US DATA: ICSC sales: “With the 2010 holiday season now underway,
normal holiday spending patterns are taking hold as consumers recovered
from their Black Friday shopping and took a break this past week. As a
result, for the week ending December 4, weekly retail sales declined by
2.1 percent, according to the ICSC-Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store
Sales Index. In addition, retail sales, on a year-over-year basis,
slowed by 2.6 percent after regaining its momentum last week.”