A survey released this weekend by the bean-counters at Deloitte Research predicts that holiday spending will be flat this year, which means another lousy year for retailers, but could also lead to some bargains as desperate merchants try anything to lure you into the store. “Many consumers remain burdened by restricted credit availability, high unemployment and foreclosures,” Carl Steidtmann, chief economist with Deloitte Research, told Reuters. What was that about the recession again? Oh, right. Over.

Holiday spending seen flat [Reuters]

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