Black Friday: Not So Happy for Retailers

It appears that the spending on Black Friday was not enough to hold up the retailers today, despite the best effort of the ladies in my family to boost the retail index by heading out at 3am.

Despite initial estimates that sales increased 8.3 percent from a year earlier to $10.3 billion by research firm ShopperTrak RCT Corporation based on a measurement of foot traffic, in reality each customer spent an average of 3.5% less according the National Retail Federation.

U.S. Consumers Spent Average of 3.5% Less on Shopping
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aDisryZePitQ&refer=worldwide

As expected this news caused the retail sector to plunge nearly 2% today, combining with continued credit fears to drive the market to the downside.

Retail Stocks Fall; Black Friday Spending Seen Lower
http://www.cnbc.com/id/21977888