Retail sales grow 0.2% in August

Fighting rising gas prices and fiscal uncertainty, consumers helped provide another modest boost to the economy thanks to a solid showing during the back-to-school shopping season. According to the National Retail Federation, August industry sales (excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants) rose by 0.2 percent seasonally unadjusted from July and 3.8 percent unadjusted year-over-year. Read the National Retail Federation report here.