| Rent a time-share and stay for less and Stocks set to swing higher |
| News - Financial News |
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Time-share owners hawk their slots on Craigslist, but you get a wider selection -- and fewer worries -- via sites working with property managers.The find: $1,862 for a week in a one-bedroom unit, with a sleeper sofa, at Lake Tahoe Vacation Resort in South Lake Tahoe, Nev., vs. $2,814 for two rooms at a nearby inn.Orlando and Las Vegas may be the time-share capitals of the U.S., but these resort hotspots don't have a monopoly on the idea. You can find time-shares in places such as Newport, R.I., and Traverse City, Mich.The find: $2,377 weekly for a one-bedroom unit at Wyndham La Belle Maison in New Orleans, vs. $3,953 for two rooms down the street.A smart search will uncover more time-shares on major travel sites such as Travelocity (look for "kitchenettes") and sites of big hotel chains (try keywords such as "vacation club," "residence," or "villa"). [Read the full article] The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that retail sales were up 0.2% compared to October. The result was well short of the 0.6% increase forecast by economists surveyed by Briefing.com, and the 0.6% gain posted in October.The story was similar when auto sales were excluded. Those sales increased by only 0.2%, well off the 0.5% forecast.While the numbers might have disappointed forecasters, any concern about the holiday season was tempered by the fact that November came on the heels of two months of big sales increases.With that in mind, Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wells Fargo, says holiday sales are still on track for a strong season."The level of sales is still extremely, extremely strong," Vitner said. "The categories that matter most for holiday shopping were all up solidly."One of those categories -- electronics and appliance store sales -- increased by 2.1% over the previous month. [Read the full article] NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Electronics retailer Best Buy reported a large drop in quarterly earnings Tuesday, as weak sales in the months leading up to Thanksgiving cast a shadow on the all-important holiday season.Shares of Best Buy (BBY, Fortune 500) tumbled $3.23, or 11.6%, to $24.83 in early trading. Shares are now down more than 27% since the start of the year. Investors fretted the company's future even though Best Buy confirmed its full fiscal-year earnings guidance.Best Buy posted operating income of $328 million, or 47 cents a share, in the period ended Nov. 26, down 13% from a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had forecast earnings of 51 cents a share.While revenue was up 2%, higher expenses, including $137 million in restructuring charges, drove down its profit margin to 2.7% from 3.2% a year earlier. Hurting, in particular, was the promotion of free shipping on online orders. [Read the full article] 
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