Byline: Joyce M. Rosenberg Associated Press
When Halloween decorations come down this week and stores start putting up Christmas trees and wreaths, retailers will begin what is expected to be their bleakest holiday season in years.
The faltering economy and the Persian Gulf crisis already have put a big crimp in consumer spending, with retail sales falling dramatically in August and September. No one realistically expects shoppers to put caution aside when they start looking for gifts.
"It's going to be a tough Christmas," said Jeffrey Edelman, a retail industry analyst with Barclays de Zoete Wedd Inc. "The only question is, 'How bad is it going to be?'"
Daniel Barry, of Kidder Peabody & Co., was more blunt: "I think this is going to be one of the worst Christmases in two …
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