WASHINGTON (FNS) -- Consumer confidence dropped for the second consecutive month in March -- a sign that recent interest rate hikes and increasing oil prices could be chilling consumers' willingness to spend.The...
WASHINGTON (FNS) -- E-commerce sales for the fourth quarter of 1999 totaled $5.3 billion -- 0.64% of total retail sales, according to the Commerce Department's first-ever e-sales report."Obviously, as a percent of all...
WASHINGTON (FNS) -- Consumer confidence dipped in February for the first time since October, after hitting an all-time high in January.The Consumer Confidence Index for the month, released Tuesday by the Conference...
WASHINGTON -- Wholesale prices for food increased 0.1% in January after showing no change in December, according to Labor Department statistics.Year-over-year prices were down 0.4%.In January, increased prices for...
WASHINGTON (FNS) -- Retail food prices dropped 0.1% in January, after registering small increases each month throughout 1999, according to data released by the Labor Department.Year-over-year, however, prices were up...
WASHINGTON [FNS] -- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration here has extended the public comment period on its proposed ergonomics regulation by one month, but industry officials say it's not enough time.Two...
WASHINGTON (FNS) -- Paranoia over Y2K sent retail sales at grocery stores skyrocketing in December, according to figures released by the Commerce Department last week.Sales at grocery stores increased 2.0% in December...
WASHINGTON [FNS] -- Employment at food stores increased by 7,000 in December, after dropping 3,000 workers in November, according to Labor Department statistics.Food stores employed a seasonally adjusted 3.485 million...
Food-industry associations last week said the Y2K crisis showed the supermarket business at its best.They pointed to the cooperation among associations and companies that made a smooth transition into the New Year...
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture has given the meat industry the long awaited green-light to irradiate meat products to reduce or eliminate E. coli 0157:H7 and other hazardous foodborne pathogens like...