Retail and food service sales for July were $726.3 billion, up 0.5% from the previous month, the Commerce Department said in its advance estimate. Sales were up 3.9% from a year ago. Excluding automobiles and gasoline, sales were up 0.2% from the previous month and up 4.4% from last year.
The average cost of this year's classic Thanksgiving feast is $55.18, a decline of 5% from 2024 and the third consecutive annual decline.
Consumer sentiment decreased 2.6 points month-over-month in November to 51, down 20.8 points from one year ago, according to final results for the month from the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers.
The Federal Reserve has extended by a month the comment period for a proposed rule to make stress tests for large banks more transparent.
The CFPB plans to furlough most of its staff on Dec. 31 and transfer its remaining litigation to the Justice Department, according to the news site Government Executive.
ABA and 52 state bankers associations expressed support for two bills that would raise Bank Secrecy Act reporting thresholds for currency transaction reports and suspicious activity reports, and they urged federal officials to explore further reforms.
The IRS has removed a controversial rule in a new regulation implementing a 1% excise tax on certain types of stock repurchases after ABA and others raised concerns that the language was too broad.
