Personal Finance

Arlington, Va. -- With the presidential campaign in full swing and discussion of a new national sales tax as a component to tax reform being discussed, the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) reiterated the strong opposition of the retail community to any sort of national sales tax or Value Added Tax (VAT).

New York City -- The Conference Board Employment Trends Index, released Tuesday, showed a decrease in September to 100.95, down from the revised figure of 101.37 in August. The September figure is up 4.4% from the same month a year ago.

Washington, D.C. -- A Thursday report by Bloomberg said that consumer confidence last week capped the worst quarterly performance in more than two years, when the U.S. economy was still in a recession.

The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index rose to minus 50.2 in the week ended Oct. 2, from the prior period’s minus 53 that was the second-lowest level on record. The gauge averaged minus 48.4 from July through September, the third-worst quarterly reading of all time and the weakest since minus 49.9 in the first three months of 2009.

Washington, D.C. -- Retailers and their customers will save billions of dollars when new Federal Reserve regulations cutting debit-card swipe fees roughly in half take effect this weekend, the National Retail Federation said.

Washington, D.C. -- A report released Friday by the Commerce Dept. showed that consumer spending in the U.S. slowed in August, impacted by falling incomes and sporadic hiring.

Commerce Dept. figures showed that purchases edged up 0.2% after a 0.7% increase in July. However, a 0.2% increase in prices wiped out the slight spending gain. Incomes dipped 0.1%, the first decline since October 2009.

Washington, D.C. -- A report released Friday by the Commerce Dept. showed that consumer spending in the U.S. slowed in August, impacted by falling incomes and sporadic hiring.

Commerce Dept. figures showed that purchases edged up 0.2% after a 0.7% increase in July. However, a 0.2% increase in prices wiped out the slight spending gain. Incomes dipped 0.1%, the first decline since October 2009.

Atlanta -- According to a report released Thursday by First Data Corp., the prepaid gift-card market has remained healthy during the first half of 2011, despite a sluggish economy.

The 2011 Midyear Gift Card update showed that the gift card market experienced a higher rate of growth than U.S. consumer spending.

New York City -- A report released Thursday by Bloomberg said that consumer confidence in the United States slumped last week to the second-lowest level on record.

The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index dropped to minus 53 in the period ended Sept. 25 from minus 52.1 the prior week. Similar readings were reached three times in the first half of 2009 and surpassed only by all-time lows of minus 54 plumbed in November 2008 and again in January 2009.