Retailers go deep, deep, deep with holiday discounts

Chief financial officers in retail are forecasting lower profits as merchants squeeze margins to move excess inventory and entice consumers to increase their discretionary spending in the run-up to Christmas. The average margin on earnings before interest and taxes for retailers in the S&P 500 was 10.7 percent in the third quarter, down from 13.2 percent a year earlier, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.