It is questionable whether this trend will continue after tax rebates have run out ... What might shore up retail sales is an expected retreat of inflation on the back of receding oil prices. 
Selected and fresh photos from around the web.
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A puppy stands on a truck carrying people to be evacuated from the area in preparation for the approach of Hurricane Gustav in Batabano, on the southern coast of Cuba, August 30, 2008. Powerful Hurricane Gustav roared toward western Cuba on Saturday with 125 mph (205 kph) winds on its way to the oil-rich Gulf of Mexico after a deadly pass through the Caribbean.
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BANGKOK, THAILAND - AUGUST 30: A member of Anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) stands behind barbed wire outside Government on August 30, 2008, in Bangkok, Thailand. The protesters want to unseat the seven-month old coalition government lead by Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej.
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Georgian soldiers run near a blazing building after a Russian bombardment in Gori, 80 km (50 miles) from Tbilisi, August 9, 2008. A Russian warplane dropped a bomb on an apartment block in the Georgian town of Gori on Saturday, killing at least 5 people, a Reuters reporter said. The bomb hit the five-story building in Gori close to Georgia's embattled breakaway province of South Ossetia when Russian warplanes carried out a raid against military targets around the town.
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CARSON, CA - JULY 31: Andre Villa practices in the Moto X Freestyle during the summer X Games 14 at Home Depot Center on July 31, 2008 in Carson, California.
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Staff deliver the various party's promotional leaflet of the Legislative Council election to passersby in Hong Kong Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008. Hong Kong residents voted Sunday in legislative elections that threatened to set back the opposition camp and its push for greater democratic freedoms in the Chinese-ruled territory.
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Russian President Dmitry Medvedev speaks during city day celebrations in Moscow September 7, 2008.
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US director Marina Zenovich poses during the photocall of her documentary " "Roman Polanski : Wanted and Desired", presented on September 7, 2008, at the 34th US Film Festival, in Deauville, on the French northwestern coast. Eleven movies are presented this year in competition during the Festival held from 5 to 14 September.
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Former astronaut Lisa Nowak (R) speaks to the press as her attorneys Cheney Mason (L) and Donald Lykkebak (C) stand with her after her pre-trial hearing at Orange County Court in Orlando, Florida August 24, 2007. Nowak is accused of stalking and attacking Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman at Orlando International Airport.
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Supporters of the ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP) celebrate the victory of Asif Ali Zardari, widower of slain former premier Benazir Bhutto, in the presidential election, in front of The Parliament House in Islamabad on September 6, 2008. Zardari secured a large win in Pakistan's presidential elections on September 6, capping a remarkable rise from jail, exile and his wife Benazir Bhutto's assassination just nine months ago. The controversial front-runner swept a poll among lawmakers to become the 14th president in Pakistan's short but turbulent history, taking power in the world's only nuclear-armed Islamic state and frontline "war on terror" ally.
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Supporters of the ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP) celebrate the victory of Asif Ali Zardari, widower of slain former premier Benazir Bhutto, in the presidential election, in front of The Parliament House in Islamabad on September 6, 2008. Zardari secured a large win in Pakistan's presidential elections on September 6, capping a remarkable rise from jail, exile and his wife Benazir Bhutto's assassination just nine months ago. The controversial front-runner swept a poll among lawmakers to become the 14th president in Pakistan's short but turbulent history, taking power in the world's only nuclear-armed Islamic state and frontline "war on terror" ally.
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Supporters of the ruling party, Pakistan People's Party, chant slogans as they celebrate the victory of Asif Ali Zardari in the presidential election in Islamabad September 6, 2008. Zardari, the widower of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto, swept to victory in a presidential election on Saturday, as a suicide bomber killed at least 10 people in the northwest.
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Quotes that mention rebates
One way forward is to reform the council tax to take more account of the ability to pay. This can be done through rebates and by extending the system of property bands. Such a reform could be agreed by all parties while a longer-term solution is found.
was said
in The Scotsman
The index is likely enjoying a final boost from the pickup in retail sales generated by the tax rebates; typically the index lags movements in sales by a month or two
said Ian Shepherdson
in Malaysia Sun
Quotes from articles that mention rebates
Did the $100 billion of tax rebates distributed to households in May, June, and July actually work?
was said
