Sales are going the way they did in the last two years, which was after Thanksgiving, things settled down. But we also see, I think, the power of weather on these numbers.

If there were no sales tax-free holidays, would the situation be any different for consumers? We asked consumers that question in a survey, and 70 percent said a tax-free week didn't affect their shopping.

If we see (after-Thanksgiving) sales growth over 5 or 6 percent, that's a very positive indication of a good holiday season, if they can sustain it.

Can you raise the question of whether the retail industry is finally on the mend? Given the picture that's developing here, tentatively at least you can say, yeah. Certainly we can make more upbeat comments on the holiday season.

Wow, wow, wow, ... We saw widespread gains across categories last month. Looking at the ex-auto component, the (favorable) comparisons are reaching back all the way to March 2000, prior to the slowdown at the peak of the economic recovery.

It was an OK year, not a boom, not a bust.