It's not even Thanksgiving, but the nation's retailers, including Wal-Mart and Toys R Us, are jump-starting holiday sales with big discounts and door buster specials starting Friday in what's expected to be a lukewarm Christmas season. ...more

November 1, 2007

The nation's retailers, including Wal-Mart and Toys R Us, are jump-starting holiday sales with big discounts and door-buster specials starting Friday in what's expected to be a lukewarm Christmas season. ...more

November 1, 2007

The Federal Reserve sliced an important interest rate Wednesday - its second reduction in the last six weeks - to help the economy survive the strains of a deepening housing slump that is likely to crimp growth in coming months. ...more

November 1, 2007

With Christmas only about eight weeks away, shoppers are feeling more forlorn about the economy than they have since hurricanes Katrina and Rita battered the Gulf Coast two years ago. ...more

October 31, 2007

The message from Ben Bernanke and his Federal Reserve colleagues is clear: The housing slump will drag on well into next year as credit problems linger. What's not so apparent is how they will deal with the crisis, although another interest rate cut could come this week. ...more

October 30, 2007

Countrywide Financial Corp. lost $1.2 billion in the third quarter, but its shares soared Friday after the nation's largest mortgage lender said it expects to be profitable this quarter and next year. ...more

October 27, 2007

"Be careful who you pretend to be because you are who you pretend to be." Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., "Mother Night". TAMPA - Just what is Tampa pretending to be? If you believe the latest accolade bestowed on this town, Tampa is party central. Maxim magazine this week dubbed Tampa sixth on the Top 10 list of party cities, based on a formula that awards points for the number of strip joints, bars, divorcees and even condom sales. And if Tampa teetotalers object, look no further than Saturday night's Guavaween, the annual drunk fest costume party in Ybor City that runs a close second to Gasparilla in inebriation. ...more

October 26, 2007

New home sales posted an unexpected increase in September. Analysts, however, viewed the small gain as highly questionable given the severe credit crunch that rocked the housing industry this summer. They predicted further sales declines before the worst housing slump in more than two decades comes to an end. ...more

October 26, 2007

Ivy Zelman's view of the U.S. housing market is gloomy, but it's probably the most realistic. ...more

October 26, 2007

Retail sales in October may rise more slowly than previously forecast as stores continue offering discounts before the holiday shopping period to attract shoppers facing higher costs. ...more

October 24, 2007