Retailers’ Sales Limp in August: Most of...

Retailers’ Sales Limp in August: Most of the nation’s big retailers posted mediocre to poor August sales--a performance that some fear may foreshadow weak fall and Christmas business. Concerns about U.S. involvement in the Middle East have made consumers who already had economic worries even more nervous about spending. At Sears, same-store sales were up 4.1%. On a same-store basis, K mart’s sales edged up 1.6%, while Wal-Mart Stores bucked the trend, rising 13%. Los Angeles-based Carter Hawley Hale Stores Inc., which operates Broadway department stores, reported that same-store sales were up a scant 0.1%.