Fred Business News - The holiday season is bringing cheer to most electronics makers, but the outlook for computer makers looks a little less joyful.

Overall holiday PC sales are up from last year, but growth isn't as strong as it was in 2005, according to preliminary results for Black Friday week from technology research firm Current Analysis.

"What you're seeing is a shift in consumer spending towards other product categories during the holidays," said Samir Bhavnani, director of research for Current Analysis.

The day after Thanksgiving, ...   more »

Fred Business News - Best Buy will match Wal-Mart's deep price cuts this holiday season, the CEO of the nation's largest consumer electronics store said Wednesday.

"We will match or beat any pricing in the marketplace," CEO Brad Anderson said during a forum on innovation hosted by Fortune magazine.

Anderson made the comments in response to questions about Wal-Mart's pricing strategy this season.

The world's largest retailer has rolled back prices on a slew of products, including hot electronics like flat-screen TVs, for the holidays.

Wal-Mart's ...   more »

Fred Business News -After having secured their Black Friday deals, shoppers next turned to e-tailers to pick up more holiday discounts on Cyber Monday, the online retail world's version of Black Friday.

According to a Shop.org survey, about 61 million consumers plan to shop online from home or at work on one of the biggest online shopping days of the year.

Early morning online traffic trends already indicated a sharp spike in the North America region, said Jennifer Donovan, spokeswoman for online business solutions provider Akamai.

According ...   more »

Fred Business News - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. predicted surprisingly weak November sales on Saturday, even as U.S. bargain-hunters jammed stores in search of gifts at the start of the crucial holiday shopping season.

The world's biggest retailer estimated that November sales fell 0.1 percent at its U.S. stores open at least a year. That would mark Wal-Mart's first monthly same-store sales decline since April 1996; Wal-Mart will provide a final monthly sales report on Thursday.

The forecast was a cautionary note for retailers as they began a second ...   more »

Fred Business News - Almost a third of Americans plan to spend less on the holidays this year, mainly because they need to use their money for daily expenses, according to a survey released Tuesday.

The Consumer Federation of America and the Credit Union National Association found 32 percent of shoppers want to spend less than they did during the 2005 holidays. About half of the survey's roughly 1,000 respondents said they would like to spend about the same. Only 15 percent intended to spend more.

Rising energy ...   more »

Fred Business News - The Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday disclosed that it asked Ford to detail its business ties to Syria, Iran and Sudan - three countries the U.S. government considers "terrorist-sponsoring states."

In a chain of correspondence, released on Friday but dating back to July, the SEC asked Ford to demonstrate that its "reputation and share value" were not at risk because of its business in those countries.

In mid-August, Ford said it sells vehicles through dealerships in Syria, while its Land Rover ...   more »

Fred  Business News - The Web site for Wal-Mart, the world's No. 1 retailer, was periodically unavailable on one of the busiest shopping days of the year "due to a higher than anticipated traffic surge," a Wal-Mart representative said Friday.

At approximately 6 a.m. ET on Black Friday, Wal-Mart online shoppers received a message that read "Walmart.com is temporarily unavailable while we make important upgrades to our site."

The Web site was up and down throughout the morning and afternoon, at times displaying a text-only version ...   more »