 7.4% in August from the prior month. The index, which is considered a leading indicator of existing home sales, was up 8.8% from the prior year. In August pending home sales rose in all four regions, with a gain of 18.4% in the West, 8.4% in the Northeast, 3.6% in the Midwest and 2.3% in the South. snip

Gun sales are going boom around the country as gun owners and gun advocates brace for a potential Democrat in the White House for the first time in almost 10 years. Democrats, meanwhile, say there's no reason to worry that presidential hopeful Barack Obama would attempt to curtail access to most guns, though that hasn't stopped the buying spree.

What Are We Reading? Track America's Political Book Buying Click on a state to see that state's percentage of "red" and "blue" book sales over the past 60 days, as well as local political favorites. Or see how the map has changed over time by using the right and left arrows to choose a different two-month period during 2008. To see the changes in the map over the same periods in the last presidential election year, click the "2004" tab. Updated daily. Learn more.

NEW YORK - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. posted a 17 percent increase in second-quarter profit Thursday and raised its full-year earnings forecast, helped by cost cuts and a renewed focus on low prices that is attracting financially squeezed shoppers around the world. But the world’s largest retailer predicted slower sales growth at its established stores for the current quarter, saying it is seeing some volatility as customers find it difficult to stretch their paycheck to the next payday. The Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer said it earned $3.45 billion, or 87 cents per share, in the quarter ended July 31, up from $2.95...

WASHINGTON - The government said Wednesday that U.S. retail sales fell in July, the weakest performance in five months. The Commerce Department reported retail sales dipped 0.1 percent last month, as a variety of economic woes combined to blunt the impact of billions of dollars in government stimulus payments to U.S. households. It’s the first decline since sales had fallen by 0.5 percent in February. And it’s a worse showing than the flat reading economists had been expecting.

I don't know how to classify this as far as being "newsworthy" but it's certainly interesting how Left Coast companies and individuals are acting in regards to the debacle Nancy Pelosi's book has become from a sales standpoint and PR disaster. Amazon.com has deleted hundreds of posts and reviews and caused numerous "Amazon Prime" cancellations due to their heavy handed censorship of their buying community. Now I've read the consumer reviews of this book on and off since Friday and while obviously many didn't read the book, just like the Ann Coulter "reviews", the anti-Ann reviews remain while those critical...

Wal-Mart bans bulk sales of rice By Our Foreign Staff Last Updated: 2:42am BST 24/04/2008 The American supermarket chain Wal-Mart yesterday banned bulk sales of rice at its cash-and-carry businesses, as the global food shortage and soaring price of food began to make an impact in the largest consumer nation. The company's bulk supply division, Sam's Club, announced that it would sell a maximum of four bags of rice to each customer, after Costco, a rival chain, said it would place caps on some rice and flour sales in California. The limits were imposed after some customers, apparently alarmed by...

Most of us recognize brands we use everyday. Picking coffee at Starbucks, visiting Trader Joe's for groceries or stopping by Home Depot for materials for the weekend home improvement project are things we often do without thinking. Yet the reason we buy something, visit a store or contribute to a particular effort is based on how we know about it, how we understand it, and how we value it - its brand. Even paying attention to something we know nothing about is a conscious decision and could be a rejection of known brands. Most brands we easily identify and use...

Sales of new homes plunged by a record amount in 2007 while prices posted the weakest showing in 16 years, demonstrating the troubles builders are facing with a huge backlog of unsold homes. The Commerce Department reported Monday that sales of new homes dropped by 26.4 percent last year to 774,000. That marked the worst sales year on record, surpassing the old mark of a 23.1 percent plunge in 1980. The government reported that the median price of a new home barely budged last year, edging up a slight 0.2 percent to $246,900, the poorest showing since prices fell by...

NEW YORK - The economic outlook became more uncertain Thursday after many of the nation's big retailers reported weaker than expected holiday sales, the result of consumers cutting their spending due to higher energy prices and the ongoing housing slump. Many merchants failed to meet their already lowered sales projections during December, and their performance during this critical sales period led some stores to reduce earnings outlooks for the fourth quarter. The weak results crossed all retail categories. Particularly hard hit were apparel sellers including Limited Brands Inc. and AnnTaylor Stores Corp., as well as department stores including Macy's Inc....

"This is for these guys," bellowed Goldie Hawn, directing the crowd's attention to the giant fibre-glass elephant she was standing on, "these wonderful creatures in Asia that need our help." Below her, on the pavements of Knightsbridge, people nodded thoughtfully. "We are the highest of the animal kingdom," she continued. "We have a mind and heart and a conscience and this is what this is all about. We know how to help and this is what we're doing today." But at that moment the clock struck nine, Captain Peacock unbolted the door, and the mob stampeded past Goldie and her...

WASHINGTON -- Sales of new homes in the United States plunged last month to their lowest level in more than 12 years, a grim testament to the problems plaguing the housing sector. The Commerce Department reported Friday that new-home sales tumbled by 9% in November from October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 647,000. That was the worst showing since April 1995, when the pace of sales was 621,000.

U.S. retail sales surged during November, making a surprisingly strong, broad-based climb that suggests the economy might not be as weak as feared. Meanwhile, U.S. wholesale prices soared last month at their fastest pace since the Nixon Administration, spurred by record gains in energy prices. In a worrisome sign for Federal Reserve officials, price pressures appeared to seep beyond just energy and risk becoming embedded deeper in the production pipeline. Retail sales increased by 1.2%, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Sales went up an unrevised 0.2% in October. The median estimate of 10 economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires was...