Retail sales plummeted by 1.9% in December after several months of consecutive increases, the Commerce Department reported Friday.
The report was far worse than expectations, with the consensus among economists being that retail sales would actually increase slightly. Additionally, the November gain was revised down a bit to 0.2%.
"Loss in momentum in November turned into a sharp weakening in December," noted Rubeela Farooqi, the chief U.S. economist for High Frequency Economics.
The stock market was down after Friday’s report following news of the retail sales numbers and a mixed set of bank earnings......snip~
Retail sales plunged 1.9% in December | Washington Examiner
But but but Jen Psaki said Joe saved Christmas.