The Economy.(A)

Chain store sales fell last week;

same-store sales also disappoint

Chain store sales slipped 0.3% last week from the week before, said the Bank ofTokyo-Mitsubishi and UBS Warburg in their weekly report. Year over year, salesrose 3.1% vs. a 3.5% rise the week before. Meanwhile, Redbook Research reported same-store sales were flat so far in December from November. "Customertraffic remained slow . although the average transaction was ahead of la

st year," Redbook said. Year over year, same-store sales are up 2.1%.

The November Richmond Federal Reserve manufacturing survey points to a cooling in the region.

Retailers await last-minute …