Best Buy (BBY) captures one third of U.S. consumer electronics sales, according to the Wall Street Journal (subscription required). That's the good news.

But now Best Buy is losing market share. You are probably wondering why this has happened. After all since Circuit City evaporated into bankruptcy, you would think that Best Buy would be king of the hill. Not so. Other trends are developing that are eroding Best Buy's territory. Here are a few them:

So, the unemployment rate sank below 9% in February, but investors didn't seem to be impressed by that. The Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 all fell on Friday over concerns about how the ongoing unrest in the Middle East might affect energy prices, and thus the economic recovery.

Will this coming week's economic calendar offer anything likely to bring excitement to the markets? Here's what's on tap:

• Monday: Consumer credit numbers for January
• Tuesday: Weekly chain store sales, TIPP Economic Optimism Index

December is not shaping up to have been the retail windfall that many experts predicted, which may be setting up a rather scary situation. Don't worry folks, the experts are going to blame the poor December revenue on different factors, including strong November sales taking away from December and post-Christmas sales suffering from the Northeast blizzard.

First things first, not all retailers have reported their results -- a majority of heavy hitters will report today. Nevertheless, the results are being described as "slow and steady" rather than the expected blowout holiday shopping season. For example, Costco (COST) reported sales that increased 6%. This is positive data, unfortunately expectations called for an increase of 6.2%. Target (TGT) saw sales increase 0.9%, well short of the expected 4%. Of course sales were better at Macy's (M), right? I mean they are adding jobs and all. Wrong, sales did increase (3.9%) but missed expectations (4.5%).

Although the U.S. economy has added jobs in recent months, the unemployment rate remains uncomfortably high at 9.8%. The rate for December is due out on Friday and is expected to drop to 9.7%. However, no one seems to expect significant improvement until well into the new year.

Other economic data on this week's schedule include:

• Monday: ISM Manufacturing Index, construction spending and auto sales data

FedEx Corp. (FDX), the world's leading package delivery service and an ostensible bellwether of the U.S. economy, will dance its way onto the earnings stage this week. Also, with the holiday shopping season well underway, Best Buy Co. (BBY) and Discover Financial Services (DFS) are scheduled to offer up their most recent quarterly results.

Here's a closer look at what the analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are expecting from these three, plus a peek at the week's economic calendar.

Black Friday has come and gone and the holiday shopping season is off and running. In addition to keeping on eye on how retailers are doing, there will be plenty of other economic data for analysts and investors to peruse on this week.

• Monday: Chicago Fed's Midwest Manufacturing Index
• Tuesday: Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index, Chicago Purchasing Managers Index, S&P/Case-Schiller Home Price Index for Q3, Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index

It seems that retailers are ready to give up on pushing the practical gifts this holiday season in hopes that weary retailers are ready to unload some cash on higher-priced items. Retailers are hoping that socks and pajamas aren't on the list but large-screen LCD TVs and other fancier gifts find their way under the tree. The hope is that shoppers will buy into mainstream optimism.

A year ago, discretionary spending (items like clothing and home furnishings) dropped to 61% of total dollars spent, hopes are that this spending will increase to 63% this year (according to estimates from Customer Growth Partners). Such an increase would equal the percentage from 2008. While two percentage points may seem small, it represents an increase of roughly $60 billion.

Closely watched retail sales were stronger-than-expected in October. The Commerce Department reported that sales were up 1.2% in October, nearly double economists' projection for a rise of 0.7%, according to Reuters.

Here is a breakdown by categories:

• Motor vehicles and parts led the way up with a strong 5%, versus 1.5% in September.
• Building materials and garden supplies rose 1.9%, versus 1.3% in September.

There is talk in the media about the darkened mood of the consumer but the following numbers seem to refute that notion. Retail sales rose .6% in September, much stronger than expected, as reported in the Wall Street Journal. Economists at Dow Jones had predicted a rise of .4%.

The big mover were purchases of automobiles and auto parts, electronics and appliances. This is an extremely good sign because these items fall into the durables category, items that last more than three years. These are big ticket items indicating that the consume is stepping up to the plate and risking bigger purchases.

Alcoa (AA), Marriott (MAR) and Yum! Brands (YUM) kick off the new earnings season this week. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are looking for moderate year-over-year earnings and revenue growth in the third quarter from each of these dividend payers.

Note that Marriott and Yum! Brands have exceeded consensus estimates in recent quarters and have First Call consensus buy recommendations as well. They are also trading near their 52-week highs, while Alcoa shares are closer to the 52-week low despite a 22% rise in the past three months.

The Commerce Department announced this morning that retail sales increased 0.4% in August, above expectations of a 0.3% rise. It was also the largest increase in the past five months.

Excluding auto sales, which registered a sizable decline last month, retail sales increases 0.6%. Department stores, sporting good stores, and clothing stores experienced strong sales to lead this retail rush.

Analysts and investors are cheering this news, taking it as a sign that the economy is regaining some strength after the disappointing spring retail season.

According to MasterCard's SpendingPulse data, we could be in for a bit of a nasty surprise when back-to-school sales are released. Children's clothing and consumer electronics increased compared to a year ago, but nearly all other merchandise saw spending drop. Luxury goods, along with men's and women's fashions, all dropped -- suggesting that consumers were unwilling to part with their hard-earned cash on non-essentials. Spending on women's clothing saw revenue drop to $300 million, which is roughly the same as 2004 and 2005.

Not all the news was bleak: Online sales notched a 13th-straight monthly increase -- jumping 7.2%. Last August, online sales increased 1.5%. Richard Jaffe of Stifel Nicolaus noted that he is "fairly convinced we are seeing changes in consumer behavior that will be sustained for a long time." He added that shoppers must be "very convinced and excited" before purchasing anything. It really takes a great deal or a pressing need for consumers to spend money in these tight times.

Trendy retailer Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) has announced that net sales during the four weeks ending July 31 increased 17% to $270.9 million. Same-store sales during the period increased 7%, with direct-to-consumer net merchandise sales increasing 51% to $23.6 million.

Net sales for the fiscal quarter increased 17% compared to a year ago to $745.8 million, with store-sales up 5%. On a year-to-date basis, company sales increased to $1.434 billion from $1.239 billion a year ago, an increase of 16%. Same-store sales increased 3% on the same basis. Turning to the retailer's earnings report on August 17, the company expects to earn 15 cents per share.

Toy titan Mattel (MAT) announced Friday morning that its second-quarter income more than doubled, driven by Barbies and "Toy Story 3" toys. MAT logged income of 14 cents per share during the quarter, far better than the six cents per share earned in the same quarter a year ago.

Unfortunately, while the earnings were far better than a year ago, the toymaker missed the Street's estimate by a penny. Revenue checked in at $1.02 billion, 13% better than last year and matching expectations.

U.S. retail sales dropped 0.5% during June to a seasonally adjusted $360.2 billion, the Commerce Department announced Wednesday. This data is seen as evidence that the American economy has slowed further. Sales fell for the second month in a row.

The good news is that sales were 4.8% higher when compared to June 2009, and that for the first half of 2010, retail sales were 6.5% higher compared to last year. The decline was somewhat expected following retailers sales reports for the month. Economists had expected a drop of 0.4%.