Browsing: economy

After years of relentless pressure, experts in the toy and gift market are finally beginning to see signs of a revitalized market for small to midsize retailers. However, they warn, it’s not a simple story. The market that’s emerging post-recession and post-Internet is a very different market than retailers have grown accustomed to. In fact, it may be more like the one their grandparents would recognize.

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Now might be the perfect time to get into the watch and jewelry business, or expand into new product lines. Experts in the fashion jewelry and watch market say the improving economy has been good for business in almost every sector of the market.

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More small business owners are planning to add employees and boost compensation levels, signaling a slightly more positive economic outlook for 2014, according to the most recent Business Confidence Survey released by Insperity, Inc.

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The Experian/Moody Analytics Small Business Credit Index rose 1.2 points to 117 in Q4 2013, the fourth consecutive quarter of improvement in small-business credit conditions and the highest index reading since data tracking began in 2011. Findings indicate that small businesses are now reaping some of the benefits of the nearly five-year-old U.S. recovery, according to Experian.

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A strong December retail sales reading indicates that the economy is moving forward at a nice pace, despite arrant jobs numbers released last Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. According to the Census Bureau, retail and food services sales rose to $431.9 billion in December, up 0.2 percent from November 2013 and 4.1 percent from the same period in 2012.

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Small business optimism edged up in July, according to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). The NFIB’s Small Business Optimism Index increased 0.6 point to 94.1 last month, recouping most of June’s decline, and was the fourth highest reading since December 2007, when the economy slipped into recession.

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Retailers saw gains in July, specifically in many back-to-school categories like clothing and sporting goods, as July retail sales excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants increased…

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