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Retail sales and industrial output eked out smaller-than-expected gains in August, according to data on Friday that kept in place expectations the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next week. The reports showed signs of economic softness but the picture was not uniformly bleak. A drop in gasoline prices helped curb the sales retail gain, but helped hold a gauge of consumer confidence steady in early September.

A surprise decline in payrolls in August could frighten already jittery consumers into shutting their wallets tight, a move that could push sales down to recession levels during the key holiday shopping season.

Major retailers, led by discounters Wal-Mart Stores and Target Corp, turned in better-than-expected August sales on Thursday, as consumers went back-to-school shopping despite higher gas prices and the nation's housing meltdown.

HSBC said on Thursday it plans to start retail banking operations in Japan from January 2008, making Europe's largest bank the latest foreign player to target Japan's legion of wealthy individuals.

Ford Motor Co. on Tuesday reported an overall 14 percent sales decline in August, hurt by a decline in showroom sales, but set a higher production target for the fourth quarter. Excluding Ford's European luxury brands and heavy-duty trucks, Ford's sales fell 15 percent in August.

Double Fusion, a private company that connects advertisers and video game publishers, rolls out new technology on Tuesday to allow advertisers to mount last-minute ad campaigns in games the same way they use spot TV ads.

Many U.S. clothing retailers think the skirt may be the next dress.

Institutional money manager State Street Corp faces $22 billion exposure to asset-backed commercial paper conduits, the off-balance sheet vehicles that have caused problems for rivals in recent weeks, British newspaper The Times reported.

With a slowing economy could the job market see declines this holiday season?

The new supermarket was slated as the shape of retail to come in globalizing India. Now shutters covered its windows, staff meandered outside and customers picked final bargains before its closure.

After three months of feeling lethargic with bouts of blurred vision, 65-year-old Jim Einsweiler walked into a clinic in his local Walgreens pharmacy, mostly, he said, to appease his wife.

The U.S. mortgage and credit crisis deepened on Wednesday, as Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co, HSBC Holdings Plc and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc announced a total of 3,400 job cuts, as concern mounted about the longer-term impact on the economy.

Consumers spent more boldly than expected last month as declining gasoline prices shielded household budgets, government data showed on Monday. Sales at U.S. retailers rose a slightly more-than-expected 0.3 percent in July and core sales, which strip out car, building materials and gasoline sales, were even stronger, the Commerce Department data showed.

Wall Street's roller-coaster ride, triggered by the meltdown in subprime mortgage lending, is spreading pain through financial markets -- but has not hit Main Street yet.

Most U.S. retailers posted weaker-than-expected July sales on Thursday, hurt by a delayed back-to-school shopping season and high gas prices that cut consumers' trips to the mall.

The world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart, has inked a 50-50 joint venture with Bharti Enterprises for a wholesale cash-and-carry business in India that will roll out ten to fifteen such outlets over the next seven years.

Sourcing of products from India by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. could rise to billions of dollars annually in coming years once the U.S. retailer starts operations there, the firm's country president said on Tuesday.

Outdoor advertising company Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc. said on Friday its quarterly profit rose 43 percent, helped by growth in ads by automotive, telecommunications and retail companies.

Gap Inc. on Thursday named Glenn Murphy as its new chief executive and chairman, giving a respected former Canadian drug chain chief with no significant fashion industry experience the mandate to turn around the world's largest apparel retailer.

India's largest private mobile services provider, Bharti Airtel, and Sweden's Ericsson have inked a $2 billion, two-year deal whereby the latter will help Bharti expand its telecom network as it looks to push into new rural markets.

U.S. retail sales posted their biggest monthly decline in nearly two years during June, according to government data issued on Friday, indicating the housing market slump and soaring gasoline prices are depressing consumer spending.