Florida's consumer services chief is counseling shoppers to keep cool heads in the maelstrom of holiday discounting. ...more

November 27, 2008

To head off holiday thieves, Tampa police will patrol shopping malls between now and Christmas on horseback, on motorcycles and in unmarked cars. Officers will begin these special patrols this morning at WestShore Plaza. The extra police presence aims to prevent car burglaries and other property crimes. ...more

November 26, 2008

Given the economic problems dominating the headlines these days, it would not be surprising if people are feeling glum. At such moments of seeming gloom we should recall that the first Thanksgiving was held during the Civil War. ...more

November 26, 2008

Given the economic problems dominating the headlines these days, it would not be surprising if people are feeling glum. Housing sales continue to fall, thwarting hopes for a turnaround for a key component of the local, state and national economies. The "Big Three" U.S. automakers are jetting, hats in hand, to Congress and asking for money to help them stave off bankruptcy. Banks and other financial institutions need help from the Treasury clearing bad loans and other dubious investments from their books. With all this and more going on, retailers are worrying that the black in the traditional post-Thanksgiving Black Friday start to the holiday shopping season will refer to more than just the mood of shoppers battling large crowds and overflowing parking lots. ...more

November 26, 2008

Police are searching for a gunman in a Seattle-area shopping mall after shots seriously hurt two young men there. ...more

November 22, 2008

A long struggle over what kind of milk counts as organic is coming to a head. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently issued draft rules that would require that the cows be on pasture at least half the year and get plenty of fresh grass. The proposals are meant to close a loophole that allows some huge feedlots to sell their milk as organic, even though their cows rarely if ever get to graze on fresh grass. Advocates for family farms and consumers say that's not what shoppers think they're buying when they pay a premium for organic milk. The public comment period on the draft rules runs through Dec. 23. ...more

November 18, 2008

Already up to their eyeballs in debt, shoppers are expected to use cash and debit cards slightly more often than last year to buy holiday gifts, but credit card usage should fall. ...more

November 17, 2008

An Iraqi woman and her child watch U.S. soldiers search their home in Iskandariyah, 30 miles south of Baghdad, where U.S. troops have helped quell sectarian violence. Barely a year ago, Iskandariyah was a stronghold of Shiite and Sunni militants, and residents say fighting was so ferocious hardly anyone showed up for work at the city's industrial complex and streets emptied by early afternoon. These days, shoppers throng food markets, stores are open after dark and children go to school regularly. ...more

November 10, 2008

The number of out-of-work Americans continuing to draw unemployment benefits has surged to a 25-year high. Shoppers also turned extra frugal, further proof of the damage from the sinking economy, credit problems and financial stresses. ...more

November 7, 2008

Publix held the grand opening this morning of its GreenWise Market in Hyde Park, and hundreds of people descended on the upscale, 39,000-square-foot store to shop, sightsee or both. ...more

November 6, 2008