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In April, the Indiana Supreme Court handed Kohl’s Corp. a victory when it agreed not to review a lowered property assessment that was awarded to one of Kohl’s stores because of the growing vacancy and dropping values of other shopping centers in its area.

The decision, which translated into a $219,000 refund for Kohl’s, was a sign of the drain to tax revenues resulting from the worsening retail real estate landscape for Howard County, the taxing jurisdiction, as well as other local governments throughout the country.

Retail sales and occupancy rates are falling in many parts of the country, partly due to oversupply of stores and competition with online retail. That has meant lower property values, lower tax collections and—in some cases—less to pay teachers and firefighters.

With light-truck sales exceeding passenger car transactions for the first time in recent history, California’s new-car sales are again expected to exceed 2 million vehicles in 2017, according to the Sacramento-based California New Car Dealers Association. CNCDA released its second-quarter 2017 report Tuesday, showing 1.026 million new-car sales in the January-to-June period, down 2 percent year over year. That slight decline was no surprise, as numerous experts have been saying that California’s red-hot auto sales market will slow down throughout 2017. Even so, CNCDA projected 2.05 million new-vehicle sales statewide by the conclusion of this year.

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which together make up the nation’s largest port complex, set new records in cargo movement last month.

The Port of Long Beach had its highest monthly cargo movement in its 106-year history in July, moving 720,312 cargo containers, known as 20-foot-equivalent units or TEUs, up 6.4 percent compared to the same period a year ago. The port beat its previous record set in August 2015.

The U.S. trade gap narrowed sharply in June as a strengthening global economy pushes up demand for American exports overseas.

The trade deficit with other nations contracted 5.9% from a month earlier to $43.64 billion, the Commerce Department said Friday. The deficit fell because exports rose 1.2% while imports fell 0.2%. …

California exporters saw a modest gain in May according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data. California business exports totaled about $13.5 billion – 1.2 percent increase over the May 2016 total of roughly $13.3 billion.

The strongest reading on U.S. factory activity in nearly three years signaled underlying health in the economy headed into the second half of 2017. The Institute for Supply Management on Monday said its index of U.S. manufacturing activity rose to 57.8 in June, its highest level since August 2014. A number above 50 indicates expansion; economists had expected a more modest rise from May’s 54.9.

California exports, off to a fast start through the first four months of this year, cooled off a bit in May. California businesses shipped merchandise valued at $13.49 billion in May, up a modest 1 percent from $13.35 billion in the same month last year.

U.S. manufacturing activity expanded and hiring at factories picked up in May, signs of healthy growth for a key sector of the economy. The Institute for Supply Management on Thursday said its closely watched index of U.S. manufacturing activity inched ahead to 54.9 in May from 54.8 in April. A number above 50 indicates expansion. ISM manufacturing readings for each month this year have now been higher than any month in 2015 or 2016.

While new-vehicle registrations fell 1.4% nationally in January through March, California dealers experienced a 0.7% increase in registrations, putting the state on the path for another year of sales exceeding 2 million vehicles.

In the same time frame, 4.8% of new vehicles registered in the Golden State were zero-emission vehicles and plug-in hybrids, the highest share ever recorded.

Sales at U.S. stores, restaurants and online retailers increased a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in April from the prior month, the largest gain in three months, the Commerce Department said Friday. Also, the University of Michigan reported its consumer-sentiment index rose to 97.7 in early May—the strongest reading since January, when sentiment reached a 13-year high.

Retail sales fell a seasonally adjusted 0.2% last month, the Commerce Department said Friday, after a revised 0.3% decline in February. But over the last 12 months, retail sales have risen 5.2%, a sign that that the economy remains on stable footing.

Still, there are indications that consumers are growing more cautious even though the unemployment rate declined in March to a low 4.5%. Steady job growth as the recovery from the Great Recession nears its eighth year and a bump in consumer sentiment following President Trump’s presidential election have yet to strengthen spending much.

Since the start of 2017, Americans have actually cut back on purchases at auto dealers and restaurants and bars, two major sources of sales gains in prior years. Sales dipped 1.5% last month at auto dealers and 0.6% at restaurants and bars. It was the second straight monthly drop in sales for both categories.

Orders for long-lasting factory goods climbed last month due to purchases of military and civilian aircraft, overshadowing a weak start to 2017 for business investment in new equipment.

California merchandise exports closed out a strong second half of last year with an exceptional December, pushing the state’s 2016 total to nearly $164 billion.

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased in 48 states and the District of Columbia in the third quarter of 2016, according to statistics on the geographic breakout of GDP released Thursday by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. . . . California saw a 3.3 percent growth rate, 16th lowest in the nation, tied with Alabama, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia.

As the graph shows, the vast majority of plug-in electric vehicle sales in the US have been in California — with Georgia, Washington, New York, Florida, and Texas making up the anemic vanguard.