Category Archives: ***CONSUMER WATCH

GOOD US AUGUST EMPLOYMENT DATA

Posted on September 3, 2010 by Denis Ouellet

Private household employment jumped 891,000 in August, the biggest increase in 10 years. Over the past 8 months, private household employment has increased 2.3 million jobs, 3.3% annualized. Household employment tends to lead payroll employment which has gained only 763,000 … Continue reading →

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Q4 US VEHICLE PRODUCTION TO DECLINE 21%

Posted on September 2, 2010 by Denis Ouellet

After a scheduled 36% (annual rate) increase in Q3 2010 to 8.2 million units, Ward’s Automotive now forecasts that US vehicle production is scheduled to decline 21% (a.r.) to 7.7 million units in Q4. US vehicle sales have stalled below … Continue reading →

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US AUTO SALES DROP 5% JULY TO AUGUST

Posted on September 2, 2010 by Denis Ouellet

Auto makers sold 997,968 light vehicles in August, down from 1,262,197 a year earlier, according to Autodata Corp. The annualized selling pace for the month was 11.47 million vehicles, in line with the pace of the last five months but … Continue reading →

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US AUGUST AUTO SALES LOOK VERY WEAK

Posted on August 31, 2010 by Denis Ouellet

More negative stuff on the US consumer. U.S. auto sales in August probably were the slowest for the month in 28 years as model-year closeout deals failed to entice consumers concerned the economy is worsening and they may lose their … Continue reading →

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U.S. Consumers Pulling Back on Spending in August

Posted on August 31, 2010 by Denis Ouellet

Gallup spending scores for August confirm the weak back-to-school season. Americans’ self-reported spending in stores, restaurants, gas stations, and online averaged $61 per day during the week ending Aug. 29. So far, August and back-to-school 2010 spending trends appear no … Continue reading →

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Posted in ***CONSUMER WATCH, ***RECOVERY WATCH, ECONOMY, RETAILING, US economy, USA retailing | Leave a comment

US CHAIN STORE SALES DOWN 0.8% IN AUGUST

Posted on August 31, 2010 by Denis Ouellet

US chain store sales edged up 0.1% for the week ended August 28, after falling 2.0% during the previous 4 weeks. The 4-week moving average is up 3.0% YoY. Poor back-to-school sales point to weak Christmas sales. Yesterday, NBF Financial … Continue reading →

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US CONSUMER INCOME, SPENDING REMAIN WEAK IN JULY

Posted on August 30, 2010 by Denis Ouellet

Personal Income and Personal Disposable Income both increased 0.2 percent in July.Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased 0.4 percent.  Personal Income and PDI are both up 3.0% YoY as comps are somewhat easier. Transfer receipts, up 7.6% YoY, remain supportive. Consumer … Continue reading →

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US WEEKLY CHAIN STORE SALES DECLINE AGAIN

Posted on August 24, 2010 by Denis Ouellet

Chain store sales declined 0.4% last week (Aug. 21), the fifth consecutive decline. Sales are down 1.9% since the end of July. The back-to-school season looks pretty weak, a very, very bad sign for Christmas.

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Posted in ***CONSUMER WATCH, ***RECOVERY WATCH, CONSUMER, ECONOMY, RETAILING, US consumer, US economy, USA retailing | Leave a comment

US Consumer Confidence and Spending May Be Stabilizing

Posted on August 21, 2010 by Denis Ouellet

(…) The latest ChangeWave survey of consumer retail spending – which has a large sample size of 2,739 U.S. consumers – showed a small tick up in August compared to July. The poll was completed on August 10.. If the … Continue reading →

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More US Workers Tapping Pensions Early: Fidelity

Posted on August 20, 2010 by Denis Ouellet

A record number of U.S. workers are tapping into their retirement accounts to make it through the economic downturn, Fidelity Investments found in a survey released Friday. Among the 11 million workers whose 401(k) plans are run by Fidelity, 11 … Continue reading →

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US WEEKLY CHAIN STORE SALES –1.3% LAST WEEK

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Denis Ouellet

After a strong Q2 earnings season, the US back-to school season starts poorly, dampening investors expectations for continued strong earnings growth in the second half. Chain store sales dropped 1.3% last week, the third consecutive weekly decline. The 4-week moving … Continue reading →

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US CONSUMER DELEVERAGING, SLOWLY

Posted on August 13, 2010 by Denis Ouellet

David Rosenberg: The aggregated household debt-income ratio peaked in Q1 2008 at 136%. Currently, this ratio is at 126%. But the pre-bubble norm was 70% (no wonder 25% of Americans have a sub-600 FICO score). To get down to this … Continue reading →

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