Florida's consumer services chief is counseling shoppers to keep cool heads in the maelstrom of holiday discounting. ...more

November 27, 2008

As Black Friday ticks ever closer, you'd think a once-in-a-lifetime sale will be taking place when Best Buy opens at 5 a.m. Friday. ...more

November 27, 2008

Holiday deals may be hot, but retailers can still expect the worst Black Friday since the early 1970s, according to a University of Central Florida economist. ...more

November 27, 2008

As Black Friday ticks ever closer, you'd think a once-in-a-lifetime sale will be taking place at Best Buy when it opens its doors at 5 o'clock on the morning after Thanksgiving. Four nylon tents line the sidewalk just east of the front door. Sleepy-eyed squatters peer out from half-open flaps. ...more

November 26, 2008

TAMPA The holiday deals may be hot, but that won't be enough to convince consumers to spend like retailers hope they will, according to a University of Central Florida economist. This week's Black Friday will be a disappointing one for the retail industry, as overall consumer spending continues its downward slide this quarter. This rate of decline has not been seen in Florida since 1974, said economist Sean Snaith. ...more

November 26, 2008

Given the economic problems dominating the headlines these days, it would not be surprising if people are feeling glum. At such moments of seeming gloom we should recall that the first Thanksgiving was held during the Civil War. ...more

November 26, 2008

Given the economic problems dominating the headlines these days, it would not be surprising if people are feeling glum. Housing sales continue to fall, thwarting hopes for a turnaround for a key component of the local, state and national economies. The "Big Three" U.S. automakers are jetting, hats in hand, to Congress and asking for money to help them stave off bankruptcy. Banks and other financial institutions need help from the Treasury clearing bad loans and other dubious investments from their books. With all this and more going on, retailers are worrying that the black in the traditional post-Thanksgiving Black Friday start to the holiday shopping season will refer to more than just the mood of shoppers battling large crowds and overflowing parking lots. ...more

November 26, 2008

With Black Friday still a week away, the Shops at Wiregrass will kick off holiday shopping this weekend with its "Symphony in Lights" display. ...more

November 22, 2008

With Black Friday still a week away, the Shops at Wiregrass will kick off holiday shopping this weekend with its "Symphony in Lights" display. The program begins tonight and runs until Dec. 31. Designers have coordinated more than 250,000 LED Christmas lights with recorded holiday music performed by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. ...more

November 22, 2008

The holiday shopping purists among us don't even want to talk about the retail season ahead until the day after Thanksgiving. But with the economy looking bleaker by the day and stock indexes slumping from bad news on sales, all eyes are on holiday projections and that nebulous thing called "consumer confidence." ...more

November 17, 2008