California Business Minute™

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Hi, I am Tim Johnson and welcome to the California Business Minute.

The national retail and food sales figures for May were released by the U.S.
Department of Commerce.  The numbers showed a 1.0 percent increase over
the month and a 2.5 percent increase from May 2007. 

The total retail sales for May were $385.4 billion versus $379.1 billion in April March.

The latest retail sales survey revealed a variety of information. For example, excluding
auto sales, retail sales numbers were positive, illustrating that the American consumer
is still resilient.  Government analysts believe that the consumer is still spending in the
midst of rising gas prices.

Large sales reductions were seen in auto sales (-7.0), furniture and home furnishings (-4.9)
along with building material supplies (-3.2) over the month.  On the flip side, increases were
seen in food and beverage, general merchandise along with health and personal care stores.

In the meantime, stimulus checks continue to be mailed in hopes of increasing retail sales.
But many economists believe that due to the lag in reporting, the impact will not be felt until
the third quarter of this year.

I am Tim Johnson and this has been the California Business Minute.