Highlights
Redbook reports strong retail sales for both the Oct. 31 week and for the month of October as a whole. They peg year-on-year sales in the latest week at plus 0.9 percent for the strongest weekly rate since April. They say the week got a boost by last minute Halloween shopping though they describe the holiday as a whole as only satisfactory. But they say the month was still better than planned and they peg October-to-September sales at plus 1.9 percent, pointing to very strong results in the ex-auto ex-gas category for the Commerce Department report. The outlook for the auto component will be filled in today with manufacturer unit sales, in what will really determine whether consumers, despite the tough jobs market and low confidence, were buyers during October.