Savings Experiment: Snow Removal
Why Your 2012 Tax Bill May Jump By $8,000
A retail survey released this morning showed that last week's chain-store sales increased 2.6% compared to the same week last year. However, the survey, from the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and Goldman Sachs, also showed that consumer activity dropped 1.3% from the week earlier.
ICSC chief economist Michael Niemera stated, "The now annual post-Thanksgiving week lull in consumer holiday-gift buying once again showed up as consumers continued to be well behind on their holiday-gift buying completion pace."
The holiday-gift buying completion pace survey gives an idea as to whether or not we may see a last-minute surge in holiday-gift searching ahead of Christmas. These type of sales, ICSC projects, will increase roughly 2% as Christmas comes closer. The ICSC also confirmed its November-December holiday season forecast for an increase of roughly 1%.
Will this sort of sales increase be enough to satisfy investors? Will our current bull market be able to handle this news even if it is not exactly what some over-exuberant analysts or experts want to hear?
I just hope that expectations aren't set too high for this holiday season's retail sales because given the fragile state of the economy, we might very well have poorer-than-expected retail sales. Not to be Chicken Little, but weak retail sales data could signal another dip lower. And if this is the case, look out below. But to ensure this isn't the case, let's just do our part and get out there and buy, buy, buy folks! We have to pump these retail numbers up to keep the recovery going, right?
Goldman Earnings Sink After Buffett Dividend
Johnson & Johnson's Income Falls 23%
Burberry Shares Leap on Sales Update
