With the holidays quickly approaching, the retail sector of the U.S. economy is gearing up for a short stretch that could make or break profitability forecasts and the mid-term outlook for companies that have exhibited surprising strength over the past 12 months. Retailers are already preparing for blow-out sales, Black Friday mania, and the oncoming slew of Christmas shoppers. Investors are focused on the retail sector this time of year as many companies generate significant portions of annual revenues and profit during the holiday months of November and December. Last year’s holiday season saw sales skyrocket more than 5% in comparison to 2010. Unfortunately, projections for this year’s season aren’t as cheery and can be sufficiently summed up as being average [see also Gold And Silver In A Correlation Bubble?]. The National Retail Federation estimates that sales in the months of November and December will increase a moderate 2.8%. So it looks as if [...] Click here to read the original article on ETFdb.com. Related Posts: Judgment Day For Retail ETFs This Week in ETFs: April 9th Edition Tough Times For Retail ETFs Strong September Sales Boost Retail ETFs Surprising ETF Standouts Of 2011