Likely consumer spending is coming from the upper 25% of income distribution...who have Internet connections and who shop for books and other high end products on line...
The decline in gas prices "freed up" money for paying other essential bills for many consumers...perhaps even past credit card debt...so any increase in consumer spending is not likely to result. And then there is the "creative mortgage" debacle still unfolding and the collapse of real estate SALES AND PRICES...which looms large for the markets in 2007...
