The Big Picture
By Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 4/26/2004
U.S. retail sales for March were $333 billion, an increase of 1.8 percent over February and up 8.2 percent from March 2003, according to the Census Bureau.
Consumer Price IndexThe consumer price index increased 0.6 percent in March, the U.S. Department of Labor reported. Energy costs advanced sharply for the third consecutive month, and were up by 1.9 percent in March.
Unemployment Claims360,000 initial jobless claims were filed during the week ending April 10, up 30,000 from the previous week. It was the largest increase since December 2002.
