What you need to know about Friday’s U.S. economic data: RETAIL SALES (DECEMBER) Fell 0.1 percent after a 0.4 percent (revised from 0.2 percent) gain in November Rose 2.1 percent in 2015, smallest advance of the expansion Retail control group, sales figures that feed into GDP calculation, unexpectedly dropped 0.3 percent last month, the most since February Sales declined in six of 13 major categories, including electronics, clothing and grocery stores The Takeaway: Holiday spending petered out after a stronger November. The drop indicates Americans were intent on socking away the savings from cheaper fuel instead of splurging. The data raised concern about the momentum in household consumption, which accounts for about 70 percent of the economy. Economists trimmed GDP estimates after taking into stock the results, as well as factory production and business inventories data also out Friday. Analysts at Barclays Plc cut their 4Q GDP tracking estimate […]