Discover Yahoo! With Your Friends

Explore news, videos and much more based on what your friends are reading and watching. Publish your own activity and retain full control.

To get started, first

YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    Ireland's retail sales slump for 4th straight year

    Associated Press – Fri, Jan 27, 2012

    DUBLIN (AP) — Ireland is counting on its citizens to spend more and help reverse the nation's daunting deficits. But new figures for retail sales reveal that debt-burdened shoppers spent less for the fourth straight year.

    Friday's report found retail sales excluding car dealerships fell 1.8 percent by value and 2.7 percent by volume in 2011.

    And analysts warned that Ireland's decision to hike sales tax this month by 2 points to an EU-leading 23 percent would depress consumer spending in 2012, leading to poorer-than-forecast tax takes from shop tills.

    Irish vehicle sales did grow 13 percent in the first half of 2011 thanks to a government-subsidized program encouraging motorists to scrap old cars for new ones. But car sales slumped by 25 percent after that program ended in June.

     

    There are no comments yet

    [ [ [['Dekraai', 10]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/mourners-remember-seal-beach-shooting-victims-1318620627-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/3/2c/32c8e92d889f42edb719cb5257afdf4e.jpeg', '461', ' ', 'Reuters/Lori Shepler', ], [ [['iPhone 4SXXXXXXX', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/thousands-line-up-for-apple-s-iphone-4s-1318602841-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/f/4f/f4f15e8f6f323f5386dc9fdf9e15dca8.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP/Kirsty Wigglesworth', ] ]
    [ [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], '27013743', '0' ], [ [['keyword', 9999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

    News For You

    Loading...

    Business News »

    • HP logo is seen outside Hewlett-Packard Belgian headquarters in Diegem
      HP shares fall on sharp profit decline

      (Reuters) - Shares of Hewlett-Packard Co were down 2 percent in premarket trading on Thursday after the world's No. 1 computer maker posted a sharp decline in quarterly earnings and warned it would take … More »HP shares fall on sharp profit decline

      HP logo is seen outside Hewlett-Packard Belgian headquarters in Diegem

      (Reuters) - Shares of Hewlett-Packard Co were down 2 percent in premarket trading on Thursday after the world's No. 1 computer maker posted a sharp decline in quarterly earnings and warned it would take several years to turn around its sprawling businesses. The storied Silicon Valley company, which has been trying to move …

    • File photo of a man looking at employment opportunities at a jobs center in San Francisco
      Jobless claims hold steady at 4-year low Jason Lange

      WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New claims for unemployment benefits were unchanged last week, holding at the lowest level since the early days of the 2007-2009 recession and giving a fresh sign the battered labor … More »Jobless claims hold steady at 4-year low

      File photo of a man looking at employment opportunities at a jobs center in San Francisco

      WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New claims for unemployment benefits were unchanged last week, holding at the lowest level since the early days of the 2007-2009 recession and giving a fresh sign the battered labor market is healing. Workers filed 351,000 initial claims for state unemployment benefits, the Labor Department said on …

    • Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange
      Wall Street opens flat after data

      NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks opened little changed on Thursday after labor market data indicated that while the economy continued to recover, progress was slow. Movement could be limited as S&P 500 again … More »Wall Street opens flat after data

      Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange

      NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks opened little changed on Thursday after labor market data indicated that while the economy continued to recover, progress was slow. Movement could be limited as S&P 500 again faces a tough test in piercing the 1,360 level, a 10-month high seen as a key resistance point. The Dow Jones industrial …

     
    Brought to you byYahoo! Finance
    Loading...