Sales at U.S. retailers surged in October after the first back-to-back declines in more than five years, though most of the money was spent on gas and new cars and trucks. Retail sales leaped 0.8% last month, the government said Thursday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had predicted a 0.6% increase. The increase follows small declines in September and August. The government initially said sales rose slightly in both of those months, but it revised the figures lower in its latest update. That could also result in the government trimming the initially estimated 3.5% growth in gross domestic product in the third ... (full story)