Predictions of an unhappy Christmas for retailers

End-of-year retail sales will be down by 4% (real) compared to 2008, which was itself down 1% on 2007. Or so says Business Day in an early preview of the Christmas shopping season. The forecast, from Credit Guarantee Insurance Corporation, is backed up by recent retail figures and plain common sense, given increasing joblessness and continued nervousness among consumers. Even a 50 basis-point interest rate cut this week, the maximum expected by a minority of economists, won’t have much impact on sentiment. Read more: Business Day