"An unexpected boost at stores; Mall shopping fuels growth" by Anne D’innocenzio, Associated Press | February 5, 2010
NEW YORK - Stores received a pleasant surprise in January as shoppers bought a little more clothing at mall stores, delivering solid gains for many retailers and providing more hope that a spending recovery that started late last year is being sustained.
Yeah, WHATEVER!!!!
Still, the sales reports, released yesterday, showed two kinds of consumers: ordinary people who are buying a little more but still focused on bargains, and the affluent who are spending more freely luxury brands as they feel encouraged by their rebounding stock portfolios.
Translation: Only the UPPER CRUST is BENEFITING and their OBSCENE AVARICE is rigging the statistics!!!!
Fourth-quarter profits look brighter, too, as Macy’s and Bon-Ton Stores are raising their outlooks because they didn’t have to discount heavily and saw sales improve.
“Retailers are breathing another sigh of relief,’’ said Ken Perkins, president of RetailMetrics, a research firm. “There are more winners than losers.’’
But Perkins emphasized that many shoppers were still tight with their purse strings....
--more--"That's a "newspaper" report?
