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Dropping tourism numbers and consumers saving rather than spending money saved from lower gas prices will affect retailer earnings announcements, say industry analysts. Several retailers will be making earnings announcements this week: Macy’s on Wednesday, Dillard’s, Kohl’s and Nordstrom on Thursday, and JC Penney on Friday. Analysts report that value retailers with loyalty programs like... Read more »

US consumer confidence declined 5.3 points in July, dropping to the lowest point since November 2014. The majority of those surveyed, 70.8%, believe the economy is fair or poor, and 41.4% believe it is getting worse. The perception of personal finances remained stagnant, a greater percentage this month felt finances were getting worse. 47.2% report... Read more »

US labor costs rose a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in the spring, the slowest pace in three decades. It is the slowest quarterly gain since record keeping began in 1982. Economists were expecting a 0.6% increase. The slow wage growth could affect the Fed’s decision to raise short-term interest rates. Fed officials anticipated an acceleration in... Read more »

US economic growth in second quarter 2015 saw a 2.3% increase in gross domestic product over first quarter. This gain was boosted by 2.9% growth in consumer spending.  Also, consumer personal savings rate went down to 4/8% from 5.2%, showing that consumers are starting to open their wallets and start spending again.  Business investment for... Read more »

Lowe’s Canada is expanding, announcing that in addition to completing the acquisition of 12 former Target stores, they will also open 2 new locations in Ontario. This expansion will increase Lowe’s Canada total store count from 40 to 54. Lowe’s acquisition of Target’s former stores was for a total purchase price of $113 million. Lowe’s... Read more »

CVS has announced it will be expanding its beauty offerings with three new exclusive collections. CVS will introduce 13 products from Jouviance, a Canadian biotechnology skin care brand, which range from $22 to $69. It will also unveil blemish control and eye treatment products from European-inspired brand Wilma Schumann. Wilma Schumann products range from $18... Read more »

Jacksonville, Florida based Interline Brands, Inc. is being purchased by The Home Depot for $1.6 billion. Interline is a distributor and direct marketer of broad-line maintenance, repair and operations products (MRO) for professional customers. The acquisition is expected to be completed in The Home Depot’s fiscal third quarter this year. Interline’s assets include an outside... Read more »

Personal accessories are set to decrease by 1% in 2015 to $527 billion. Fashion trends are driving stronger growth for jewelry, but other personal accessories categories are seeing a slow growth rate in 2015. Factors in this slow growth are a decline in consumer spending, heavy reliance on European markets and unfavorable US dollar exchange... Read more »

The US Consumer Spending Index increased 0.4 points in June. The percentage of consumers who rate the economy as excellent or good has continued to increase each month, at 30.9%, though is much lower than the 68% who felt the economy is fair or poor. When asked if personal finances were getting better or worse,... Read more »