What Investors Missed in the Market This Week

There was quite a bit going on in the markets this week, with retail in the spotlight -- though not for a good reason. According to the government, sales at retailers nationwide dropped 0.2% in June, which was the second consecutive decline and equal to the largest drop this year. That performance suggests the U.S. economy hasn't jumped as strongly as anticipated after a meager first quarter. We'll wait to see if that news has any implications for the Federal Reserve's interest-rate plans, but for now here are some other major retailing stories from the week.

Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) saw its shares take a hard fall Monday, after news hit that Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) is launching a new service that drew comparisons to Best Buy's Geek Squad and its "Best Buy Smart Home powered by Vivint" service.

Amazon's "Smart Home" service is only in seven major markets so far -- Seattle; Portland, Ore.; and five California locations: San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Jose. This is Amazon's attempt to connect the dots between its products such as Alexa and smart-home solutions that include anything from thermostats to home security systems, and nearly anything in between -- even light bulbs. 

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Source: Fool.com