Personal income in July was $11,015.2, up 0.5% from June. Nominal personal consumption expenditures (PCE) rose 0.8%, while real PCE increased 0.5%. Nominal disposable personal income (DPI) rose 0.7% while real DPI increased 0.3%. The personal savings rate as a percentage of DPI was -0.9% in July.
The Good

Nordstrom

Abercrombie and Fitch (ANF)

Bebe, Inc (BEBE)

The Bad 

Gap Stores (GPS)

Jos. A. Bank (JOSB) (Watch List)

Pacific Sunwear (PSUN)

JC Penney (JCP)

The Verdict

Slowdown? Maybe. But if you have the right merchandise consumers will still spend more than they earn.

Usually we do this update on Saturday, with performance to the Friday close. But we’re going on vacation so you’ll have to deal with a 4-day week this week and six days in next week’s performance. If tomorrow is crazy it might make a difference. Otherwise it should be close enough for volunteer work.

We are particularly happy that our own portfolio was by far the week’s top performer. The Watch List itself lagged its small to mid-cap peers but beat the S&P for the week. For the quarter to date you can reverse the prior statement.

Minyanville wrote a detailed piece in favor of Joseph A. Bank (JOSB).

Watch List Companies

Jos a Bank (JOSB): Men’s clothing retailer JoS. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. said Thursday that sales at stores open at least one year, or same-store sales, increased 8.5 percent for the month of June, easily beating Wall Street expectations for a 4.3 percent boost.

BJ’s Wholesale (BJ): June sales fell 0.1 percent at its stores open at least a year as record-breaking rainfall hurt demand, and it lowered its quarterly profit forecast. Analysts, on average, expected 2.4 percent growth, according to estimates compiled by Reuters.

TJX Companies (TJX): Discount clothing retailer TJX Cos. on Thursday said June same-store sales rose 4 percent, beating both internal and Wall Street estimates, and prompting the company to estimate second-quarter earnings will be at or above the high end of its previous forecast.

Wall Street expected same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, to add 2.7 percent, according to Thomson Financial.

Other Notable Retailers

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) and other top U.S. retailers posted disappointing June sales on Thursday as soaring energy prices and record-breaking rains in the Northeast curbed consumer spending.

But mid-priced chains such as J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (JCP) and Kohl’s Corp. (KSS) reported strong gains, suggesting that some shoppers stayed away from more expensive department stores. Federated Department Stores Inc. (FD), owner of Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s, recorded lower-than-expected sales.

Overall, sales rose 2.8 percent at stores open at least a year — a key retail measure known as same-store sales. That was slightly below forecasts for a 3 percent gain, according to research firm Retail Metrics.

Apparel retailer Limited Brands Inc. (LTD), warehouse club operator Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST), and home decor chain Pier 1 Imports Inc. (PIR) were among the chains missing Wall Street’s sales targets.