Niemira says only half of americans polled recently have finished their Holiday Shopping. The consumer is behind on their completion. That means we rely much more on the next few days for it to pick up dramatically. Reporter because of all the fiscal cliff doom and gloom, retailers are worried. And perhaps they should be. After all americans think their personal finances will take a hit next year. And that might mean fewer gifts under the tree. We believe that the post black friday lull that weve seen in the last three weeks that consumers are spending at a very restrained rate simply because they dont have the money and theres a little bit of a fear factor out there. Reporter but, there are those who say its wrong to credit the fiscal cliff for the lackluster Holiday Shopping season. More likely they think shoppers are playing a game of chicken with retailers, waiting for more stores to drop prices. If thats true, shoppers may be disappointed. Will retailers react to the softness weve
Reporter retail expert mike niemira says only half of americans polled recently have finished their Holiday Shopping. The consumer is behind on their completion. That means we rely much more on the next few days for it to pick up dramatically. Reporter because of all the fiscal cliff doom and gloom, retailers are worried. And perhaps they should be. After all americans think their personal finances will take a hit next year. And that might mean fewer gifts under the tree. We believe that the post black friday lull that weve seen in the last three weeks that consumers are spending at a very restrained rate simply because they dont have the money and theres a little bit of a fear factor out there. Reporter but, there are those who say its wrong to credit the fiscal cliff for the lackluster Holiday Shopping season. More likely they think shoppers are playing a game of chicken with retailers, waiting for more stores to drop prices. If thats true, shoppers may be disappointed. Will retailer
New urgency in iraq right now as insurgents attack the biggest oil refinery. Baghdad is bracing for a terrorist onlaslaught and askin for u. S. Help namely air strikes and they look over a list of likely targets. President obama has been muddling with top lawmakers and is meeting this hour with secretary of state john kerry. Our correspondents and analysts are standing by to bring you all of the coverage that only cnn can deliver. We begin with our chief National Security correspondent jim shuno, jim . The pentagon has presented the president with several options for iraq including sending military advisers and limited air strikes. I am told there is a draft target list and that list is very fluid and constantly being reevaluated. Meanwhile, today we saw the regional implications as iraq accused saudi arabia of backing isis militants, a charge saudi arabia vehemently denied this as those militants continued their march towards baghdad. For isis militants more celebration. This time, pa