Word: blacks
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...calculus to get you to loosen your wallet during the holiday season, but this year it feels a little more desperate. Stores are starting their promotions earlier in the hopes of luring in customers quickly to spend money - before they're tapped out or the markdowns get any steeper. Black Friday, the Friday after Thanksgiving, is the traditional kick-off of the holiday shopping frenzy, and it will still be the biggest sales generator of the season. But don't sweat it if you can't shop that day. "We will start to get Black Friday level deals every week...
...reason for the earlier discounts: a shorter window to shop. Black Friday falls on November 28th this year, the latest date possible. That means five fewer shopping days (and one less weekend) between Thanksgiving and Christmas than last year. "Stores are trying to grab their share of consumers earlier because they don't think there will be that much to go around," says Stacy Janiak, vice chairman and U.S. retail leader at Deloitte LLP. "If they can get people to shop now it will be better than waiting...
...many retailers, holiday sales account for as much as 40% of their annual revenue and up to 80% of their profits - hence the name Black Friday or the day when stores traditionally go from being "in the red" to "in the black." That's an overstatement, but with holiday forecasts predicting flat to 1% sales growth - according to Bain & Co and Archstone Consulting respectively - retailers are anticipating one of the toughest holiday shopping periods in decades. Consumers cut back spending in the July to September quarter by the largest amount in 28 years as they grappled with a tanking economy...
...Sears, which has been struggling, is leading the promotional pack, announcing 450 door busters, or specially priced items, from 5 a.m . to 11 a.m. on Black Friday. Shoppers will find deep discounts in electronics, like a Sony Blu-ray Disc player for $179.99, down from $300, and a 46-in. Sharp LCD HDTV for $899.99, reduced from $1,400. Although Wal-Mart already marked down 10 toys to $10, from butterfly-winged Barbie Mariposa to Fur Real Newborn Animals, its full Black Friday prices won't be announced until November...
Spearheading the opposition was Calderon's old nemesis Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a silvery-haired leftist who lost the 2006 presidential election to the conservative by a whisker. Lopez Obrador contended that Calderon had been spuriously placed in power so he could loot Mexico's treasure trove of black gold, which provides the federal government with 40% of its budget. When Calderon tried to push through reform in the spring, Lopez Obrador directed lawmakers from his party to occupy the podiums of Congress for several weeks, until the government conceded to a national debate. After a Congressional commission finally hammered...