California Business Minute™

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

National retail sales figures for September were released by the U.S. Commerce
Department showed a 0.6 percent increase over the month and 5.0 percent
over the year.

The National Retail Federation characterized September retail sales as modest but
far better than expected.

Consumer demand for products varied.  Consumer electronics faired well. However,
clothing and clothing accessories along with sporting goods, hobby, books and music
products did not.

The ‘mortgage meltdown’ affected both building material furniture along with home
furnishings.  Sales dropped 0.6 percent over the month and 3.6 percent over the year.

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