MasterCard Shows 2005 Holiday Sales Rose 8.7% - WSJ

According to reports from the Wall Street Journal, which cited SpendingPulse, a retail-sales data service from MasterCard, holiday spending was up 8.7% from last year. According to the data, home furnishings was the strongest with sales up 15%, consumer electronics grew 11%, sporting goods, books, music and video rose 6.4%, Women's apparel showed a 8.2% gain, Men's apparel rose 6.2%, furniture sales rose 5.3%. Showing a decline was jewelry, which fell 4.6%.

Stocks: Home Furnishings: Restoration Hardware Inc. (Nasdaq: RSTO), Bombay Company Inc. (NYSE: BBA), Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (Nasdaq: BBBY), Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (NYSE: PIR), Williams-Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM), Linens'n Things (NYSE: LIN); Consumer Electronics: Best Buy (NYSE: BBY), Circut City (NYSE: CC), Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), RadioShack Corporation (NYSE: RSH), GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME), Sony (NYSE: SNE); Sporting Goods, Books, Music and Video; Hibbett Sporting Goods Inc. (Nasdaq: HIBB), Dick's (NYSE: DKS), Big 5 Sporting Goods (Nasdaq: BGFV), Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE: BGP), Amazon.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN), Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS), Gander Mountain Company (Nasdaq: GMTN); Men's & Women's Apparel: Chico's FAS Inc. (NYSE: CHS), AnnTaylor Stores Corp. (NYSE: ANN), BEBE Stores, Inc. (Nasdaq: BEBE), Saks (NYSE: SKS), Dress Barn Inc. (Nasdaq: DBRN), Deb Shops Inc. (Nasdaq: DEBS), Limited, Inc. (NYSE: LTD), Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN), Federated Department Stores Inc. (NYSE: FD), Gap (NYSE: GPS), Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF), Urban Outfitters Inc. (Nasdaq: URBN), Jos. A Bank Clothiers Inc. (Nasdaq: JOSB), American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (Nasdaq: AEOS); Jewelry: Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF), Blue Nile Inc. (Nasdaq: NILE), Zale Corporation (NYSE: ZLC).

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