It's not comparable to Christmas nor Valentine's Day, but Easter spending on honey hams and chocolate bunnies still provides a springtime kick to the American economy, according to a leading national retail group.
It was the tax cut that nobody noticed two years ago. And it was rarely mentioned in the fight between Congress and the White House last year over the expiring Bush-era tax cuts. But this month, the payroll-tax cut suddenly registered on everybody's radar screen — when it went away.
Last week, all the major market indexes eked out positive gains, despite the late-week reversal as "fiscal cliff" discussions took a turn for the worse.
Americans are expected to spend more during what's traditionally the busiest shopping season of the year, but they're not exactly ready to shop 'til they drop as they did the past two years.
Americans are expected to spend more during what's traditionally the busiest shopping season of the year, but they're not exactly ready to shop 'til they drop like they have been in the past two years.
It's the one day of the year set aside for matters of the heart, but that hasn't stopped psychologists, economists, social scientists and even cybersecurity specialists from taking a more intellectual approach to Valentine's Day.
The recession that crippled the past two years of holiday shopping has abated, and consumers are shopping a bit more, researchers say, while looking for the best deals amid worries that a full-scale economic recovery is not here.
