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Economy in Brief
German Trade Data Tell a Tale of Two Germanys
Germany's October trade report is better than expected...
U.S. Nonfarm Payroll Growth Rebounds; Wages Firm & Jobless Rate Eases
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U.S. Consumer Credit Usage Accelerates
Consumer Credit Outstanding increased $18.90 billion (4.8% y/y during October...
U.S. Wholesale Inventories Edge Up While Sales Slump
Wholesale inventories edged up 0.1% m/m (+3.8% y/y) in October...
U.S. Trade Deficit Shrinks as Imports Fall Sharply
The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services declined to $47.20 billion during October...
by Tom Moeller December 7, 2004
Chain store sales following Thanksgiving week slumped another 1.7% on top of the 1.5% skid during the Holiday period, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)-UBS.
The decline pulled November sales just 0.1% ahead of October and sales began December down 2.5% m/m.
The leading indicator of chain store sales from ICSC fell by 0.5% in the latest week for the third time in the last four periods.
During the last ten years there has been a 60% correlation between y/y change in chain store sales and the change in non-auto retail sales less gasoline.
The ICSC-UBS retail chain-store sales index is constructed using the same-store sales reported by 78 stores of seven retailers: Dayton Hudson, Federated, Kmart, May, J.C. Penney, Sears and Wal-Mart.
| ICSC-UBS (SA, 1977=100) | 12/04/04 | 11/27/04 | Y/Y | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Weekly Chain Store Sales | 425.6 | 432.9 | 3.3% | 2.9% | 3.6% | 2.1% |
