By MAE ANDERSON and CANDICE CHOI THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Bargain-hungry Ameri- cans will need to go on a post-Christmas spending binge to salvage this holiday shopping season. Despite the huge dis- counts and other incentives that stores offered leading up to Christmas, U.S. holi- day sales so far this year have been the weakest since 2008, when the nation was in a deep recession. So stores now are de- pending on the days after Christmas to make up lost ground: The week of December can account for about 15 percent of the sales, and the day after Christmas is typically one of the biggest shopping days of the year. Stores, which typi- cally talk about their plans for sales and other promo- tions during the season, are known for offering dis- counts of up to 70 percent in the days after Christmas.
This year, hoping to lure more bargain hunters who held off on shopping because they wanted to get the best deals of the season. The location in Herald Square in New York was bustling with shoppers Wednesday. There were a variety of deals throughout the store: candy dispensers for 70 percent off, various clothing items for one get one belts for 50 percent off, a bin of ties for $9.99. Holiday sales are a crucial indicator of the strength. November and December account for up to 40 percent of annual rev- enue for many retailers.
So far, sales of electronics, clothing, jewelry and home goods in the two months before Christmas increased 0.7 percent compared with last year, according to the MasterCard Advisors Spend- ingPulse report. That was the weakest holiday per- formance since 2008 when sales dropped sharply. Kathy Grannis, a spokes- woman at The National Retail Federation, the na- largest retail trade group, said Wednesday the trade group is sticking to its forecast for sales in the November and December period to be up 4.1 percent to $586.1 billion this year. more than a percent- age point lower than the growth in each of the past two years, and the smallest increase since 2009 when sales were up just 0.3 per- cent. Grannis noted that the trade of holiday sales also includes food and building supplies.
have a big week ahead, and still too early to know how the holiday season fared, at this she said. Spending by consumers accounts for 70 percent of overall economic activity, so the eight-week period encompassed by the Spend- ingPulse data is seen as a critical time not just for re- tailers but for manufactur- ers, wholesalers and com- panies at every other point along the supply chain. The SpendingPulse data released Tuesday, which captures sales from Oct. 28 through Dec. 24 across all payment methods, is the major snapshot of holi- day retail sales.
A clearer picture will emerge next week as retailers like and Target report revenue from stores open for at least a year. That sales measure is widely watched in the retail industry because it excludes revenue from stores that recently opened or closed, which can be volatile. In the run-up to Christ- mas, analysts blamed bad weather for putting a damper on shopping. In late October, Superstorm Sandy battered the North- east and mid-Atlantic states, which account for 24 per- cent of U.S. retail sales.
Shopping picked up in the second half of Novem- ber, but then the threat of the country falling off a cal gained strength, throwing consumers off track once again. Lawmakers have yet to reach a deal that would prevent tax increases and government spending cuts set to take effect at the be- ginning of 2013. If the cuts and tax hikes kick in and stay in place for months, the Congressional Budget says the nation could fall back into recession. Shopping over the past two months was weakest in areas affected by Sandy and a more recent winter storm in the Midwest. Sales declined by 3.9 percent in the mid-Atlantic and 1.4 percent in the Northeast compared with last year.
They rose 0.9 percent in the north central part of the country. Stores look to week after Christmas for sales AP PHOTO Christmas shoppers in a ornament hanging from a large Christmas tree at Fashion Island shopping center in Newport Beach, Calif. U.S. holiday retail sales this year are the weakest since 2008. NEIL GENZLINGER THE NEW YORK TIMES heard and prob- ably used the phrase fectly in various contexts.
Today consider it in a new one: as an excel- lent description of what Jack Klugman and Charles Durn- ing did so very, very well. Both men died Monday, Klugman at 90 and Durn- ing at 89. And Hollywood and the theater world lost two actors who remained remarkably employable for more than half a century be- cause they were masters of the kind of effortless-looking acting that makes ordinary, often secondary characters believable. Some actors Dustin Hoffman, say build long careers on technique and immersion in a character. Others Paul Newman and Robert Redford, for instance are known for their mar- quee looks and savvy use of them.
Both of those types end up at the top of the bill. Klugman and Durning had their star turns too, but their careers were fueled more by supporting roles and ensemble work, jobs that require a different skill set, a knack for being plain old joes. So while was a vehicle for Hoffman and was a show- case for Newman and Red- ford, who was that, a little way down the credits list in both Durning. not to say his or performances were ordinary. Durning earned an Oscar nomina- tion (the of two) for his turn as the governor of Texas in the 1982 film Best Little whor*- house in (though, again, he was a secondary character, supporting Burt Reynolds and Dolly Parton).
And Klugman won two Em- mys for his work in the 1970s sitcom Odd tellingly for playing a clas- sic one-of-the-guys character, the slobby Oscar Madison, in a show that was essentially a two-man ensemble piece (Tony Randall being the other half of the But for both men, be- tween the occasional signa- ture roles came dozens of other, pay-the-bills sorts of jobs. Klugman has almost 100 acting credits on IMDb. com, as well as numerous other appearances as him- self on game shows, talk shows and variety shows. Durning has an astonishing 207 acting credits on the site a barkeep, a priest, a police Santa Claus, assorted politicians. Acting is essentially a look- at-me profession, so taking on one to-myself role after another is an admirable career path.
Few movies, plays or televi- sion shows can succeed with only an A-list star; support- ing players are the infra- structure. There is an anonymous army of actors (of both sexes) who make a living doing just that sort of work. When they die, you see their obituaries and a photo and say, yeah; You recognize the everyday face but are hard-pressed to put a name to it. Klugman and Durning were at heart part of that fraternity, but they managed to transcend it and achieve household-name sta- tus. Actors remained through careers The cover of the 700th and issue in the comic book series Amaz- ing issued Wednesday.
The series ends as Peter Parker meets his doom. AP PHOTO By MATT MOORE THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PHILADELPHIA After 50 years of spinning webs and catching a who of criminals, Peter Parker is out of the hero game. But Spider-Man is still slinging from building to building reborn, re- freshed and revived with a new sense of the old maxim that Ben Parker taught his nephew that great power, comes great Writer Dan Slott, been penning Spidey ad- ventures for the better part of the last 100 issues for Marvel Entertainment, said the culmination of the story is a new, dramatically differ- ent direction for the Steve Ditko and Stan Lee-created hero. is an epic Slott said. been writ- ing Spider-Man for 70-plus issues.
Every now and then, you have to shake it up. The reason Spider-Man is one of the longest running characters is they always a way to keep it fresh. Something to shake up the And in the pages of is- sue 700, out Wednesday, not just shaken up, turned head over heels, spun in circles, kicked sky high and cracked wide open. mind is trapped in the withered, decaying dying body of his nemesis, Doctor Octopus aka Otto Octavius. Doc Ock? Inside super- powered shell, learning what life is like for the bril- liant researcher who hap- pens to count the Aveng- ers and Fantastic Four as friends and family.
The two clash mightily in the pages of issue 700, illustrated by Humberto Ramos and Victor Olaz- aba. But Octavius who wins out and Parker is, at least for now, gone for good, but not before one more act of heroism. Slott said that Parker, whose memories envelop Octavius, who shows the vil- lain what it means to be a hero. are his days of vil- lainy, but since Doc Ock and he has that ego, not going to try and just be Spider-man, going to try to be the best Spider- Man said Slott. Editor Stephen Wacker said that while Parker is gone, his permanence re- mains and his life casts a long shadow.
life is still important to the book because it af- fects everything that Doc- tor Octopus does as Spider- Man. Seeing a supervillain go through this life is the point trying to be better than the hero he Wacker said. has sort of inspired by life. what I mean when he talks about the shadow he he said. Peter Parker out of hero game Nation A10 The Times Argus Thursday, December 27, 2012 Good for Every Body! First in Fitness Montpelier Behind City Hall 223-1348 First in First Racquet Swim Club Granger Road Berlin 223-6161 New Year Special WITH YOUR MEMBERSHIP FREE GIFT $150 in Extra Value Personal Training TRX Group Training Childcare Swim lessons Dual Club Membership Locker Rental Towel Service YOUR CHOICE OF ANY OF THESE SERVICES Details: 12 month Membership agreement required.
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