Gas Trumping Urge to Splurge On Clothes ; Stimulus Boost Less Than Hoped

Summary

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NEW YORK Apparel retailers who once saw the government's economic stimulus plan as way to heat up winter's dismal sales are wondering if it's ever going to get warm.

For companies that had hoped consumers would spend their $110 billion in stimulus cash on new clothes, those hopes seem to be fading particularly as the average price of a gallon of gas nears $4.

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Gas Trumping Urge to Splurge On Clothes ; Stimulus Boost Less Than Hoped

"The retailers are being very, very cautious as far as any expectations," said Patricia Edwards, a portfolio manager and retail analyst at Wentworth, Hauser & Violich in Seattle. "I don't think anyone is hanging their hat on t...

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