Search Results for: label/***CONSUMER WATCH

Retailers’ Rally Faces Tough Winter

The spring rally has been a relief for shares of embattled retailers. Can the economy recover in time to justify the new optimism? The key is the holiday season, when retailers make the vast majority of their money. Investors are … Continue reading

  • Share/Bookmark
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment
4 Week Risk-Free Trial of Financial Times


Fed’s Kohn Says Recovery Possible in ’09

Keep in mind that the Fed has been pretty poor in economic forecasting in the last 10 years. It seems to me that Fed officials, including Ben Bernanke, have been on a spirit raising campaign lately, much like President Obama. … Continue reading

  • Share/Bookmark
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

BARRON’S ALAN ABELSON: Don’t Bank on It

The banks have been the spark plug of this powerful stock-market rally, but past may not be prologue. Goldman’s missing month. THE AMAZING RANDI. WE’D NEVER HEARD OF THE CHAP UNTIL last week, when we were indulging in an old … Continue reading

  • Share/Bookmark
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Bloom or bust?

After months of gloom, some say the signs of economic revival are in full bloom. The Globe’s Barrie McKenna looks at the numbers and matches them with reality Call them what you will: Glimmers of hope, tentative signs or green … Continue reading

  • Share/Bookmark
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Faint silver lining in gloomy factory data

First, U.S. consumers cut out all but essential spending. Then came the business retrenchment. The next stage will be recovery, and while the recession probably has a bit further to run, the pieces are falling in place for a bounce, … Continue reading

  • Share/Bookmark
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Retail and Price Data Show Continuing Economic Weakness

Retail sales declined in March, the government reported on Tuesday, ending two months of tentative gains and signaling more weakness in demand as worried consumers continue to tighten their budgets. The 1.1 percent monthly drop in retail sales displayed the … Continue reading

  • Share/Bookmark
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

CONSUMER WATCH: WEEKLY SALES REMAIN GOOD

Sales trends are continuing to improve according to ICSC-Goldman’s report which shows a 0.8 percent gain in the April 11 week for a year-on-year pace of -0.4 percent. The year-on-year trend has moved to the low negative single digits over … Continue reading

  • Share/Bookmark
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

US MARCH SAME STORE SALES

Same store sales for March were on the weak side but yoy comparisons are distorted by Easter being in March last year and in mid-April this year. This has obviously hurt the comparison but this is hard to quantify (some … Continue reading

  • Share/Bookmark
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Who’s Most Indebted? Banks, Not Consumers

The deleveraging of America will likely go on for many years, impacting the growth rate of the world economy. How quickly consumers restore their balance sheet is key to the pace of economic recovery. I keep a close wztch on … Continue reading

  • Share/Bookmark
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

CONSUMER WATCH: US FEB. RETAIL SALES PRETTY GOOD

My readers should not have been surprised that retail sales held up quite well in February despite very poor economic news. My tracking of a few indicators gave clues that sales had not deteriorated and, in fact, improved a little … Continue reading

  • Share/Bookmark
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment