NYTIMES PUTS NEGATIVE SPIN ON CHRISTMAS RETAIL SALES

FROM DAY ONE, THEY PUT A NEGATIVE SPIN ON IRAQ.

SO WE SHOULDN'T BE SURPRISED THAT THEY COMPLAIN THAT THE CURRENT CHRISTMAS RETAIL CLIMATE IS BAD, TOO. THEY'LL DO ANYTHING THEY CAN TO HURT BUSH. LIKE TODAY; NYTIMES/REUTERS:

Retail Traffic Up With Spending

Deep discounts and extended hours drew more than 147 million shoppers to U.S. stores over the four-day Thanksgiving holiday shopping period, but average consumer spending fell, a retailers' group said on Sunday.

The results from the National Retail Federation's 2007 Black Friday Weekend Survey were attributed to the economic uncertainty facing consumers and tough comparisons with last year.

Black Friday is the day retailers try to lure consumers to start their holiday shopping with eye-popping discounts and early-bird specials. It once marked the day retailers turned a profit, or went into the black, for the year.

The survey, which included data from Thursday to Saturday and projections for Sunday, showed customers spent an average of $347.44, down 3.5 percent from $360.15 last year.

But the decline was offset by a 4.8 percent increase in the number of shoppers, making the weekend's total spending results "extremely similar" with last year, said federation spokeswoman Ellen Davis.

The federation did not give a figure for total spending.

While fears about lower home values, a shaky stock market and higher costs for food and fuel could have played some role, Davis said the decline was more due to the focus this year on mid-priced items like laptop computers and digital photo frames, versus last year's emphasis on expensive high-definition televisions.

"It takes a lot of $400 laptops to reach the same level as the $1,300 high-definition TV," Davis said.

THEIR NEGATIVE SPIN - THE NEGATIVE HEADLINE WHICH IS INTENDED TO PRECONFIGURE THE VALUE OF THE STORY - IS ALL BS.

HERE'S BREITBART/AP - WITH LESS NEGATIVE SPIN:

The nation's shoppers set aside worries about higher gas prices and a slumping housing market and proved their resilience over the Thanksgiving weekend, giving what the nation's merchants wished for—a strong start to the holiday shopping season.

Stores and malls opened the season as early as midnight, drawing bigger-than-expected crowds Friday for discounted flat-panel TVs, digital cameras and toys such as all things related to Disney Channel's "Hannah Montana." Strong sales continued through Saturday, according to one research group that tracks total sales at retail outlets across the country.

Clearly, the biggest draw was electronics, benefiting consumer electronics chains like Best Buy Co. and discounters such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp. Popular-priced department stores including J.C. Penney Co. and Kohl's Corp. drew in crowds with good deals. Toy stores like Toys "R" Us Inc. fared well too. Still, apparel sales appeared to be mixed at mall-based clothing stores, though a cold weather snap helped spur sales of outerwear and other winter- related items.

"This was a really good start. ... There seemed to be a lot of pent-up demand," said Bill Martin, co-founder of ShopperTrak RCT Corp., which tracks total sales at more than 50,000 retail outlets. ShopperTrak reported late Sunday that sales on Friday and Saturday combined rose 7.2 percent to $16.4 billion from the same two-day period a year ago.

Total sales on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, rose to $10.3 billion, up 8.3 percent from the same day a year ago. Martin had expected increases no greater than 5 percent.

THE NYTIMES MOTTO SHOULD BE: "ALL THE NEWS THAT CAN BE NEGATIVELY SPUN TO ADVANCE OUR AGENDA."

SCUM. LEFTIST, BDS-AFFLICTED SCUM.