11.   Te Johnson Redbook Service said today retail sales rose last week as cooler weather sparked back-to-school sales.

12.   That offset Peabody Coal, the largest U.S. coal miner, where Hanson said sales rose but profit fell because of new lower-priced Midwest coal contracts.

13.   The government said inventories shrank in September and sales rose, suggesting the economy may pick up steam as companies replenish their stocks to satisfy consumer demand.

14.   The price increases come as U.S. cigarette sales rose slightly last year.

15.   There was little reaction to a Confederation of British Industry survey showing retail sales rose at their highest annual rate for two years in December, traders said.

16.   U.S. retail sales rose slightly from the previous month in a slow end to the disappointing holiday sales season, said LJR Redbook Research.

17.   U.S. automobile sales likely rose in April from weak year-ago levels, as rich incentives and cheap loan rates lured buyers into dealer showrooms, analysts said.

18.   U.S. retail sales rose at a slower rate in August and inflation at the wholesale level remained practically invisible, a combination investors judged to be just right.

19.   Retail sales rose modestly in January and -- due to a revision in the December data -- have not fallen for nine straight months.

20.   Gross margins on sales of clothing and household goods fell from a year earlier, but margins on food sales rose.