Signs of a strengthening global recovery emerged Friday, with consumers boosting retail sales, companies restoring stockpiles and China's exports mounting a comeback. ...more

December 12, 2009

Retail sales rose more than expected in November, boosting hopes that the all-important consumer sector will support the fragile recovery. ...more

December 11, 2009

Penny-pinching gift seekers stormed the stores before dawn on Black Friday, eager to get more bang for their beleaguered bucks. ...more

December 9, 2009

Poll results are most often annoying or encouraging, depending on whether their findings comport with our personal points of view. ...more

December 9, 2009

For a lot of people Helen Walsh's age, a mall is someplace to walk laps. At Gulf View Square, Walsh isn't walking the mall, she's working it. Walsh, 70, has operated Tee Shirt Magic, at the southern end of the Port Richey-area mall, since May. ...more

December 5, 2009

New weekend shopping figures on Wednesday offered more evidence confirming stores' modest start to the holiday shopping season. Online sales were stronger. ...more

December 3, 2009

Holiday shopping held steady through the weekend after retailers saw a huge crowd of bargain shoppers buying discounted flat-panel TVs and fleece jackets on Black Friday, the traditional post-Thanksgiving Day shopping spree. ...more

December 1, 2009

"Congratulations, I'm pleased to inform you that you've won $10,000," reads a letter that crime prevention specialist Nell Hays says is a common scam. ...more

November 29, 2009

Shoppers who endured long lines and sometimes-frigid temperatures spent only slightly more during their Black Friday shopping sprees than they did last year, according to data released today by a research firm. ...more

November 28, 2009

Thanksgiving 2009 has come and gone and so has Black Friday. Now the question is whether the nation's retailers will be blue this holiday season. ...more

November 28, 2009