consumer

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Dow Tanks on Consumer Woes
Dow Tanks on Consumer Woes
MARKETS
Jan 11, 2008 3:25 PM CST

Dow Tanks on Consumer Woes

Index nosedives after more bad news about spending

(Newser) - The Dow plunged 246.79 points to 12,606.30 today as investors, worried about consumer spending, fled retailers and credit-card issuers. Analysts are concerned the mortgage crisis has finally hit pocketbooks, hurting credit, jobs, and public confidence, the Wall Street Journal reports.The Nasdaq slid 48.58 to close...

Weak Dollar Draws Foreign Shoppers
Weak Dollar Draws Foreign Shoppers
Nov 30, 2007 9:46 AM CST

Weak Dollar Draws Foreign Shoppers

International travelers arrive with fat wallets, empty suitcases

(Newser) - Foreigners are taking advantage of the weak US dollar to do their holiday shopping in the States, Time reports in a look at a double-edged trend. Even as American shoppers find the cost of imported goods soaring, international visitors are arriving in droves, and "they're mentioning the exchange rate...

Timing Is All
Timing Is All
Oct 13, 2007 10:37 AM CDT

Timing Is All

Tips on the right time to do everything from buying veggies to picking up prescriptions

(Newser) - ABC News offers these tips on the best time to:
  • Work out: The afternoon, when you’ve eaten and muscles are warmed up.
  • Get groceries: Tuesdays and Fridays, when produce is freshest.
  • Pick up a prescription: Play it safe and pick your pills up in the second week. Pharmacies make
...

Swipe at Your Own Risk
Swipe at Your Own Risk
Oct 7, 2007 5:27 PM CDT

Swipe at Your Own Risk

Retailers often don't protect data, and it's going to cost them $25,000 fines

(Newser) - Think your credit card bill is high? Some businesses may soon have to pay Visa $25,000  for not protecting your credit-card data. Merchants are required to meet standards to keep computer systems safe from hackers. But only 44% of the 327 largest merchants have validated their compliance, reports the...

America, as Defined by Wal-Mart
America,
as Defined
by Wal-Mart
Sep 13, 2007 4:29 PM CDT

America, as Defined by Wal-Mart

With firm grasp on US consumers, snapshot of giant's sales is a self-portrait

(Newser) - Wal-Mart knows a lot about Americans, courtesy of the 208 million US consumers who shop there every year. ABC News takes a look at the superstore's sales figures and finds a portrait of the nation's changing face and taste. Some highlights: Boxers are tied with briefs; Ohio buys the most...

Italy Says Ciao to Pasta for a Day
Italy Says Ciao to Pasta for a Day
Sep 13, 2007 2:56 AM CDT

Italy Says Ciao to Pasta for a Day

Consumers angry about rising prices call for boycott

(Newser) - Mama mia! Italians fed up with rising pasta prices will do the unthinkable today—ditch their beloved starches for a day. Consumers are being urged to boycott the nation's signature dish for a day because prices have risen 20 percent in recent months. Pasta makers say they're at the mercy...

Contrite Jobs Offers $100 iPhone Credit

So sorry he dismissed price-cut complaints from first buyers

(Newser) - It didn’t take Apple CEO Steve Jobs long to reverse his dismissal of complaints about the new iPhone discount from the first consumers to buy the gadget. He apologized and  instituted a $100 credit for those who don't fall under the 14-day refund period. Jobs had told early buyers...

Early Adopters Yowl as iPhone Price Drops

Apple's $200 cut riles consumers, keeps rumor mill working overtime

(Newser) - Folks who ponied up for the first iPhones are angry that Apple has slashed prices by one-third only 2 months after unveiling them. Fuming over the $200 cut threatens to eclipse yesterday's iPod news, the Times of London reports. “Steve Jobs owes an apology to the million or so...

AT&T Slims Down Mammoth iPhone Bills

Online summaries will replace hefty paper records

(Newser) - AT&T will no longer mail out meticulously itemized iPhone bills after receiving a wave of complaints from consumers, some of whom had received bills tens—or even hundreds—of pages long. The bills listed each and every data transfer charge, the Times reports, even though iPhones come with an...

Weak Wal-Mart Profits Turn Smiles Upside-Down

Stock dips in early trading on anemic report

(Newser) - Wal-Mart stock saw its biggest dip in five years in early trading this morning, after Q2 profits rose less than analysts had expected. The Arkansas-based behemoth says full-year profit will total $3.13 a share, 3 cents lighter than its projections: Bloomberg reports that surging gas prices, faltering home sales...

Product Design Gets Wilder, Faster
Product Design Gets Wilder, Faster
Aug 10, 2007 2:55 PM CDT

Product Design Gets Wilder, Faster

Today it's round Kleenex boxes; tomorrow, talking ones

(Newser) - Commercial product design is being overhauled faster and faster as brands compete in a fragmented market. The Internet and cable TV have diluted the effectiveness of advertising campaigns, and companies are spending more money on engaging design to win customers: Pepsi, for one, is rolling out a new can every...

States Accuse IPhone of Battery Gouging

NY says Apple can't charge $79 to replace device sealed in cell

(Newser) - New York state officials are demanding that Apple stop forcing consumers to pay a premium to exchange batteries on their new iPhones, days after an Illinois class-action lawsuit over the charge for a new charge. Apple asks $79 to replace the batteries, which are sealed inside the phone, making them...

Mattel Recalls 1.5M Toys Made in China

Lead-tainted paint the culprit in Sesame Street, Nick items

(Newser) - Mattel is recalling some 1.5 million Chinese-made toys found to have "excessive levels" of lead in their paint. The Elmo's Guitar, Ernie Splashin' Fun Trike and 81 other  types of toys, mostly Nickelodean and Sesame Street products, were marketed under Mattel's Fisher-Price brand and cost between $5 and...

Consumer Confidence Rises
Consumer Confidence Rises
Jul 31, 2007 4:18 PM CDT

Consumer Confidence Rises

Shoppers buying again after June slump

(Newser) - Consumer spending rose more than expected this month, to its highest level in 6 years, after shoppers tightened their belts in June, Bloomberg reports. Consumer confidence jumped 7.3 points according to a Conference Board index, suggesting the slump was temporary. Economists chalk up the spending jump to low unemployment...

Chinese Goods Flunk Gov't Safety Tests

Nearly 20% of domestic consumer products can't meet quality standards

(Newser) - The Chinese government acknowledged today what people around the world suspected—many products manufactured by the world's largest exporter of consumer goods are unsafe. One-fifth of its manufactured wares fail to meet government safety standards, a regulatory agency said in a posting on its website. Despite the findings, which did...

Chill Spreads to Durable Goods
Chill Spreads to Durable Goods
Jun 27, 2007 10:16 AM CDT

Chill Spreads to Durable Goods

Orders for big-ticket items plunge more than predicted, clouding recovery forecasts

(Newser) - Orders for durable goods nosedived in May, suggesting that sunny forecasts for business spending may be overly optimistic. The 2.8% drop, the first decline in 4 months, nearly tripled the predicted 1% dip, Bloomberg reports. Excluding the volatile transportation sectors, the figure was off 1%, Commerce Department stastics released...

Consumer Confidence, New Home Sales Slump

Grim economic indicators continue to stack up

(Newser) - Indicating that the topsy-turvy economy probably won't be righting itself anytime soon, consumer confidence dropped in May, as did new home sales, a signal that the reeling housing market has yet to hit bottom. The Fed will likely take up consumer worries at a 2-day meeting that starts tomorrow, Bloomberg...

Safety of Chinese-Made Toys Is Hardly Child's Play

Flood of recalls raises concerns

(Newser) - The latest Chinese products posing safety problems for consumers are children's toys, joining toothpaste, pet food, and drugs on an increasingly worrisome list, the New York Times reports. Last week's recall of Thomas & Friends train toys brought the total number of toys recalled by the US this year to...

UK Moves to Measure Products' Eco-Impact

Labels will allow consumers to compare

(Newser) - Calories, fat, sodium ... carbon footprint? The new measurement may soon appear on British product packaging. Under a plan proposed yesterday, the government will develop standards to measure a product's environmental impact from manufacture through shipment and disposal, allowing companies to list the information as they do nutrition facts. Consumers can...

Gas Spikes to All-Time Record
Gas Spikes to All-Time Record
May 21, 2007 12:01 PM CDT

Gas Spikes to All-Time Record

Pump pain hits consumer spending

(Newser) - Gas hit a record high of $3.18 yesterday, soaring past the previous all-time high, the inflation-adjusted 1981 price of $3.15 per gallon. A spate of fires and power outages have crippled the nation's refineries, sending prices soaring even as crude oil costs drop. That's turning consumers away from...

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