International Business News - Holiday http://www.ibtimes.com All articles are copyrighted by IBTimes.com 400 100 http://www.ibtimes.com/ http://www.ibtimes.com/images/top_logo_ibt2_3.gif The holiday sales outlook for anything luxury darkened Wednesday as upscale stores such as Saks Inc. and Neiman Marcus Group Inc. offered dreary forecasts as they announced sharp sales drops in September amid a financial meltdown that has shaken up affluent shoppers. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081008/holiday-outlook-darkens-for-luxury-retailers.htm Wed, 08 Oct 2008 17:08:32 EDT A lifelike baby Triceratops that children can ride on, a Wall-E robot that responds to your voice, a dancing game that eliminates wires and mats. Toy makers are upping the "Wow!"-factor in new products in an attempt to capture children's and parents' attention amid a holiday season likely overshadowed by a difficult economy and turmoil in the financial sector. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/146809-holiday-hot-toy-list.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081007/top-holiday-toys-span-from-dinosaurs-to-robots.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081007/top-holiday-toys-span-from-dinosaurs-to-robots.htm Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:05:47 EDT InterContinental Hotels' Holiday Inn brand is stepping into the timeshare market with the launch of a new venture with The Family of Orange Lake Resorts, the company announced Wednesday at its annual conference. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080924/ihgs-holiday-inn-brand-enters-timeshare-business.htm Wed, 24 Sep 2008 18:14:34 EDT Holiday sales are expected to grow at the slowest pace in six years as shoppers worry about jobs, the housing and stock markets and high gas and food prices, according to a forecast from the National Retail Federation being released Tuesday. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080923/retail-trade-group-offers-weak-holiday-forecast.htm Tue, 23 Sep 2008 10:52:15 EDT Dillard's Inc. and small retailers around Arkansas are pressing lawmakers to give consumers an annual sales tax holiday, a break that all but one of the surrounding states already offer. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080918/dillards-pushes-for-ark-sales-tax-holiday.htm Thu, 18 Sep 2008 13:47:22 EDT Fitch Ratings on Wednesday said its U.S. retail group predicts holiday retail sales will likely be weak, as consumers continue to face economic pressure. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080917/fitch-says-holiday-retail-sales-likely-weak.htm Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:55:55 EDT The nation's retailers could face the weakest holiday season since 1991 as shoppers confront high gas and food prices, a turbulent stock market, slumping home prices and a weakening job market, according to Deloitte Research's forecast released Tuesday. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080916/deloitte-holiday-sales-may-be-weakest-since-1991.htm Tue, 16 Sep 2008 16:05:00 EDT Slumping retail sales and economic pressures on consumers are expected to keep seasonal hiring for the holidays well below the average of recent years, according to a forecast released Monday. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080915/forecast-sees-subpar-holiday-hiring-season.htm Mon, 15 Sep 2008 11:15:21 EDT For travelers keen on size, the BootsnAll Travel Network has come up with a list of nine of the world's largest travel-related items. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/114194-beach.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080822/travelpicks-travelers-hotel-beach-travel-vacation.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080822/travelpicks-travelers-hotel-beach-travel-vacation.htm Fri, 22 Aug 2008 20:31:32 EDT Craving a sun-and-sea summer holiday destination where you can also party the night away? Travel website TripAdvisor has come up with a list of the top 10 islands in the Mediterranean sea. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/109778-beaches.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080815/beaches-mediterranean-summer-holiday-islands.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080815/beaches-mediterranean-summer-holiday-islands.htm Fri, 15 Aug 2008 20:23:49 EDT Clothes, computers, notebooks, garter belts. Those are among the items that are tax-free during Georgia's "back-to-school" tax holiday. Georgia is one of 15 states that host sales tax holiday weekends that coincide with the back-to-school season. Over four days, the state's 4 percent sales tax and all local taxes are waived on school items. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080731/tax-holiday-in-ga-other-states-has-adult-twist.htm Thu, 31 Jul 2008 17:51:48 EDT Massachusetts shoppers will get a tax-free weekend next month. Gov. Deval Patrick signed a law Wednesday lifting the state's 5-percent sales tax for the weekend of Aug. 16-17. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080730/governor-oks-2-day-sales-tax-holiday-in-mass.htm Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:25:17 EDT The Massachusetts House voted overwhelmingly Tuesday in favor of a plan to give consumers a two-day break from the state sales tax next month. By a 139-15 vote, lawmakers agreed to withhold the state's 5 percent sales tax from most items up to $2,500 that are sold during the weekend of Aug. 16-17. Boats, cars and meals and tobacco products are excluded, as are telecommunication services and gas, steam and electricity utilities. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080722/massachusetts-sales-tax-holiday-advances.htm Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:43:29 EDT Revelers this July 4th will have to cope with $4 a gallon gasoline, costlier New Jersey beaches, and iffy weather--all of which could put a damper on celebrations. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080703/costs-up-for-gas-nj-beaches-this-july-4th.htm Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:07:43 EDT Australia's treasury secretary is drawing opposition heat over his vacation plans--caring for a colony of endangered wombats in their remote forest home. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080627/australian-official-takes-wombat-vacation.htm Fri, 27 Jun 2008 21:50:46 EDT Australia's chief economic bureaucrat is changing his focus, and his opponents don't like it. Treasury Secretary Ken Henry and his wife will spend the government's winter recess in a remote forest, looking after a colony of endangered northern hairy-nosed wombats, newspapers reported Friday. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080627/australia-official-takes-leave-to-care-for-wombats.htm Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:27:50 EDT The number of people traveling for next week's Fourth of July holiday is expected to be down slightly from last year. AAA spokesman Chuck Mai said gas prices are cutting into travel with a nationwide average of $4.07 per gallon as of Thursday. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080626/fourth-of-july-travel-expected-to-be-down-in-okla.htm Thu, 26 Jun 2008 15:35:17 EDT The holiday shopping season is still months away, but already a growing number of economists are predicting that it could even be worse than last year--which is to say, disastrous. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/79076-holiday-outlook.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080625/economists-worry-about-consumer-spending-for-holiday-season.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080625/economists-worry-about-consumer-spending-for-holiday-season.htm Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:36:21 EDT Miscommunications, errors in judgment and policy violations led to the release of a domestic violence convict who later killed his estranged wife before taking his own life, an internal investigation has concluded. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080605/report-prosecutors-errors-contributed-to-slaying.htm Thu, 05 Jun 2008 06:20:28 EDT Record high gas prices will keep some Nevadans home over the upcoming Memorial Day weekend, according to a new survey. More than 235,000 Nevadans plan to travel 50 miles or more during the long weekend, a decrease of 0.1 percent from 2007, according to a travel survey released Monday by AAA Nevada. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080519/aaa-fewer-nevadans-to-travel-over-holiday-weekend.htm Mon, 19 May 2008 15:11:33 EDT