Economic Sluggishness

September 13, 2005

A couple of reports that came out Tuesday revealed what can best be described as economic sluggishness.

First consider that, according to a report from UBS and the International Council of Shopping Centers, chain store retail sales nationwide dropped in the latest week. The culprit: soaring energy costs, driving consumers to lower nonessential purchases.

The report revealed a 0.2 percent drop during the week that concluded Sept. 10. This compared with flat sales in the prior week.

Also, the National Federation of Independent Business' small business optimism index fell from 101.1 in July to 100.9 in August. The group listed employee compensation increases as well as flagging profits and sales as reasons for the drop. Respondents' concerns, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina's impact on shipping and oil refining, regarding the delivery and production of energy were also mentioned.

By Glenn J. Kalinoski, Executive Editor, Customer Inter@ction Solutions