US DATA: ICSC for Dec 11 week: “With only a few more weeks left in
the 2010 holiday-shopping season consumers finally got into the spirit
with the traditional last minute holiday rush beginning to build.
Overall, for the week ending December 11, weekly retail sales rose
modestly by 0.8 percent, according to the ICSC-Goldman Sachs Weekly
Chain Store Sales Index. In addition, retail sales, on a year-over-year
basis, also improved and rose by 3.1 percent.”