Economic Turbulence, Political Uncertainty to Dampen Holiday Sales

A troubled economy and political infighting will darken the upcoming holiday retail season as consumer spending will barely rise over 2010 levels, says a new report from Ball State University. The forecast anticipates that overall retail sales will increase by 0.8 percent over last year. Sales during the last few months of the year have rebounded since the depths of the Great Recession of 2007-09 but still are not close to the prerecession heights.