Inland Empire economy shows cooling trend

Inland Empire economy shows cooling trend Southern California's Inland Empire, after years of booming growth, is showing signs of a cool down, according to several recent economic studies.
   The latest annual economic forecast by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. projects the Riverside-San Bernardino area should see a 10.7 percent increase in taxable retail sales in 2007.
   This continues a downward trend over the past several years, according to the latest study by the Los Angeles Country Economic Development Corp. The Riverside-San Bernardino areas recorded 16.4 percent growth in taxable retail sales in 2004, 12.8 percent in 2005 and 11 percent in 2006. Despite the slowdown, the numbers still outpaces the rest of Southern California, the economic agency reported.
   Based on state and federal figures, Inland taxable sales totaled more than $46.5 billion in 2006, and that figure is projected to surpass $51.5 billion in 2007 and $57.2 billion in 2008, according to the agency.
   Citing results of a survey of 33 major retailers, released in January by Merrill Lynch, the New York-based International Council of Shopping Centers reported that those retailers expect to open 1,969 new stores in 2007, up slightly from 1,933 in 2006.