Consumer Spending

On Cue, Shoppers Show Up

AP | ANNE D'INNOCENZIO | Posted 11.28.2008 | Business

Read More: Consumerism, Holiday Shopping, Finance, Economy, Consumer Spending, Financial Crisis, Black Friday Deals, Black Friday, Business News

NEW YORK — Shoppers, who had snapped their wallets shut since September, turned out in force Friday to grab early morning deals and hard-to-find...

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Empty Wallets And Empty Malls Leave Retailers Desperate

Nour Akkad | Posted 11.28.2008 | Style

Read More: Retailers, Business News, Retail Employees, Financial Crisis, Retail Sales, Style, Consumer Spending, Customer Service, Black Friday, Style News
Nour Akkad

Along with the rest of us, salespersons are afraid of losing their jobs and making ends meet. Retail workers still have to make a living under these harsh conditions and desperate times are definitely calling for desperate measures.

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New jobless claims drop from 16-year high

AP | CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER | Posted 11.26.2008 | Business

Read More: Jobless Rate, Finance, Economy, Consumer Spending, Financial Crisis, Personal Finance, Jobless Claims, Personal Spending, Business News

WASHINGTON — New jobless claims fell more than expected last week from a 16-year high, the government said Wednesday, though they remain at elev...

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Is the American Shopping Mall Dead?

Newsweek | Posted 11.20.2008 | Business

Read More: Consumer Spending, Financial Crisis, Depression, Consumerism, Malls, Finance, Economy, Business News

There's something growing in the New Jersey Meadowlands, the marsh just nine miles west of Manhattan--and it isn't the gentle ferns that the bucolic n...

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Consumer Spending Crumbles In Lame Economy

AP | MARTIN CRUTSINGER | Posted 11.14.2008 | Business

Read More: Consumer Spending, Financial Crisis, Personal Finance, Economy, Business News

WASHINGTON — The worst monthly drop on record for retail sales set off new alarm bells about the economy Friday, stepping up pressure on policym...

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Wall Street ends turbulent week sharply lower

AP | JOE BEL BRUNO and SARA LEPRO | Posted 11.14.2008 | Business

Read More: Consumer Spending, Financial Crisis, Retail Spending, Personal Finance, Finance, Economy, Business News

NEW YORK — Wall Street ended a turbulent week with another astonishing show of volatility Friday, with stocks plunging, recovering and then plun...

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The Consumer Spending Slowdown Is NOT Because Of Credit

Dave Johnson | Posted 11.12.2008 | Business

Read More: Consumer Spending, Credit Crunch, Recession, Economy, Business News
Dave Johnson

On The NewsHour today Alice Rivlin said that we need to free up the credit markets so people can buy cars. She said there are "credit-worthy" people ...

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Holiday outlook turns grimmer after dismal October

AP | ANNE D'INNOCENZIO | Posted 11.06.2008 | Business

Read More: Economy, Finance, Financial Crisis, Consumer Spending, Retail Sales, Business News

NEW YORK — Retailers suffered through the weakest October in at least 39 years, despite frenzied price cutting as they desperately try to pull i...

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Wall Street shrugs off weak economic news

AP | CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER | Posted 11.04.2008 | Business

Read More: Economy, Finance, Financial Crisis, Labor Department, Consumer Spending, Business News

WASHINGTON — After months rife with uncertainty and unprecedented events that have roiled and reshaped Wall Street, at least one major unknown s...

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Stocks end quiet session mixed ahead of election

AP | TIM PARADIS | Posted 11.03.2008 | Business

Read More: Economy, Finance, Financial Crisis, Economic Data, Recession, Consumer Spending, Business News

NEW YORK — Wall Street ended the calmest session in recent memory with a narrowly mixed performance Monday as investors largely looked past a we...

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Record Oil Company Profits: Redistributing Wealth From Consumers to Stockholders

Mark Cooper | Posted 11.02.2008 | Business

Read More: Oil, Oil Prices, Energy, High Gas Prices, Gasoline, Consumer Spending, Business News
Mark Cooper

Relentless increases in gas prices have taken a huge bite out of consumer pocketbooks. Annual expenditures on gas and motor oil have increased by well over $1,300 in the past five years.

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Evidence of a recession piles higher with new data

AP | MARTIN CRUTSINGER | Posted 10.31.2008 | Business

Read More: US Economy, Recession, Depression, Spending, Consumer Spending, Business News

WASHINGTON — Evidence of a recession piled ever higher Friday, with new figures showing Americans are spending less and gloomy about the economy...

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Consumer cut in spending the most since 1980

AP | JEANNINE AVERSA | Posted 10.30.2008 | Business

Read More: Consumer Spending, Consumer Spending Cut, US Economy, Consumers, Business News

WASHINGTON — Scared and out of money, Americans stopped buying everything from cars to corn flakes in the July-September quarter, ratcheting bac...

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Consumer Confidence at Record Low

Wendy Wanderman | Posted 10.28.2008 | Business

Read More: Consumer Confidence, Consumerism, Consumer Confidence Low, Consumer Spending, Business News
Wendy Wanderman

It would seem very difficult for McCain to get elected if the country has absolutely no confidence in spending money because they fear that business conditions are worsening.

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Why The Government Can't "Fix" the Crisis

Danny Schechter | Posted 10.25.2008 | Business

Read More: Moral Hazard, Bernanke, Hedge Funds, Consumer Spending, Greenspan, Fianacial Crisis, Greed, Treasury Department, Depression, Free Market Capitalism, Federal Reserve Bank, Market Confidence, James Suriwieki, Capitalism, Recession, Lehman Bros, Aig, JPMorgan Chase, Consumer Confidence, Wall Street Crash, Congressional Bailout, William Buitner, Bear Stearns, Alan Greenspan, Market Collapse, Business News
Danny Schechter

In what was for many an unbelievable chain of events, markets started melting down, confidence shattered and believers in unregulated transactions realized something was very, very wrong.

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What My Old House Can Teach Us about the Economy

Irene Rubaum-Keller | Posted 10.22.2008 | Living

Read More: This Old House, Depression, Consumerism, Money, Economy, Real Estate, Consumer Spending, Recession, Living News
Irene Rubaum-Keller

I read somewhere lately that we wear 20% of our clothes 80% of the time. Maybe we only need that 20%.

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The Debt vs. Interest Rate Conundrum

Michael Pento | Posted 10.17.2008 | Business

Read More: 10 Trillion, Federal Funds Rate, Market Forces, Economy, Fixed Income Shock, Intra-Bank Lending, Consumer Spending, Fixed Income, Credit Crisis, The Fed, Print Money, Recession, National Debt, Bailout, Low Interest Rates, Inflation, Economic Meltdown, Treasury Issuance, Money Supply, Free Market, Interest Rates, Fixed Income Rates, Business News
Michael Pento

It now takes about 10 cents on every tax dollar collected just to pay the interest on the debt. As bad as that is, it's only because interest rates are at record lows that the debt is still manageable.

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10 Ways to Go Green and Save Cash -- No Excuses

Maura Judkis | Posted 10.14.2008 | Green

Read More: Gas Prices, Money, Bicycling, Green Living, Saving Money, Consumer Spending, Locavore, Recession, Flexitarianism, Slow Food, Home Cooking, Freeganism, Utility Costs, Freecycle, Save Money, Personal Finance, Ways to Save Gas, Money Saving, Green News
Maura Judkis

Right now, consumers across the country are looking for ways to cut back. Luckily, some of the best ways to save money are also simple steps toward living a little greener.

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The Gay Bailout

Joan Steinau Lester | Posted 10.09.2008 | Home

Read More: Same-Sex Marriage, Consumer Spending, Economic Crisis, Same Sex Marriage, Home News
Joan Steinau Lester

Cash-strapped California, which legalized marriage equality in June, is already reaping a multimillion dollar windfall. Just let same-sex couples marry--your homegrown ones and those from other states--and you'll be floating in cash.

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Are You a Bulimic Shopper?

Irene Rubaum-Keller | Posted 10.07.2008 | Style

Read More: Buyers's Remorse, Purging, Consumer Spending, Money, Binging, Bulimia, Shopping, Health, Style News
Irene Rubaum-Keller

One of my clients recently labeled herself a bulimic shopper. She buys clothes, brings them home, and then returns them. She says it is exactly like a food binge.

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Wall Street May Be Sick, But We're Dying

Kris DiGiovanni | Posted 09.30.2008 | Home

Read More: Wall Street vs Main Street, Main Street, Consumer Spending, Bailout, Wall Street, Economy, Home News
Kris DiGiovanni

I'm not an economist, so I'm having a hard time determining what is actually true, and what is just partisan propaganda. But what I don't hear in all this rhetoric is how either of these scenarios directly affects me -- the average American.

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Tech Spending Slows, Dell Protfits And Shares Drop

AP | JESSICA MINTZ | Posted 09.01.2008 | Business

Read More: Weak Economy, Dell, Dell Computers, Tech Spending, Consumer Spending, Weak Dollar, Economy, Recession, Business News

Slashing computer prices helped Dell Inc. boost sales in its fiscal second quarter, but the No. 2 PC maker's bottom line took a hit when efforts to cu...

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Personal Income Plunges In July

AP | MARTIN CRUTSINGER | Posted 08.29.2008 | Business

Read More: Income, Personal Finance, Consumer Spending, Business News

WASHINGTON — Consumer spending slowed to a crawl and personal incomes plunged in July, reflecting the waning impact of $93 billion in economic s...

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Home Depot Customers Getting Stingier, Profits Sinking

AP | ASHLEY M. HEHER | Posted 08.19.2008 | Business

Read More: Home Depot, Housing Crisis, Housing Market, Recession, Consumer Spending, Refurbishing, House Flipping, Business News

CHICAGO — The Home Depot Inc. said Tuesday that its second-quarter profit sank 24 percent and reiterated its downbeat outlook for the year amid ...

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Higher Prices Outpace June Spending by Consumers

New York Times | CATHERINE RAMPELL | Posted 08.04.2008 | Business

Read More: Inflation, Economic Woes, Economy, Economic Crisis, Rebate Check, Consumer Spending, Inflation Rebate, Rebate Checks Inflation, Business News

Consumers spent more in June, but only because the things they bought cost more. Driven primarily by energy and food prices, inflation grew 0.8 perce...

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