Online shops are suffering the same fate as the High Street with fewer customers spending money.
US net measurement firm comScore found that online shopping was in decline for the first time since it began measuring it in 2001.
Online shoppers in the US spent $8.2bn (£5.3bn) in November, down 4% on last year's figures.
ComScore forecast flat growth for the upcoming Christmas shopping season and did not rule out further decline
The United States government plans to sell bonds worth $55bn (£34bn) next week in an effort to finance its bank rescue programme.
In a first $25bn auction on Monday, the Treasury Department will launch a new type of bond, which will reach maturity after three years.
The rest of the amount will be raised later next week through the sale of traditional 10-year and 30-year bonds.
US bonds earn a fixed rate of interest every six months until maturity.
High above sea level, nestling on the stunningly beautiful Massisi Plateau of eastern Congo, lies the village of Kerolewe.
The dirt roads leading the way, lined with eucalyptus trees, are cut out of black volcanic earth.
It is a place of soaring hills and verdant green pastureland, often covered in mountain mists.
It is also just a few kilometres from the headquarters of one of the country's most feared rebel leaders, General Laurent Nkunda, whose recent military offensive in the region has displaced a quarter of a million people.
I reached Kerolewe by crossing the front line between government troops and rebels, which in this area lies just outside the town of Sake, 25km (15 miles) west of Goma.
Here, the government forces have a checkpoint just 2km away from the first rebel position.
Two directors of a Pakistani currency company have been remanded in custody over allegations that they illegally transferred millions of dollars abroad.
The two directors of Khanani and Kalia International (KKI), one of the biggest foreign exchange companies, were arrested on Saturday.
Their company's license to trade has also been suspended for a month and its offices have been searched.
Pakistan's economy is in crisis and the IMF is preparing a rescue package.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a $16.4bn (£10.3bn) loan to Ukraine to bolster its economy, shaken by global financial turmoil.
The financial body said it would make $4.5bn immediately available as part of the two-year package.
The plan includes "monetary and exchange rate policy shifts, banking recapitalisation and fiscal and incomes policy adjustments".
The IMF has agreed loans to several nations to restore their economies.
World finance chiefs are looking to increase the role of emerging nations, as part of reforms to tackle the current crisis.
Finance ministers and central bank presidents from the world's 20 major economies have been meeting at a G20 summit in Sao Paulo in Brazil.
World Bank President Robert Zoellick said countries see the need for better coordination towards economic issues.
"All of us know it's a meeting at a time of historic challenge," he said.
Asian markets have risen sharply, a day after China announced a huge investment plan to kick-start its slowing economy.
Stocks leapt in Japan, China and Hong Kong, buoyed by China's efforts to sustain its growth rates, on which many Asian economies depend.
About $586bn (£370bn) is to go into housing, infrastructure and post-earthquake reconstruction in China over the next two years.
Correspondents say the package is a response to falling growth and exports.
President Bush welcomes Barack Obama to the White House
US President-elect Barack Obama has held his first meeting with incumbent George W Bush since his last week's decisive election victory.
Both sides described the White House talks, which lasted just under two hours, as friendly and productive.
Few details were revealed as to their content but Iraq, the financial crisis and the issue of a smooth transition had all been expected to come up.
Meanwhile, reports suggest Mr Obama is set to tackle the Guantanamo Bay issue.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/us_elections_2008/7720137.stm
Gordon Brown has fuelled talk of possible tax cuts by saying they could help to support consumer spending.
In a speech in London, Mr Brown referred to planned tax cuts in the US and Germany, saying countries must "work together" to tackle the downturn.
Earlier, the PM said he was looking "at everything" that could help the economy and would announce details within days.
David Cameron says the Tories will announce "tax changes to encourage businesses to take on workers".
President-elect Barack Obama addresses supporters in Chicago after beating John McCain in the race for the White House.
The Federal Reserve has cut its key interest rate from 1.5% to 1% in a widely expected move, as it aims to avoid a possible US recession.
Earlier this month the Fed cut rates from 2% to 1.5% in an emergency move, which was co-ordinated with five other central banks.
But the move did not boost US markets, with the Dow and S&P 500 closing down.
Interest rates have been slashed since September 2007, when the federal funds rate stood at 5.25%.
Debt-laden Italian airline Alitalia has warned it needs an urgent injection of capital on top of a recent government loan in order to survive.
It was recently saved from collapse by a 300m-euro ($473m; £238.8m) government loan, which is under scrutiny to see if it breaches European state aid rules.
The collapse of a proposed takeover by Air France-KLM had left it in an "uncertain" situation, the firm said.
The carrier also unveiled a net loss of 495m euros for 2007.
The Italian government has given Alitalia unions one more day to agree a rescue plan with investors group CAI.
The newly commissioned administrator of the airline had previously said that if a deal could not be reached then it would liquidate all its assets.
Despite round the clock discussions, talks broke down overnight and there are no plans for them to start again.
Government said it was committed to avoid "irreversible acts" and extended the deadline to the end of Friday.
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has warned action is needed to prevent the current financial malaise spreading.
Mr Brown said the first priority was "to stop the contagion to other countries, including in eastern Europe" where there were "problems emerging".
He added the IMF would have to create a new fund to help struggling nations.
It comes as the Bank of England said the world's financial firms had now lost £1.8 trillion ($2.8 trillion) as a result of the continuing credit crisis.
Alitalia's administrator has urged the unions to accept a restructuring plan or risk the troubled Italian airline's certain failure.
Frances Kennedy reports from Rome.
President of Opec, Chakib Khelil on why the decision was made to cut oil production
World oil prices have continued to fall, undermining oil cartel Opec's efforts to steady prices by cutting output by 1.5 million barrels a day.
The decision to cut about 5% of the cartel's total daily output came after an emergency Opec meeting in Vienna.
The move did not halt the sliding oil price with US sweet, light crude down $3.69 at $64.15 after wild swings saw greater falls in earlier trade.
Recession fears have pulled oil down from a high of $147 a barrel in July.
Opec countries must implement agreed production cuts if they want stable oil prices, the cartel's head has warned.
Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, would be key to the success of any cutbacks, said Chakib Khelil.
Mr Khelil said markets were waiting for Opec countries to cut output, as agreed in Vienna last month.
Meanwhile Russia has said it will cut its oil export duties, in order to help the country's oil producers cope with declining prices.
The rescue deal for the Italian airline Alitalia must not breach European Union competition rules, the carrier's bankruptcy administrator has warned.
An investment group, the Cai, made an offer of 1bn euros ($1.27bn; £789m) for Alitalia on Friday, despite the lack of agreement with some unions.
About 3,000 workers will lose their jobs under the rescue plan.
The Cai hopes to link Alitalia with a major European airline, but a decision is not expected for several weeks.
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