Budgets/Spending/Market Size

WASHINGTON -- With Easter falling in late April this year, retailers are without a major holiday to boost March sales, and many are expecting weaker sales this month. However, thanks to St. Patrick's Day, which falls on March 17, retailers have the help of this micro-holiday.

YONKERS, N.Y. -- In another positive sign for the economy,  the March Consumer Reports Index reveals its most positive results in two years.

According to Consumer Reports National Research Center, which conducts the survey, the Consumer Sentiment Index has broken into positive territory at 50.3, which is up from 48.7 a month ago. This is the first time sentiment has been in positive territory since it was first measured in October 2008.

Washington, D.C. -- Total spending on St. Patrick’s Day festivities is expected to hit $4.14 billion this, according to NRF’s 2011 St. Patrick’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions survey, conducted by BIGresearch. The survey found that 52.4% of Americans will celebrate the Irish holiday, up from 45.2% last year and the most in the survey’s eight year history.

Washington, D.C. -- A report released Monday by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates said that import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to be up 11% in March, as compared with the same month last year.

Paris -- A report released Monday by Reuters said that French luxury group LVMH will acquire Italian luxury jeweler Bulgari for $5.2 billion.

The offer, according to the report, is a 60% premium to Bulgari’s average share price, and indicates that the bounce-back of the luxury market could occur at a faster rate than Wall Street anticipated.

Rival bidders included the Richemont group and PPR, according to Reuters.

New York City -- The Conference Board’s Employment Trends Index, released Monday, increased in February for the fifth consecutive month.

According to the Conference Board, the index now stands at 101.7, up from January’s revised figure of 100.1. The index is up over 8% from a year ago.

WASHINGTON -- The National Retail Federation announced that it welcomed the House of Representatives' vote to repeal a provision in last year’s healthcare reform law that would widely expand the number of IRS 1099 tax forms businesses would be required to file.

NEW YORK -- Consumers always want more. Whether it is a thinner, lighter iPad, a faster car or a muffin with more blueberries. The same is true in the world of coupons where a stumbling national economy caused shoppers to demand more coupons from consumer packaged goods companies.

The unemployment rate dipped from 9.0% in January to 8.9% in February, according to data released Friday morning by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Construction employment grew by 33,000 in February, following a decline of 22,000 in January that may have reflected severe winter weather, according to the bureau. Within construction, specialty trade contractors accounted for the bulk of the February job gain (+28,000).