Some disappointing news for the economy: The Commerce Department released figures yesterday showing that retail sales dropped by 0.5 percent in June, following on the heels of a drop of 0.2 percent in May. Not only does the reflect a slowdown in consumer spending - the engine that drives so much of our economy - but it also resulted in growing business inventories. They rose by 0.3 percent in May, signaling that business spending may slow in the coming months.