Business Headlines / October 28, 2005

Retailers confident despite threat of low consumer spending   Canadians are less likely to spend money on shopping this year, but Centretown store owners stocking up for the coming Christmas season, aren’t worried.   O-Train ridership surpasses expectations   A record number of people rode the O-Train in September, with more than 10,000 passengers using the service in a single day, the largest one-day total to date.   Office vacancies drop in downtown   Centretown’s commercial vacancy rate has dropped seven per cent despite prior worries of lack of adequate parking and high net-rental rates.   Business Beat: City should avoid tax increases, not just try to hide them   Area taxpayers and businesses can breathe easy – for now. The province has rejected the city’s bid for a new City of Ottawa Act.