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WASHINGTON — According to a new spending survey from the National Retail Federation (NRF), consumer spending for Easter 2013 will be flat when compared to the holiday last year.

The NRF 2013 Easter Spending Survey, conducted by BIGinsight, was designed to gauge consumer behavior and shopping trends related to Easter. The poll of 5,050 consumers was conducted from March 5 to 11, 2013.

WASHINGTON — According to the National Retail Federation, eager holiday shoppers helped November retail sales — excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants — increase 0.8% seasonally adjusted from October and increase 4.4% unadjusted year-over-year. The NRF also expects holiday sales to grow 4.1% over the last holiday season.

WASHINGTON — A survey released by the National Retail Federation and conducted by BIGInsight found that the average parent will spend $688.62 on back-to-school items this year, compared with $603.63 last year. Total spending is expected to reach $30.3 billion.

NRF cited an increased number of children entering elementary and middle school this fall, as well as necessary back-to-school replenishments after last year’s cutbacks, for the predicted improvements.

Obamacare will stand.

The U.S. Supreme Court last week upheld the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, including the notion that individuals could face federal tax penalties if they failed to purchase some level of health insurance by 2014. That could put as many as 40 million uninsured Americans into the coverage rolls — and potentially into prescription drug coverage — by the time the health-reform law is fully enacted.

WASHINGTON — While dads usually don't get the same caliber of gift for Father's Day as moms do for Mother's Day, if the results of NRF's latest survey are to be believed, dads should be pretty pleased with what they receive this year.

WASHINGTON — After President Barack Obama delivered his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, the National Retail Federation issued a response regarding his remarks on job creation.

NRF said it welcomed the President's emphasis on job creation, saying that it will help restore the nation's economic state.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy still has a pulse, as evidenced in the slight increase of jobs in July as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday. According to the latest employment figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday, 117,000 jobs were added in July, with the greatest job gains coming in health care (31,000), retail (26,000) and the manufacture of durable goods (more than 24,000). The unemployment was little changed, dropping to 9.1%, the BLS reported.

The question is whether that pulse is strengthening or weakening.

WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation said last week that it was disappointed in the final debit card swipe-fee regulations set by the Federal Reserve.

Under the new rule, the current debit card swipe-fee rate of 1% to 2% of each transaction will be replaced with a flat fee of not more than 21 cents per transaction for the nation’s largest banks — substantially higher than the flat fee of up to 12 cents the Federal Reserve originally proposed in December 2010.