October was by far the best month U.S. retailers have had since consumers put the brakes on spending a year ago. Major categories had robust sales growth for the first time in more than a year, new figures show. ...more

November 5, 2009

The Chevrolet dealership that replaced Bill Heard at Interstate 4 and Park Road came out of the starting gate with a bang, leading all but two locations in the number of Chevy sales during the first week of January. ...more

January 21, 2009

If retail is Goliath, then the holiday shopping season was the rock from the sling-shot that brought it to its knees. ...more

January 11, 2009

Pending U.S. home sales fell to the lowest level on record in November, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday. The index tracks signed contracts to purchase existing homes. Typically, there is a one- to two-month lag between a contract and a done deal. So November's decline foreshadows bleak results for December's existing-home sales numbers, set to be released Jan. 26. ...more

January 7, 2009

Friday was not the start of the holiday shopping season. ...more

November 29, 2008

With gas prices still near record highs, the economy in a slump and continued trouble in the credit markets, just about everybody expects August vehicle sales to be down significantly from a year ago. ...more

August 30, 2008

The Tampa Bay area is months away from the bottom of the downturn in the single family housing market, and prices aren't expected to fall further, a well-known Florida economist said Tuesday. ...more

February 6, 2008

LAKE PLACID – There are more homes on the market than just the conventional variety. Sun Ovation Homes has opened a manufactured homes sales center in Lake Placid at 1450 U.S. N., which is next to American Legion Post 25. The sales center is open from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday by appointment. There are seven models on the site. They range from two-bedroom, two bath to four-bedroom, three-bath homes, according to Valerie Kersey, who is the manager of the Lake Placid location. The models in Lake Placid come from Homes of Merit in Bartow and Skyline in Ocala. ...more

December 9, 2007

Nervous consumers are expected to make November another sluggish month for auto sales despite holiday discounts and a handful of runaway hits such as the new Chevrolet Malibu. ...more

December 1, 2007

It doesn't boast the highest gross profit margins, nor is it the largest in a nationwide chain of 600 bookstores. The Borders at Lumsden and Providence roads in Brandon was, however, recently ranked No. 1 in the nation by its parent company, Borders Group. ...more

September 9, 2007