SHOPPER WAITS WITH BAGS AT MACYS IN MANHATTAN, 2002-12-04 (photo)

A woman with shopping bags waits inside a Macy's department store in New York on December 4, 2002. Analysts are widely predicting lackluster holiday sales this year as a sluggish economy and the threat of war with Iraq crimp consumer confidence and restrain spending. Federated Departments Stores Inc., the owner of Macy's and Bloomingdale's, reported a 7.4 percent drop in November sales at stores open at least one year, and it forecast sales for the critical holiday period at the lower end of its expectations. Picture taken December 4, 2002. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton PM/HB