The new General Motors Co. said Friday it was worried about regaining consumer confidence following its exit from Chapter 11, and that its sales won't improve in 2009 as U.S. economic troubles continue. In a sweeping review of its business filed late Friday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, GM also said it plans to register 3.5 billion shares of ...

There's just something about a recession that makes people want to do funny things. Like wannabe comics who are out of a job and hoping amateur hour at comedy clubs could be the ticket to a paycheck - and maybe stardom. Because, really, how hard could that be? At New York City's Gotham Comedy Club, co-owner Chris Mazzilli says he saw ...

Sluggish consumer spending is forcing retailers to either find a niche, cut prices or risk losing business. Concerns mounted about the crucial back-to-school season as July sales dipped 5 percent, according to a survey of major chains by the International Council of Shopping Centers. The anemic sales are an indication that consumers—skittish because of rising unemployment and a treacherous housing market—are ...

Car shoppers caught up in the frenzy of the "cash-for-clunkers" program will have more time now and a $2 billion reason to trade in their old gas guzzlers. The Senate voted to refill the popular car incentive program on Thursday, tripling the $1 billion fund that has led to big crowds at once deserted auto showrooms. President Barack Obama will sign ...

General Motors Co. said it would turn to the Internet auction site eBay to sell new cars and trucks, beginning with a pilot program of California inventories. "Together with eBay Motors, GM and our dealers are reinventing the car-buying experience for our California customers," GM's Vice President for U.S. Sales Mark LaNeve said in a statement. Used cars have been frequently ...

Some kids watch cartoons on Saturday mornings. I watched infomercials. My favorite was for a chemical that magically removed paint from wood without damaging it. I didn't have any antiques covered in layers of paint, but I wanted that chemical product. I had to see for myself: how did it work such magic? The truth is, it probably didn't. Infomercials are ...

Ford Motor Co. said Sunday that U.S. sales of its new cars and trucks in July exceeded those of July 2008, the first year-over-year sales increase for a domestic automaker since January 2008. Part of the reason for Ford's increase was consumers' enthusiastic response to the federal government's cash-for-clunkers program, which provides vouchers of $3,500-$4,500 on the trade-in of gas guzzlers ...

PayPal suffered periodic breakdowns that crimped Internet sales for more than four hours Monday. The main outage occurred from 1:30 p.m. EDT through 2:30 p.m. when PayPal was unable to process any transactions worldwide, according to company spokesman Anuj Nayar. The online payment service continued to experience scattered problems until about 6:10 p.m EDT. A bad piece of hardware caused the ...

At 10, Lamont Williams' ideal business is to grow vegetables in the backyard of his house and sell them at a farmer's market. "A lot of people like sweets, so I am trying to sell more veggies," said the rising fifth-grader at W.A. Walton Elementary School in Prince George County. "Since this is nutritional, people will be buying it." This summer, ...

Retailers are bracing for another weak holiday season - or not. A recent survey by the retail trade publication RIS News showed only one in six retailers believe this holiday season will be worse than last, but more than 85% said "weak customer demand" will be their biggest challenge. Consumer insights firm BIGresearch reports nearly a third of consumers say they ...

Looking for a quick, cheap getaway? A bargain may be just a tweet away. JetBlue and United airlines are offering their Twitter followers first dibs on some discounted fares, using the uber-trendy form of messaging to quickly connect with customers and fill seats on flights that might otherwise take off less than full. Like the e-mails that many airlines began to ...

Top-selling vehicles in the US in July By The Associated Press Automakers released July U.S. sales figures Monday. These were the top-selling vehicles, as well as the total number sold and the percent change in sales from July 2008. Rank Vehicle June 2009 Sales Percent Change 1. Ford F-series 36,327 -19.0 2. Toyota Camry/Solara 33,974 -19.4 3. Honda Civic 30,037 ...

MarketResearch.com has announced the addition of eMarketer's new report "Retail E-Commerce Forecast: Cautious Optimism" to their collection of Media & Publishing market reports. For more information, visit MarketResearch.com. US retail e-commerce sales (excluding travel) will total $132 billion in 2009, down 0.4% from 2008. Assuming the recession ends this year, as many economists predict, eMarketer forecasts online sales will begin to ...

The economy's free fall has stopped, lifting hopes that growth will begin soon. But layoffs likely will continue even into next year. Economists provided that reading of the tea leaves Friday upon news that the pace of the recession had slowed dramatically. America's gross domestic product fell at a modest 1 percent annual rate in the three months that ended June ...

Sales jobs can be overwhelming and stressful. To be successful, there really isn't any downtime. Learning how to manage stress and channel it through positive means is vital, not just for a successful career but for your happiness and well-being too. If you don’t take time to unwind, constant stress can lead to a number of physical and psychological problems, like ...

EBay Inc. wants to attract more buyers to its online marketplace. So it's trying a new way of rewarding good sellers. Traditionally eBay has offered discounts and other perks to "PowerSellers" - the merchants who sold the most stuff on the site. Under a new program it was unveiling Monday, eBay is giving top-tier status to sellers who have very little ...

A cleaning products salesman from Ambler was sentenced to three years probation today for paying $13,500 in illegal kickbacks to employees of SEPTA, the Philadelphia Housing Authority, the Veterans Administration, and the Naval Surface Warfare Center. William Waterman, 68, a sales agent for the Illinois-based Drummond American Corp., pleaded guilty in May 2007 to four counts of mail fraud and aiding ...

In the latest sign that the battered housing market is healing, sales of new homes in June jumped a bigger-than-expected 11% from May, and the inventory of new homes for sale continued to shrink. Sales of new homes, driven largely by lower prices and mortgage rates, sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000 units last month, vs. 346,000 in ...

Pour out a few of those tiny packs of hot sauce in remembrance. As you may have heard, Gidget, more commonly known as the "Yo Quiero Taco Bell" Chihuahua, passed away last week at the age of 15. An advertising stroke of genius, the Chihuahua's computer effects-assisted Spanish-language calls for pseudo-Mexican fast-food cuisine became a minor cultural touchstone after the commercials ...

Retail sales in the United States rose slightly in the week ending July 25, the International Council of Shopping Centers reported Wednesday. Sales were up 1 percent compared to the previous week and down 0.5 percent compared to the same week a year ago, the weekly ICSC-Goldman Sachs report said. In the week, discount and dollar stores proved to be the ...