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Consumer Confidential: Retail sales up, gold up, airline comfort down

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Here’s your trying-hard Tuesday roundup of consumer news from around the Web:

--Retail sales rose in August by the largest amount in five months. In economic terms, that’s what’s known as a good thing. It wasn’t exactly a rip-roaring month -- sales up 0.4% -- but it’s being taken by the pencil-pushing crowd as an indication that the economy is indeed lurching in the right direction and we aren’t headed for another bout of recession. All I know is that the back-to-school shopping I had to do for my kid must have surely pushed the sales meter higher.

--But some investors seem to think we’re still going to heck in a handbasket. Gold prices surged to a record $1,273 an ounce as investors funneled cash into the metal as a haven from economic headwinds. Gold has been riding a wave of pessimism that things will only get worse and the dollar will tank and life as we know it will end (thanks, Glenn Beck!). You can believe that if you want. Me, I choose not to be quite so fear-addled.

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--On the other hand: Airlines are preparing to make us even more miserable by introducing what’s being called the most cramped seat in aviation history. The SkyRider seat is a saddle-style contraption that would allow airlines to squeeze in even more passengers per flight. Basically you’d perch on the saddle and tuck your legs underneath. The SkyRider boasts an impressive 23-inch seat pitch. What’s that mean? Seat pitch is the distance between the same point on two seats. Most airlines offer a minimum seat pitch of about 30 inches. The SkyRider thus places your face almost right against the seat in front of you. Can’t wait.

-- David Lazarus

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