U.S. retail sales signal holiday buys

U.S. retail sales rose for a fifth straight month in November, the U.S. Commerce Department said Tuesday.

The report suggested that the holiday shopping season will be a strong one, and raised hopes that consumers will boost the economy in the coming months.

November was the best month for department stores in two years, and that helped lift retail sales by 0.8 per cent last month.

November's sales figures were higher than economists had expected, prompting many to revise their forecasts for consumer spending growth in the October-December quarter.

Still, many cautioned that the economy needs more job and higher pay to sustain those spending gains in the new year.

Analysts said that heavy holiday discounting, which started as early as October, and an improving economy were helping to boost spending.

Even the weather was playing a part. The arrival of cold weather in November, after two months of unseasonably warm weather, helped to boost sales of coats and other cold-weather gear.

The strong monthly showing is encouraging for U.S. retailers, for whom the current holiday shopping season is key. Online payment firm PayPal Inc. reported earlier this month that Cyber Monday, the Monday following the U.S. Thanksgiving Day holiday, was its busiest day ever for processing transactions.

And FedEx, the world's largest package company, said Dec. 13, 2010, was expected to be its busiest day ever, with nearly 16 million packages moving on its conveyor belts, trucks and planes.

FedEx's predicted figure is up 13 per cent from 14.2 million packages on the busiest day last year, and double what is handled on a normal day.

Overall, online holiday spending since Nov. 1 is up 12 per cent over last year to nearly $22 billion US, according to research company comScore. Two days this holiday season have already ranked among the five busiest online shopping days ever, the company said.

More CEOs plan to hire

As well, a new poll of executives of America's largest companies — the Business Roundtable survey — found that 45 per cent plan to hire within six months.

That's the highest percentage for that group in eight years.

The survey was released a day before U.S. President Barack Obama was to meet with a group of corporate executives to discuss job creation and making the U.S. more competitive.

It also came as Congress is on the verge of passing legislation that would extend the Bush-era tax cuts for two years, reduce payroll taxes for workers, and extend unemployment benefits through the end of 2011.