"Strong sales on Black Friday may simply reflect households bringing forward some of their intended holiday spending rather than a sign that spending over the whole holiday period will be strong..."

US consumer spending fell for the first time in five months in September, coinciding with the end of the government's car scrappage scheme.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission in cooperation with Sony have announced a voluntary recall of the Sony VGP-AC19V17 AC adpator which was supplied for use with certain Sony all-in-one desktop computers and docking stations. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately and contact Sony to arrange for a free replacement.

Japan's exports fell by the smallest margin in 10 months in September, showing a deep slump in the world's second-largest economy may be easing.

The influential lobby group Consumer Electronics Assn. is fighting what appears to be a losing battle to dissuade California regulators from passing the nation's first ban on energy-hungry big-screen televisions.

Consumer sentiment as measured by the Reuters/University of Michigan index fell to 69.4 in early October, below the 73.5 print in late September, which economists were expecting would remain unchanged.

German conglomerate Siemens and US powerhouse General Electric (GE) have both underlined their commitment to the renewable energy sector after shelling out to acquire two high-profile Israeli solar energy firms.

A slow and still-fragile recovery is taking hold across the US.

US consumers slashed their borrowing by a record amount in July as rising job losses and uncertainty about an economic recovery hit home.

Sony Entertainment has announced it is reducing the price of its PlayStation 3 games consoles. In Europe the price has been lowered to 299 euros, in the US to US$299 and in the UK to £249.99.

Singapore revised slightly higher its economic growth in the second quarter, but warned US consumption must pick up to sustain the recovery.

William Ogle, who was most recently chief marketing officer at Samsung Telecommunications America, will head marketing, advertising and brand strategy for Motorola's flagship business.

Back-to-school spending is set to slip 7.7% in 2009, according to a survey. Families say they'll spend less than they did last year to get kids ready for the fall, relying heavily on sales and coupons.

Rather than a costly cap-and-trade system, the US should invest in more environmentally sound renewable projects.

Fresh signs of weakness in the US job market have underlined the strains on a recession-struck US economy that contracted slightly less in the first quarter than previously thought.

The slump in Japan's exports showed little sign of relenting in May, with auto exports to the US down more than half, adding to doubts about a quick recovery from the global recession.

A handful of US senators are growing increasingly concerned with the exclusivity agreements that wireless carriers are signing with device makers.

Colorado gained jobs in "clean energy" industries twice as fast as the state's job-growth rate as a whole in the 10 years ending in 2007, according to a study.

The construction project is expected to take approximately two years to complete and an additional 12 to 18 months to ramp to full operating mode, with volume production anticipated in roughly 2012.