What recession? Holiday sales expected to rise amid boost in ad spend

Shoppers appear unfazed by a potential recession, tariff uncertainty and an impeachment inquiry in Washington. The National Retail Federation, which released its annual holiday sales forecast Thursday, says retail sales will increase between 3.8 percent and 4.2 percent during the last two months of the year, compared with the year-earlier period. That’s a total of as much as $730.7 billion for the crucial holiday period.“It’s a strong forecast despite all that uncertainty,&rdqu