Stocks Tumble as Retail Sales Report Shows Sharp Decline
As if retailers needed another indication that sales were poor in December.
The government reported on Wednesday that retail sales fell for a sixth consecutive month in December, as Americans holstered their credit cards and cut back on spending, even as stores offered discounts of 80 percent to entice shoppers.
Sales at department stores, restaurants, gas stations and a host of other retail businesses fell 2.7 percent last month -- nearly double what economists had been expecting -- and were 9.8 percent lower than sales last December, the Commerce Department reported.
Investors responded by sending shares on Wall Street down sharply. The Dow Jones industrial average was down more than 250 points shortly after 11:30 a.m. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 3.3 percent.
The government reported on Wednesday that retail sales fell for a sixth consecutive month in December, as Americans holstered their credit cards and cut back on spending, even as stores offered discounts of 80 percent to entice shoppers.
Sales at department stores, restaurants, gas stations and a host of other retail businesses fell 2.7 percent last month -- nearly double what economists had been expecting -- and were 9.8 percent lower than sales last December, the Commerce Department reported.
Investors responded by sending shares on Wall Street down sharply. The Dow Jones industrial average was down more than 250 points shortly after 11:30 a.m. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 3.3 percent.
Well that makes me not wa...