Shoppers who disappeared from the stores in early summer, are snapping up cars and other big-ticket items while raising hopes the worrisome economic slowdown in the early summer will not last long.

The Commerce Department recently reported that retail sales rebounded by 0.7 percent last month. Consumer demand for autos was strong with the return of attractive incentive offers from auto dealers.

The July increase in retail sales was led by a 2.4 percent jump in auto sales after a 3 percent drop in June. Dealers then renewed offers of financing incentives that lured buyers back to the showrooms.

The strength in July sales and the declines in jobless claims provided evidence the economy was coming out of what Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan termed as early summer’s "soft patch".

In addition to autos, other areas where sales gained included furniture stores, general merchandise stores, sporting goods stores, and entertainment (e.g. restaurants and bars). Not all areas of the retail sector grew. Sales dropped at gasoline stations and in building supply stores.

Good news on the job market:

The Labor Department reported that the number of laid-off workers filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell by 4,000 last week to 333,000, the smallest total in five weeks.

Economists said both reports should help relieve worries that an early summer slowdown could broaden into a more serious threat to the economic recovery.

The second straight weekly decline in new claims for jobless benefits raised hopes the labor market will continue to show improvements this month after job creation nearly ground to a halt in July.

Rising job gains are seen as critical to supporting future gains in consumer spending.

Fred Harteis

This column focuses on bringing our readers information ‘worth repeating’. With election day approaching, we have statements from statesmen, quips from kids and funny quotes from famous folks…about why its important to vote.

Kid Quips - Voting

It’s important to vote because my mom always says that if you don't vote you gotta keep your mouth shut because you missed your chance to say something. So voting is kewl.

- Ali - Age: 12

I think it is important to let the people of the country vote because if they didn't pick the leader/president, then it might be someone nobody likes or agrees with. That would be a mess!!

- Lynley - Age: 13

You should get to be a part of choosing who is going to be your leader, unfortunately kids like us are too young.  So, we have to live with whoever our parents and other adults pick. It really stinks!

- Jess - Age: 11

Source: www.kids.com

Funny Quotes - Voting

Favorite Funny Vote Quote: Billy Florence, E-quadnews, vice president IBOAI:

Vote early and vote often.

- Alphonese (Al) Capone

Don't buy a single vote more than necessary.

- John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Statements from Statesmen - Voting

Favorite of Fred Harteis: President Harteis International and IBOAI:

Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is not making a present or a compliment to please an individual--or at least that he ought not so to do; but that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country.

- Samuel Adams, "The Writings of Samuel Adams"

Favorite Vote Quote: Jody Victor, president of Markerman Productions:

Now more than ever the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave, and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national legislature.

- James Garfield, "A Century of Congress"

Favorite Vote Quote of Orrin Woodward, cofounder Team of Destiny:

In selecting men for office, let principle be your guide. Regard not the particular sect or denomination of the candidate--look to his character.

- Noah Webster, “Letters to a Young Gentleman"

Broadband has broad appeal. Broadband connections for the first time have reached 51% of the American online home population. Young adults and kids are the most frequent users; most seniors are still logging on via narrow band.

This 51% level means 63 million people are accessing the internet via broadband compared to 61 million accessing the internet via narrow band (e.g. dial up) reports Nielsen/Net Ratings.

“Despite a plateau in the growth of U.S. Internet access, we’ve seen continued high double-digit growth in users’ broadband access,” said Marc Ryan, senior NetRatings director and analyst.  American home broadband access last year was at 38%. This marketplace grew 13 points in a single year.

Big Impact on Content

Having more than half the homes with broadband (ISDN, Cable modems and DSL) will impact what many companies put on their sites. They are adding more streaming audio and video content that was formerly not convenient for the home user to view or download. Game players are seeing more multi-player graphically rich content being offered.

Expect to see sites  using television’s communications techniques. Advertising agencies are a busy and happy group. Several agencies are reportedly working on streaming audio and video commercials intent on capturing our broadband online attention. The advertisers and their agencies imagine us clicking in to the streaming ad to purchase the jacket the actor is wearing or the car she is driving.

Their challenge will be how to keep us from simply fast forwarding through their commercial offering.

Broadband Demographics

The broadband user is most likely to be younger. Younger adults, teens and kids who grew up with PC access are the largest group using broadband at home. They have higher expectations of how fast a page should load than older internet users.

Home broadband surfers are likely to be under age 34. The age group with the most broadband surfers is the 18 to 20 year olds. Fifty eight percent of this group accesses the internet via broadband.

The senior market segment (ages 65 +) still has the lowest number of broadband subscribers. However, over a third (34%) of the senior group now uses broadband to surf the internet.

Consistently profitable companies create and sustain a strategic competitive advantage in the marketplace. This strategic advantage is the combination of things that makes them different than their competition. We might view the competitive advantage as a moat that protects their castle of business success.

Three famous examples of sustainable competitive advantage are Coke, KFC, and Microsoft. For Coke, it’s their branding. For Microsoft, it’s their control of the personal computing operating system. KFC has several ingredients in its famous secret chicken recipe.

One mistake we see companies make time and time again is deciding that they will make price the only ingredient in their secret recipe. Choosing "price” as the company’s only sustainable, strategic, competitive advantage simply doesn’t work. Why? Because it's neither sustainable nor strategic.

Price is a tactic (short term solution) and not a strategy. All that has to happen to hurt your company is to have someone with lower business overhead enter the market and steal away all of your price sensitive customers.

Poof! You are out of money and out of business. The competition just jet skied right across your moat and took over your castle.

One reason true private labels are a growing part of many companies' sustainable competitive advantage is that they represent an important ingredient in the secret recipe. That ingredient is VALUE.

• Price is something taken from the customer.

• Value is something provided to the customer.

Product Features + Product Benefits – (Minus) Product Cost =  Product Value

A word that best represents a “true” private label is “VALUE”. The company and its products offer special features and benefits to the customers that are not available elsewhere.

Private Label items can give customers new or extra reasons to choose one store over another that carries only the same selection of name brand products.

Private Label and Store Brand – Are They The Same?

The term Private Label has become such a business success buzz word, companies are now “borrowing” it. Store brands are not the same things as “true” private labels. Store brands are regular items offered at a slightly lower price than national brands. Store brands are usually not created to deliver unique product features and benefits not available elsewhere that marks a true private label. They are created to increase the profit margin to the store.

Store brands are most likely to be a standard item (e.g., clothing, food, fixtures) wearing the company’s store brand name. Store brands are easy to spot, they are usually available at a slightly lower price than a similar national brand.

The most descriptive word for a store brand is “Savings".

The two most descriptive Private Label words are “Special” and “Value

"Originally Sam Walton had no intention of going into business for himself—he just had a suggestion that he thought would help his employer grow. However, after he was fired, Walton and his son began going to manufacturerswith a truck and hauling goods back to their small store. He was laughed at for doing it, but he eventually went on to become the richest man in North America. Walton’s story proves a point: most people are not willing to accept or welcome change, but the richest people are usually the ones who look at old trends and find ways to improve upon them.