Retail sales experience mild slowdown in June

NEW YORK (AP) ? Retail sales growth stalled in June, leaving merchants wondering whether shoppers who were resilient for much of the year are now curbing their spending because of higher gas prices.

As merchants issued their sales reports Thursday, disappointments included Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Federated Department Stores Inc. and Limited Brands Inc. There were also the usual laggards ? Gap Inc. and Pier 1 Imports Inc., which again suffered sales drops. Winners included Target Corp., J.C. Penney Co. Inc. and AnnTaylor Stores Corp.

Rainy weather that wiped out demand for summer clothes also hurt sales for some retailers. And many merchants had to compare their results against very strong business a year ago, making this year’s sales look a little weaker than they really were.

? ? ? ? ?

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) ? The Florida Supreme Court lifted a huge burden from U.S. tobacco companies Thursday when it threw out a record $145 billion punitive damage award against them even though it agreed the companies had misled smokers about the dangers of lighting up.

The court also ruled that individual smokers could sue the companies ? and gave plaintiffs a potent legal weapon by upholding the trial jury’s finding that the companies had negligently misled the public about the dangers and addictive nature of cigarettes.

The court, which deemed the July 2000 award excessive, also approved an appellate court ruling that it had been a mistake to certify the lawsuit as a class-action representing an estimated 300,000 to 700,000 Floridians made ill by smoking.

? ? ? ? ?

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Employers boosted payrolls by a tepid 121,000 in June _ an improvement from the previous month but new evidence that companies are reluctant to bulk up their work forces in the face of high energy prices and slowing economic growth. Wages rose sharply.

The Labor Department’s fresh snapshot of job activity released Friday also showed that the nation’s civilian unemployment rate held steady at 4.6 percent.

The pickup in payrolls last month followed a gain of 92,000 in May, which turned out to be slightly higher than the 75,000 positions first reported.