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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Another week and another batch of fascinating video clips about bailouts, economic woes and other crisis-related matters. As to be expected, the good-news videos are in rather short supply. A number of the more interesting clips that have attracted my attention are shared below.

Some of my favourites included in this compilation are: “Peter Schiff uses analogies to describe crisis” (first one up) and “Dr Doom [Marc Faber] - Buffett’s approach to investing is dead” (further down). If you want to view only two of these clips, make sure to see these two.

Please post any interesting video links that you would like to share with the Investment Postcards community, in the comments section.

YouTube: Peter Schiff uses analogies to describe crisis “Ron

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Pershing Square 13FPershing Square Capital 13F HoldingsBelow are some details related to specific securities shown within Pershing Square's recent 13F Filing with the SEC. While these filings don't often show the complete picture of a fund's investments they are interesting to review as they show a sample of their total holdings. Please click on the image below for a clear view of this holdings report.Source: SEC 13F Filing | MFF ReportsWatch a recent video on Bill Ackman of Pershing Square Capital Management here or read more of these 13F holdings analysis pieces within our Investment Securities and Holdings Tool.The securities included within this update:American International Group Inc (AIG) Barnes And Noble Inc (BKS) Borders ...

Last week, I told you that McDonald’s is a great example of a company with strong fundamentals and continued dividend strength. Yesterday, we saw more proof: The company said global same-store sales gained 8.2%. And even as most other restaurants posted weak U.S. results, McDonald’s watched same-store sales gain 5.3% here in the States. That’s great news for anyone holding the shares! Now today, I want to talk about some more companies that are bastions of dividends. And the place where I’m finding them may surprise you … Tech Stocks Keep Jumping to the Top of My Dividend Lists! Remember that table from “Yes, You Can Still Find Solid, Reliable, Fat Dividends?” It showed some of the companies that changed their dividend policies in September. Just in case you ...

Dividend investors have a right to be worried at the moment. Not only are stock indexes plummeting, but a large number of firms are also slashing their payments to shareholders. Many are even discontinuing their dividends altogether. But there are still plenty of bright spots. In fact, a great many companies continue INCREASING their dividends despite all the dire forecasts. More on them in a moment. First, let’s get the bad news out of the way: Out of the 500 companies in Standard & Poor’s flagship U.S. stock market index, 30 companies have cut their dividends so far this year. Another 11 have completely suspended payments (or the companies themselves have ceased to exist). Total damage to investors: $31.74 billion in missed dividends. As you’d guess, most of the pain ...

It takes more than a globally competitive economy to have a sound banking system. For the third straight year, the United States finds itself at the top of the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), published by the World Economic Forum (WEF) as part of its annual Global Competitiveness Report.

“Once the global economy emerges from the current financial crisis, which it will, the countries that do well on our index are those that are best prepared to bounce back and perform well in the longer term,” Jennifer Blanke, director of the WEF’s global competitiveness network told The Financial Times.

And the United States is at the top. That’s the good news.

The bad news is that the safety of U.S. banks dropped to 40th this year from 26th in the WEF’s 2007 – 2008 report.

“Despite rising concerns about the soundness of the banking sector and other macroeconomic

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A chronology of the recent global market chaos:

September 14/15 - Investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings files for bankruptcy protection; Merrill Lynch to be taken over by Bank of America Corp.

September 16 - U.S. Federal Reserve announces plan for $85 billion (49 billion pound) loan to American International Group in return for an 80 percent stake in the insurer; Barclays buys parts of Lehman’s North American assets for $1.75 billion.

September 17 - British bank Lloyds TSB Group agrees to rescue rival HBOS, scooping up Britain’s biggest home loan lender in an all-share deal.

September 19 - U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson calls for the government to spend billions of dollars to take toxic mortgage assets off financial companies. Stock markets soar.

September 20 - Details emerge of the $700 billion U.S. plan.

September 21 - Goldman Sachs Group and Morgan Stanley become bank holding companies regulated by the Fed.

September 22 - Nomura Holdings says

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Morgan Stanley (MS) announced yesterday (Monday) that it closed its long-awaited deal with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (ADR: MTU), giving Japan’s largest financial group a 21% stake in the beleaguered U.S. investment bank. Meanwhile, Sovereign Bancorp Inc. (SOV) confirmed last night that it has agreed to be bought out by Spain’s Banco Santander SA (ADR: STD) with regards to a possible buyout. Mitsubishi UFJ first announced its intention to acquire a stake in Morgan Stanley on Sept. 22, but shares of the investment bank fell 60% last week as credit market turmoil and investor panic gripped the markets, putting the deal in jeopardy. The deal was renegotiated yesterday after the U.S. government signaled over the weekend that it was prepared to protect Mitsubishi’s investment, the The Wall Street Journal reported. In September, MUFG agreed to buy $6 billion in ...

Retirement Plans Lose $2 Trillion; eBay Sells Out Workforce; Eli Settles Marketing Dispute; Morgan Stanley Gets OK on Capital Infusion; IMF Says Rough Economic Times Ahead; Wachovia Split?

After a day of dueling lawsuits yesterday (Monday), all parties agreed to halt litigation for two days as Citigroup Inc. (C) and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) continued to squabble over rights to purchase Wachovia Corp. (WB).