US DATA: ICSC sales for Dec 3 wk: “As much as shopping on Black
Friday is a tradition for consumers, so is the traditional lull in
holiday shopping the week after. As such, consumers took their “break”
from holiday shopping this past week and as a result, weekly retail
sales declined. Overall for the week ending December 3, 2011, weekly
retail sales declined by 2.3 percent, according to International Council
of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales
Index. On a year-over-year basis, retail sales also slowed to 3.8%.”