Only brave shoppers storm the stores the day after Thanksgiving. Success is as much about survival as finding the sales. So to help you make it through Black Friday, here are our own, arbitrary and personal self-defense tips. ...more

November 28, 2008

If you were wondering what people were searching for on Google during one of the biggest shopping days of the year last year, you might be surprised that the lyrics for Survivor song "Eye of the Tiger" was in the top three. We can only surmise that it was the result of heated arguments around the dinner table on Thanksgiving. Here are some of the other search terms. ...more

November 28, 2008

Fats Domino gave us "Blue Monday," and we got "Ruby Tuesday" from the Rolling Stones. But why does the day after Thanksgiving always bring Black Friday? ...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

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

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