<p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060105/bs_nm/retail_sales_dc"><img src="http://us.news3.yimg.com/us.i2.yimg.com/p/nm/20060105/2006_01_05t080806_450x288_us_retail_federated_sale s.jpg?x=130&amp;y=83&amp;sig=oo7Us8lH5FTw_qdA_o0vd w--" align="left" height="83" width="130" alt="Last minute shoppers are seen at Macy's in New York, December 24, 2005. U.S. retailers met modest December sales goals on Thursday as deep discounts drew budget-conscious holiday shoppers, but a disappointing profit forecast from Wal-Mart raised concerns about the vital fourth quarter. (Seth Wenig/Reuters)" border="0" /></a>Reuters - Deep December discounts lured holiday
shoppers and pushed sales slightly ahead of modest
expectations, top U.S. retailers reported on Thursday, but a
disappointing profit forecast from Wal-Mart raised concerns
about the vital fourth quarter.</p><br clear=all>

View the entire article: Discounts drive US retail sales; profits a worry (Reuters)