— Jeff Gordinier Nation's Restaurant News: Denny's same-store sales decreased for the first time in two years during the first quarter of the year, attributable to deflating consumer confidence due to higher gas prices, payroll tax increases and delayed tax returns.
Defenders of Steinbrenner claimed that he wants to win so badly that he'll pay anything, an equally myopic notion considering the steady and simultaneous rise of the Yankees' payroll and ticket prices.
That way, the cuts would compensate consumers for higher energy prices (payroll taxes are the largest tax 80% of Americans pay and an important factor in household budgets), while also creating many, many more jobs for them.
At the same time, teens are facing lower employment levels this year, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, and their parents are grappling with higher payroll taxes, gasoline prices and a slow job recovery.
With a weak economy that all but mandates that teams be conscious of payroll, Artest's asking price may be deemed high.
When examined against a payroll of $231 million, the Price can't be that much.
The rising number of point guards on the payroll and the high price attached to the offer sheet that Lin has signed with the Houston Rockets -- a deal described by Carmelo Anthony as "ridiculous" -- may send any blue and orange Lin merchandise to the discount rack.
Analysts point to a downscaling, stay-at-home trend due to the lingering recession, the spike in gasoline prices, the payroll tax increase and severe winter weather.
The threshold moved up as payrolls rose, leaving the price to clubs low enough for them to be willing to exceed the threshold and pay the tax.
Last month, Wal-Mart's results suggested that American consumers were worried about the impact of higher payroll taxes and gasoline prices, along with slow tax refunds that delayed some spending.
