Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Falling Retail

Retail sales fell in Feb:

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Retail sales fell at the fastest pace in at least five years and could tip an already fragile economy into recession, according to a private report released on Wednesday.

Retail sales tumbled 1.1 percent last month, compared with a 0.2 percent gain in January, said SpendingPulse, the retail data service of MasterCard Advisors, an arm of MasterCard Worldwide (MA.N: Quote, Profile, Research). The report excludes auto sales.

"It's definitely the biggest drop in our history," said Kamalesh Rao, director of economic research at MasterCard Advisors. SpendingPulse's retail data series started in 2003.