MarketWatch: Ice forms on retail registers

[marmar]

Retail sales plunge 2.7% in December
Weakest U.S. sales on record excluding auto sales

By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch


WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Stung by weak demand and falling prices, U.S. retail sales plunged a seasonally adjusted 2.7% in December from November, the Commerce Department estimated Wednesday.

Excluding a 0.7% decline in auto sales, retail sales recorded their biggest drop since record-keeping began in the early 1990s, falling 3.1%.

And with both gasoline and autos excluded, sales fell 1.5%, the largest drop since September 2001.

"The holiday season was truly disastrous," wrote Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist for High Frequency Economics. Poor retail sales point to a "deeper recession than previously anticipated," said Peter Kretzmer, an economist for the Bank of America.

The nation's retail sales have fallen for six months in a row now -- the longest decline on record -- with the declines accelerating as the economy weakened in the final quarter of the year. Sales data were revised lower for both October and November, to declines of 3.4% and 2.1%, respectively.

"Holiday sales posted the biggest decline on record falling around 3.5%," wrote Anika Khan, an economist for Wachovia. "Sales have been primarily driven by extensive discounting which is hurting retail profit margins." ........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/US-retail-sales-plunge-27/story.aspx?guid=%7B7746B204%2DF4BB%2D4941%2D8769%2D47654E4A2902%7D

[Stuart G]

1. It is much worse than people think...nt

[dbt]

2. Yep. WAY worse than our telescreens are showing us.

The Alleged News Networks are owned by ginormous corporations who still have a lot of stuff to (try to) sell us. Wouldn't be good for business a-tall if we were to find out how fucked we are.

[thunder rising]

3. Nahhh, we just need to use different statistical formulas ... you know if unemployment doesn't look

good, Bush declares another formula (or exclusion).

[SoCalDem]

4. People quit using plastic..

Using cash, leads to smaller/fewer purchases