The Dow Jones industrial average rose 61 points on Thursday as traders reacted to news that retailers last month had their first sales gain in more than a year.  A closely watched gauge of sales at major retailers rose 0.1% in September. Still, most stores posted sales declines -- though smaller than in recent months -- even as their figures are compared with last September when business plummeted as the financial meltdown ballooned.  While still tepid, it was the first monthly rise in the International Council of Shopping Centers-Goldman Sachs tally since July 2008. 

On Thursday, the European Central Bank and Bank of England left interest rates unchanged.  Sentiment also received a boost from domestic corporate borrowing, which rose for the eight straight week. 

The growing optimism surrounding consumer spending, which is crucial for an economic recovery, followed late Wednesday's good results from Alcoa.  The company surprised investors with

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Retailers Get No Help from Consumers

by The Investment U Research Team

After almost a full week of declines, futures finally point to a positive opening for Wall Street. But where does that leave us – other than shell-shocked?

We saw a couple of reports this morning that illustrate just how much consumers are cutting back on their spending. Costco (Nasdaq: COST) reported a 6% drop in sales.

Considering they are a leading warehouse club, where you would expect consumers to shop for bargains, the drop is significant. Consumers aren’t giving any help to retailers.

And they’re not the only ones hurting.

Department store J.C. Penny (NYSE: JCP) saw same store sales drop 8.2%, while luxury retailer Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN) saw sales drop 10%. So what does it all

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Last week, Forbes magazine released its annual list of billionaires. No surprise, the rolls shrank.

“[In 2007], there were 1,125 billionaires. This year, it’s down to 793,” says CEO Steve Forbes.

An NPR broadcast tried to put an optimistic spin on the news suggesting, “All those empty spots… mean more room for the rest of us to move up.” In good fun, it even provided five secrets to do so, based upon the business activities that propelled 38 new billionaires into this year’s rankings.

But in all fairness, I don’t think a single one of us stands a chance of becoming a billionaire in the next year. So let’s put the Forbes list to better use than invoking a fanciful daydream about joining the lifestyles of the rich and famous.

Turns out, by focusing on the 10 biggest losers - who lost a combined $238 billion - the list contains

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Forbes’ 10 Biggest Losers: 4 Wealth Protection Lessons From Bankrupt Billionaires

by Louis Basenese, Advisory Panelist Senior Analyst, The Oxford Club

Last week, Forbes magazine released its annual list of billionaires. No surprise, the rolls shrank.

“[In 2007], there were 1,125 billionaires. This year, it’s down to 793,” says CEO Steve Forbes.

An NPR broadcast tried to put an optimistic spin on the news suggesting, “All those empty spots… mean more room for the rest of us to move up.” In good fun, it even provided five secrets to do so, based upon the business activities that propelled 38 new billionaires into this year’s rankings.

But in all fairness, I don’t think a single one of us stands a chance of becoming a billionaire in the next year. So let’s put the Forbes list to better use than invoking a fanciful daydream about joining the lifestyles of the rich

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Dragged down by plunging gasoline prices and an auto industry struggling for survival, retail sales fell by 1.8% in November for a record fifth straight month, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.

But a historic drop in retail gasoline prices and auto sales may have exaggerated the decline.  Filling-station sales mirrored the recent drop in prices from $4 a gallon in July to less than $2 a gallon recently. Auto sales fell 2.8%, confirming automakers’ assertions that business had sunk to the lowest levels in decades.

Excluding gasoline, which fell by almost 15%, retail sales fell just 0.2%.

In fact, without sales of autos, gasoline and building materials, sales actually rose 0.5%, the most since May.

“The financial markets were braced for a horrific retail sales report for November, but the numbers were actually not so bad,” Mark Vitner, a senior economist for Wachovia Corp. (

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I wouldn't know a Hermes scarf from a Wal-Mart scarf, but enough Chinese do that luxury retailer Hermes is doing so well in China that it is going to open even more stores than originally planned. Hernes plans to open 3-4 stores in China each year over the next three years,