· According to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)-UBS, chain store sales last week rose again by 1.6% after the prior period's 1.0% gain. Despite these increases which recovered about all of a collapse in sales which opened the month, December sales are 1.3% below the November average which advanced 0.3% from October.

· During the last ten years there has been a 45% correlation between the y/y change in chain store sales and the change in nonauto retail sales less gasoline.

· The ICSC-UBS retail chain-store sales index is constructed using the same-store sales (stores open for one year) reported by 78 stores of seven retailers: Dayton Hudson, Federated, Kmart, May, J.C. Penney, Sears and Wal-Mart.

· The leading indicator of chain store sales from ICSC-UBS rose again by 0.7% for the fifth weekly gain in the last six.