Archive - Dec 14, 2010 - Story

Is the retail revolution over? Best Buy, which was seen by many as the best indicator of retail hunger for all sorts of irrelevant Made in China Gizmos is plunging in pre-market trading, now down over 10%, after the company announces a massive top line miss of $11.89 billion in Q3 revenue on expectations of $12.45 billion. We can't remember when a retailer had a nearly 5% miss in top line, and is certainly a major cause of concern for not only the retail renaissance but for... Apple, for whom the store is the second biggest seller. Some other horrendous data points: Q3 comp sales down 3.3%; domestic Q3 comp sales down 5.0%, the company sees year EPS USD 3.20-3.40, saw USD 3.55-3.70, vs. Exp. USD 3.59, and notes domestic sales were softer than expected (as if it wasn't obvious). Broader market futures are also moving lower on the news that the market has managed to extract as much as it could out of a consumer base that is no longer paying its mortgages. Incidentally, how this could be a surprise is stunning: on October 31 we wrote that "TV pricing bloodbath threatens already razor-thin retailer margins" - of course, what is obvious to some, is completely opaque to the robots who only focus on positive headlines news. Perhaps a number for RenTec to tweak that algo a little?

And so European contagion is back as S&P, now clearly with a mandate to remind that Europe is in a heap of trouble every month or so, puts Belgium on Outlook negative, saying that it is basically just a matter of time before the country loses its AA+ rating. The bogey: 6 months, which likely means that around May of next year, just like a year prior, we will see the same fireworks out of Europe, only this time not from Greece, but from the very heart of what is left of a solvent continent. "If Belgium fails to form a government soon, a downgrade could occur, potentially within six months. Should a government be formed but is, in our opinion, ineffective in its fiscal stance or devolution, we are likely to consider rating action within two years." Sure enough, the EURUSD does nothing on the news.

All the major stories from around the world shaping today's market.

Retail sales will probably provide the most important information in a day that also includes reports on small business sentiment, producer prices, business inventories, consumer confidence, and the final FOMC meeting of the year….There is no POMO today.

RANsquawk European Morning Briefing - Stocks, Bonds, FX – 14/12/10