For all the breathless coverage of Black Friday sales this year, the official retail sales data for November came out today and it was, in a word, 'blah.'
Jon Corzine heads to Congress today to answer for the collapse of brokerage firm MF Global. The European Union is looking to the International Monetary Fund for bailout help, and that could have ripple effects in the U.S. Reporter Sally Herships looks at what other businesses can gain from big-box storse like Costco and Walmart. And the countdown to a big European summit is nearing its end.
Major retailers like Costco and Walmart often act as indicators of the overall economy, because they can reveal trends for what — and if — people are buying.
Black Friday is usually a good day for the markets. It's a short trading day and there's generally lots of excitement about the start of the holiday shopping season. Today, not so much.
The ability to conduct purchases on mobile devices is growing as apps develop, but traditional cash register companies are still making up the majority of the market.
