EDGE on the Net

The Christmas shopping season doesn’t kick off for another six weeks, but retailers already are signaling they’re prepared to discount aggressively if needed to entice shoppers still skittish about spending

Americans kept spending carefully last month, buying electronics and back-to-school clothes but holding back on luxuries.

Americans in both the living room and the boardroom are growing more fearful about the economy, creating a Catch-22 for the job market: Shoppers won’t spend until they feel more secure, and business won’t hire until people start spending.

Consumer spending, propelled by the wildly popular Cash for Clunkers auto sales program, shot up in August by the largest amount in nearly eight years even though personal incomes continued to lag.