Why U.S. Retail Sales Ended 2015 Poorly

According to the Commerce Department U.S. retail sales unexpectedly fell in December as unseasonably warm weather undercut sales of winter apparel and cheaper gasoline weighed on receipts at service stations, adding to signs that economic growth braked sharply in the fourth quarter. The Commerce Department said on Friday retail sales slipped 0.1% after an upwardly revised 0.4% gain in November. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales unchanged after a previously reported 0.2% rise in November. For all of 2015, retail sales rose 2.1%, the weakest reading since 2009, after rising 3.9% in 2014. Read more at Fortune.