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Wal-Mart Stores Inc. cut its revenue outlook for its current fiscal year as it announced it is scaling back its expansion plans for its supercenters next year and stepping up investments in its online operations. The world’s largest retailer, blaming an overall tough economy, now expects annual sales to be up 2 to 3 percent for its fiscal year ending in January. That is down from its earlier guidance of sales growth at the low end of a 3 to 5 percent range. Wal-Mart’s diminished outlook increases concern about prospects for the critical holiday shopping season that kicks off late...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- After getting off to a fast start last month, holiday sales at some of the nation's largest retailers have slowed to an excruciatingly slow pace and mall traffic has dropped dramatically. The results, coming two weeks before Christmas, jeopardize an already weak holiday sales period. Chain-store sales rose a mere 0.2 percent for the week ended Dec. 8, following a disappointing 2 percent sales decline in the prior week, according to a report released Tuesday by the International Council of Shopping Centers. "Consumers continue to be slow in finishing their holiday shopping," said Michael Niemira, the...

Retailers focus more on Thanksgiving Day By SAMANTHA BOMKAMP, AP Business Writer 31 minutes ago NEW YORK - The nation's retailers want shoppers to spend less time eating turkey and stuffing on Thanksgiving and more time shopping — whether it's online or on land. For the second year in a row, CompUSA Inc. and BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. are opening their doors on Thanksgiving. The exception are stores in Massachusetts where local laws preclude holiday hours. CompUSA also added an extra incentive for consumers this year by providing pumpkin pie for those in line. Iconic toy store FAO Schwarz —...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The guessing game ended this week - consumer spending is slowing down as J.C. Penney became the latest retailer to confirm the trend. "We're in a very difficult selling environment," J.C. Penney CEO Myron Ullman told analysts Thursday in a conference call to discuss the company's third-quarter results. The call was monitored via Webcast in New York. "We came out of September expecting a strong start for early fall. That didn't happen. This is the first time that we're seeing a real change in consumer sentiment," Ullman said. Penney isn't the only one to be disappointed....

A disappointing October sales report Thursday sent a clear signal to retailers that they’ll have to pull out all the stops to get shoppers into their stores this holiday as declining home values, tighter credit terms and rising gas prices appear to have left consumers feeling spent. The nation’s biggest chain stores posted the second consecutive month of weak sales results, underscoring their concerns that sales growth this holiday season could be the slowest in five years. “Consumers are exerting a lot of caution,” said Mandy Putnam, vice president at TNS Retail Forward Inc., a Columbus, Ohio-based market research and...

As the silver-lined elevator at Bergdorf Goodman lifted the woman with the carefully manicured hair to the couture level on Thursday afternoon, she spoke into her cellphone: "I've finished shopping - almost," she said, looking down at her bags. "No, not a van. I think a Town Car will be quite big enough, thank you." On East 57th Street, two young Englishwomen were bustling along the crowded sidewalk, carrying Burberry bags. Debbie Drake, 20, a personal assistant at a British Ford plant, said she had never defined herself as a luxury shopper - until she came to New York. With...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. Slow holiday sales bode ill for the economy Debra Hentschel doesn't have to dig through economic data to know shoppers aren't feeling flush these days. She sees it firsthand in her job selling shoes at a department store. "We have to wait for customers," she said. "We never had to do that before." Consumer spending has been one of the few bright spots in an otherwise dismal economy and a key protection against a deeper slump. But consumer confidence fell sharply in October after months of erosion, prompting new worries of...

For Immediate ReleaseOffice of the Press SecretaryOctober 12, 2002 Radio Address by the President to the Nation      Audio THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This week, both the House and Senate passed strong bipartisan measures authorizing the use of force in Iraq if it becomes necessary. Our country and our Congress are now united in purpose. America is speaking with one voice: Iraq must disarm and comply with all existing U.N. resolutions, or it will be forced to comply. Confronting Iraq is an urgent matter of national security. America's economic security, especially the creation of good jobs is also an urgent matter,...