morning. good morning. economist mark zandi was the daily rundown and said every year there s an outlier, doesn t add up. that s what the white house is saying, as well. how do you read these numbers? you can t take zandi too seriously, he likes to flag for the white house. there is something wrong with this number, but not as much as he claims. you have to consider the fact that dollar stores, for example, are reporting very tepid holiday sales, now that the numbers are coming out, simply because their customers don t have enough money. last year it was although holiday sales overall were up. right, but at the low end, the dollar stores, sears, k-marts, they are flat or down. that s very, very troubling. what that indicates is they don t have enough money for necessities, some of that is higher premiums for health insurance they are anticipating and still the residual effect of those higher payroll taxes from last year. jim, for the year, 2.2
the best thing about it was that roller coaster ride was over. it was a good decision to avoid the big box stores. he knows a thing or two about working with big brands. the kohls, walmarts, k-marts, jcpennys of the world. we can cut and sew garments, we embroider garments, dye garments, and screen print garments. they had contracts with some of the most recognizable names in retail for years. as we started moving into the 2000s, tie dyes were becoming more and more popular, we started getting more and more requests from some of the bigger brands. while those incredibly appealing and ego boosting orders would be a dream for many small business owners, over time they were more of a frustration
better, but there are still a lot of people out there watching their purses, and keeping that uncertain tone. we always say we re going to cook more, but end up going out. tis the season to be jolly and eat a lot. thank you so much. no worries. the record holiday sales numbers, saling is being forced to close more than 100 of their stores and k-marts. there was a drop in clothing and consumer electronics sales during this holiday season there. oh it s clearance time!
shoppers, more of them, took to the web this christmas about online sales jumping more than 16 percent over last year s rush. and the numb of the shoppers usable mobile devices to make those pitches this year increased by a whopping 173%. meanwhile, some weak holiday sales are prompting sears and k-marts to close between 100 and 120 of their stores. k-ma k-mart s declining sales. christmas has come and gone, but the post-holiday crush is on. thousands are returning unwanted presents or cashing in those gift cards as well. courtney reagan is live in the bronx with more on the business headlines, live at a