More Signs of a Consumer Slowdown
Retail sales rose 0.1 pct in Feb - Yahoo! News
Retail sales rose a less-than-expected 0.1 percent in February despite firm automotive sales as building materials and general merchandise sales slumped, a Commerce Department report showed on Tuesday.
Excluding the automotive sector, February retail sales fell 0.1 percent, contrary to market consensus.Analysts surveyed by Reuters were expecting a 0.3 percent gain in both overall retail sales and sales excluding the automotive sector — considered a more reliable gauge of household spending.
This is something of a confirmation of what we saw in the employment report last week. Things are slowing down, despite the arguments that the housing malaise wouldn’t spread. As we noted earlier today we were surprised Texas Instruments was able to tighten their guidance rather than lower it outright. A new cel phone probably isn’t a necessity for most consumers, and is an easy way to avoid some spending. What will the market reaction be if they do miss?
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[…] When combined with a slowdown at the consumer level, we think this could be bad news for the transportation companies that will have fewer boxes to move around. […]
[…] With potential buyers scheming months in advance on how to get hold of an iPhone, it’s a safe bet they won’t be buying a BlackBerry, Treo (PALM), Nokia (NOK), Motorola (MOT - Annual Report), or whatever. And yes, we know there will be some people who prefer the traditional models and continue to buy them. But many of them will also wait to check out the iPhone, just in case. Throw in a consumer slowdown and it’s fairly easy to see why we bought those (RIMM) put options. […]