Wonder what this means?

Commerce Department Says Retail Sales Unexpectedly Rebounded in January - Presidential Politics Political News - FOXNews.com:

"U.S. retail sales jumped 1 percent in January, reversing a six-month declining trend and defying economists' expectations by posting the biggest increase in 14 months"

very interesting ... so you have to wonder if this signals an END to the recession, or if it just shows that it was the GAS PRICES that effected the economy, or if it is (and more likely actually) that people are hording comfort items that they think will be harder to find in the future.

I would be interested in seeing if this jump occured before or after the inauggeration ... and in what part of the industry ....

was it "luxury" items or 'staples' or where? I think that would give us a better indication.

My worry is that this is an indication that we are about to jump from Recession to Inflation.