Commerce Department

Should the Next Commerce Secretary Be a Tech Exec (or Would It Cause a Schmidtstorm?)

Kara Swisher in News on March 8, 2011 at 6:30 am PT

Yesterday, the Obama administration dribbled out the news that it was going to nominate current Commerce Secretary Gary Locke as the next ambassador to China. The move leaves open a post that could get a true turbocharge if it were filled by an exec from the fast-growing and innovative digital arena. Here are BoomTown’s nominations.

Online Purchases Helped Boost Strong Retail Sales in 2010

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on January 14, 2011 at 9:45 am PT

Don’t call it a boom yet, but retail sales in 2010 saw the biggest gains since 1999, with the help of online retailers like Amazon.

Call the Geek Squad, Best Buy's in Trouble

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on December 14, 2010 at 10:16 am PT

If you didn’t know better, you’d think Best Buy’s third-quarter earnings report, released today, had been written by the Grinch.

Voices

Watchdog Planned for Online Privacy

Julia Angwin, Editor, Digits, The Wall Street Journal in News on November 12, 2010 at 5:00 am PT

The Obama Administration is preparing a stepped-up approach to policing Internet privacy that calls for new laws and the creation of a new position to oversee the effort, according to people familiar with the situation.

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Broadband Providers Big and Small Seek Dollars

Amy Schatz, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in News on August 27, 2009 at 12:25 pm PT

Obama officials received some 2,200 applications from companies and organizations for some of the $7.2 billion in stimulus money set aside by Congress to build out new high-speed Internet lines and services.

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Electronics Store Sales Fall 2.8 Percent In April From March

Eric Savitz, Blogger and Columnist, Barron's, Tech Trader Daily in News on May 13, 2009 at 9:40 am PT

Consumers still aren’t buying gadgets. The latest Commerce Department retail sales data, which showed a disappointing 0.4 percent fall overall in April from March, includes a 2.8 percent drop in sales at electronics and appliance stores, which is worse than any other individual category.

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Amazon, eBay Skid on Worries Over Retail Sales

Eric Savitz, Blogger and Columnist, Barron's, Tech Trader Daily in News on January 14, 2009 at 11:13 am PT

The broad market is getting clobbered this morning in part by the extremely weak Commerce Department report on December retail sales–and investors are demonstrating particular zeal for dumping both Amazon.com and eBay.

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Retail Sales: Ugly. Consumer Electronics Sales: Uglier.

Eric Savitz, Blogger and Columnist, Barron's, Tech Trader Daily in News on October 15, 2008 at 12:57 pm PT

The stock market is getting whacked today by a Commerce Department report that shows retail sales were down 1.2 percent in September, the biggest decline in three years. The AP notes that retail sales have fallen for three straight months–the first time that has occurred since the government began tracking the measure in 1992.