Blogger Paul Kedrosky posted a fascinating Bloomberg chart showing that alcohol consumption in the U.S. has started to decline. He opines people feel so poor that they have cut back on booze -- which casts aspersions on the defensive status of booze stocks. Piqqem Sentiment on Molson (NYSE: TAP), considered the best of the brewery companies, is modestly positive with rising sentiment.Booze has traditionally been one of the shelter areas in down markets, among the least susceptible to sales declines. That could be changing with the economy in such bad shape. True, some of the decline comes from people reining in restaurant eating, but that's still money that alcohol makers can't bank. The key defensive paradigms have already broken on gambling stocks and health care stocks; both have suffered substantial declines despite constant mantras that both were relatively recession proof. Booze has too, but many have been expecting a bounce back. Will consumers take a swig or stick to tap water?
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