Consumers Are in Trouble. Vicious Cycle Setting In

Consumers are in trouble, and many experts believe weakness in personal spending will send the economy into recession. Indeed some believe it already has.

From low- and middle-end retailers to hoity-toity luxury stores, sales are slumping.

Target reported that same-store sales dropped 5 percent in December from a year earlier, while Nordstrom sales fell 4 percent. And that was nothing compared to the carnage at Kohl’s – an 11 percent plunge – and at Macy’s, where sales fell 7.9 percent.

"This is the real deal: consumers are slowing down across the spectrum,â€