Today in business: 5 things you need to know

Sales fall at U.S. stores, Starbucks cuts bagged-coffee prices, and more in our roundup of the business stories that are making news and driving opinion

Now's a good time to bulk up on Starbucks' bagged coffee.
(Image credit: Starbucks)

1. RETAIL SALES FALL

Sales fell by 0.4 percent at U.S. stores in March, the steepest drop in nine months, according to data released by the Commerce Department on Friday. The decline was bigger than expected — economists had forecast a 0.1 percent fall — and it came as the figures for sales in January and February were revised lower. The news weighed on stocks, as analysts said it suggested it was an indication that this year's increase in Social Security taxes and February's rise in gas prices had hit consumers hard. "The economy appears to have lost some momentum," says Paul Dales, senior economist at Capital Economics. [Associated Press]

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.