economy

Despite the rosy reports coming from Washington, it appears that retail sales have slowed down to a stand-still.  The Commerce Department reported that retail sales figures grew only 0.1% in the the month of April - and forecasts for the summer aren't looking any better...

Earlier this year, JCPenney rolled out their new look and approach to retail sales - with a reduced emphasis on "sales" and "clearance" and more of an up-scale feel to their operations.  It was a direct effort to combat sluggish sales across the board in their stores.

The love/hate relationship that Americans have with fast food kids meals seems to be taking another turn. Long portrayed as a key contributor to childhood obesity, fast-food kids meals may be losing their appeal to youngsters — and, more importantly, their parents...

As a country, we've done nothing to manage our debt the last couple of years.  In fact - we've added to it at a record rate.  Wall Street-"dooms-dayers" foretell of a fiscal cliff that the market is headed for.

I thought that millionaires were supposed to pay more in taxes?  Barack Obama's tax returns are public information and inquiring eyes have noticed two things:  His effective tax rate is lower than the 30% he proposes and he's also getting a very large tax refund!

The simple fact that you're reading this story puts you in the other category;  One-fifth of adults living in the United States don't use the internet. Internet adoption among U.S. adults increased rapidly from the mid-’90s to about 2005...

I'm not quite sure when - but sometime in our lifetime, cable television overtook broadcast TV as the default way that American's receive their video entertainment.  Roof-top antennas?  Gone.  Coaxial cable?  Hello!

The Obama administration might have a problem on their hands if they're counting on the money they've spent on hybrids turning into satisfied American customers;  Two-thirds of current hybrid owners say that they would never buy another...

Looks like developers for CVS Pharmacy are on track for their early-fall 2012 target for the grand opening of the Superior, Wisconsin location at 28th and Tower.  Trucks and heavy equipment appeared at the location the middle of last week and demolition of the convenience store that used to be at the corner started yesterday...

Deciding not to wait until the Supreme Court rules on whether or not his health plans for the United States are lawful, Barack Obama has directed the government to divert $500 million to help the IRS implement his plans.

In an effort to shore up the profits and reduce their losses, Sony Corp is cutting 6 % of their total global workforce. The company’s new head, Kazuo Hirai, will confirm the reductions in what is sure to be a heavily watched briefing on Thursday, the country’s Nikkei newspaper reported Monday...

The lack of reliable food sources plague large portions of our world - while at the same time, those that have food available to them waste more than half of it. Hard data is still being collected, but experts at the Reuters Food and Agriculture Summit in Chicago this week said an estimated 30 percent to 50 percent of the food produced in the world goes uneaten...