U.S. retail sales posted a surprising gain in February despite falling car demand amid trouble at auto maker Toyota MotorCorp. and fierce blizzards that crippled the East Coast for days.
Retail sales rose last month by 0.3%, the Commerce Department said Friday. An average of economists surveyed had forecast a 0.3% decrease in February sales. The [...]

This Valentine’s Day is not only the most romantic day of the year, it also hints at budding life for the recovering economy.
For many in the east, life remains buried under several feet of snow, but florists across the country say that this Valentine’s Day may be one of their best ever.
Mary Reynolds, of Frederic’s [...]

H.R. 627 The Credit Card Act of 2009 is a sweeping reform of credit card law. Many consumers are concerned over how this act will affect their spending capacity throughout the new year. The act is called into effect in February, meaning consumers will have very little time to determine how to use the act [...]

In short, if the world economy is to get through this crisis in reasonable shape, credit worthy surplus countries must expand domestic demand relative to potential output. How they achieve this outcome is up to them. But only in this way can the deficit countries realistically hope to avoid spending themselves into bankruptcy.
Martin Wolf [...]

As you know, U.S. retail spending drives nearly three quarters of the U.S. GDP. A close look at retail trending shows a rebound that was good news for holiday retailers. They went into this year’s season with much better control over their inventories and a more calculated approach to their operations than in the later [...]

Via the terrific Girl on the Right Blog, these helpful suggestion from A. Nonymous:
Most of us are not doing God’s work trading credit derivatives at Goldman Sachs. You may be stunned when I tell you this, because I sure as heck was when I found out: the TARP program covers none of our credit card [...]

The majority of US consumers are no longer on the sidelines. On Friday the numbers point to strong retail sales for two months in a row.
Overall US retail sales in November spiked by 1.3% after a healthy 1.1% gain in October. November’s increase was well above the consensus estimates breaking above even the most optimistic [...]

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke gave his views on many topics on Monday afternoon.
Although he remains cautious his conclusions were in line with latest FOMC meeting minutes that calling for a modest recovery in 2010.
His bottom line: “…my best guess at this point is that we will continue to see modest economic growth next year–sufficient [...]

What a difference a few days have made in the mainstream headlines.
Overblown concerns about Dubai defaults are quickly shifting to the into the shadows. On Tuesday clarity on the extent of the loan restructuring indicated that Dubai World likely would restructure debt worth $26 billion against earlier talk of a possible $59 billion default.
Moving to [...]

Retail executives were holding their breath on Friday, looking for indications that the recent recovery would extend into the holiday shopping season. Macy’s CEO Terry Lundgren went on the record with the Wall Street Journal Saturday to assert that early indications of both traffic and sales are pointing to “very good signs” for the December [...]