US DATA: wk 22-Sep Redbook: “Sales growth declined slightly from
the previous week. Some stores reported modest business in Halloween
merchandise. Halloween falls on October 31st, but retailers say shopping
for the event begins earlier and tends to generate more sales volume
each year. Among merchandise categories, consumables and other basic
groups generally led business at discounters, suggesting sales driven by
every day domestic demand in the absence of any clear seasonal or other
trends. With back-to-school now largely completed, most stores reported
that business was satisfactory.”

Year-over-year: Week (w/e 09/22/12 vs year-ago) 2.0%
Year-over-year: Month (September 2012 vs September 2011) 2.4%
Month-over-month: (September 2012 vs August 2012) 1.7%