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Blame It On The... Balmy Spring Weather
Back in February, when January retail sales plunged and every single expert said consumers stayed indoors prevented from spending what money they don't have on goods and services they don't need, we pointed out a tiny little fly in the ointment: Online sales tumbled far more than the headline and core retail sales prints.
Fast forward to today when today's retail sales report, the first one of the second quarter, was supposed to show that with "harsh winter weather" in the rearview mirror, consumers would finally unleash all that pent up spending, in a critical report to send Q2 GDP on its way to what some say would be a 5% GDP quarter (Goldman estimate: 3.9%).
Instead what it showed was that the spending in the first month of Q2 was far worse than even the last month of the fateful first quarter. Who could have possibly foreseen this? Oh yes, anyone who observed that the US household savings rate had recently tumbled to the second lowest print since 2008 to pay for the March spending spree, and as a result they were tapped out when April rolled around.
But the biggest surprise was that while consumers largely avoided spending in outdoor retail locations, a far uglier print was observed when looking at non-store retailers, aka online sales. At 0.9% it was even worse than the January drubbing.
Here is the spin: tapped out US consumers simply did not have money to go out and splurge after the March spending bonanza, which sadly fell in a quarter which as we already know, will have a negative GDP print and thus is a wash (due to weather, remember). However, as a result of the balmy spring weather, US consumers didn't spend online either, as they were forced to go outside and enjoy the lovely weather... where as already noted they didn't spend any money either.
See, that was easy.
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the masses are well beyond broke. mission accomplished.
Don't look at the S&P 500, it's dropping like a RED rock on this bad, bad news....... NOT! Hahhahaha Fooled you!
The right spin is
expected consequences of the online tax increase. No more financial advantage of online stores
So how is this doubleplusgood? I'm sure Big Media, er, Big Brother, will have a way to explain it to us.
It was sunny, warm, balmy, wonderful...
Which held back spending as Americans sat outside gobbling up vitamin D from the sun, doing fuck all else, curtailing consumer spending, increasing inventories and is the significant reason for no signups to OpieCare as people are self medicating with photons.....
Tyler has inadvertently coined a new phrase:
"Blamy Weather."
Definition: Seasonal variations in climate being scapegoated for poor economic performance.
We've gone so far through the looking glass that they just don't care anymore; I doubt they can even keep track of which Big Lie they are pushing on a weekly basis. They'll only get called out and ridiculed on the fringe sites anyway, so why make an effort? Minitrue . . . sorry, the mainstream media. . . . will just dutifully regurgitate and the Bandar-log (Krugman, DeLong, et al) will chitter away.
"We all say so, and so it must be true!"
Considering the jobby job Biden's kid just got, yeah, the the covers are off this pig and they aren't afraid of the entire world seeing what they are doing now. Sadly, they are right in this view - nobody cares anymore.
Game over.
blame it on weather.com
blame it on the early versions of weatherbug
Ever try to get rid of that fucker from your system?
Hah!
... probably an NSA plant ...
THE GREATEST DEPRESSION. TIME TO LEARN IT.
Quick CNBS, Line up the spin-masters, LaSagna, Lies-man, Pissonme, ect
I am keenly awaiting another Hatzius downgrade.
Anyone seen Stolper?
Dow ATH, S&P ATH ....BTFATH as usual , it's Tuesday.
The bad weather meme is a flawed excuse to begin with. Any hint of a storm coming and consumers are flooding the stores emptying the shelves and they pull their spending forward. After the storm has passed it's business as usual. The bottom line is people don't have any fucking money. Hell even the tax refunds didn't help out this year. The refund money went towards paying off Christmas.
The bad weather meme is a flawed excuse
Wait, you mean snow in winter is not a new thing?
NO...and neither is the cold...
If Global Warming was real....just think of all the GREAT spending seasons we would have EVERY WINTER!!!
Long Global Warming meme
Is Global Warming Seasonally Adjusted?
Tax refunds?
You are looking at the wrong metric, look at restaurant spending. That is where the credit card crew likes to spend their money. The more trendy and less realistic the better. Same with bars the more hip the moar better. The spending drops there then you know something is up since that is targeted audience for the matrix right now.
You and I don't matter, never did except to buy the bullshit and keep being productive pack mules.
I think this is a good gauge. I watch wholesale bread delivers to restaurants. 1st Q sales were up 1% yoy but I would think that is due to price increases. I also monitor dumpster trash. Busy days are now pretty hit and miss, every other weekend is made for Michelob, no more party central weekends.
I also monitor Walmart groceries, flat currently if not down yoy from what I see.
The consumer is either tapped or cautious. Growth is gone...
And it's gone !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DT7bX-B1Mg
Gold Bitchez....
I watch how full the local Walmart parking lots are on weekends. ('Monitoring' is too strong a phrase. Its more like 'noticing', if I'm in the area.) There have been many weekends when the lots were at least 40% empty. And this is in smaller communties that have no other large general goods retail options. This never was the case before 2008 & has worsened, especially over the last year. Another indicator is the only large Sears store in the broad region closed down. (Replaced with a tiny mall outlet only selling a few tools and lawn goods.)
Much of middle America is tapped out.
P.S. - - - its a rural community. Farmers are doing extremely well. The purchasing of new equipment seems to have slowed down, guys bought what they needed. But, there are lots of brand new pick-ups loaded with all the nice options. Often theyre also driven by young guys still in high school or starting college; kids of farmers who make good money, especially in the summer. Jim Rogers said farmers would be the new rich guys and in many ways he's right. At least, they worked hard for it - unlike many of the azzhats on Wall Street.
Another good indicator is the various dollar or deep discount/closeout stores. My observations show the losses at MalWart and Targette, are being absorbed by 99cents, Dollar General, Aldi, Grocery Outlet, Big Lots, etc. I see a lot more traffic in these discount stores, and not just minority shoppers, but some damn fine well to do shoppers driving nice cars. The consumer is definitely tapped out and looking to squeeze the mileage out of every retail dollar.
Absolutely the quantity and contents of trash tells a story in and of itself.
The credit card kids and pension retire crowd are the big discretionary spenders these days at least that is my personal observation of things where I live and they are all spending it at the restaurants and on high end drinks, not even beer so much anymore. The bread thing can be deceptive though since the trendy stuff tends to keep away from bread because of the gluten. Bread is for pack mule peasants not hip trendy douche bags and old farts eating themselves to death because they have nothing else to do.
I don't open the trash bags..heh heh I observe the quantity as I am at these places daily.
4 well known chain restuarants in So. Cal.
I will tell you this, the volume of vomit indicator is up 3 fold. Yes, 3 times as much puke in the parking lots over the last 6 months and the quantity of empty cans/bottles in parking lot. What does this indicate? Not sure but watch your step !
"I don't open the trash bags"
says a person named Rubbish. ;)
Stocks = R(ip) I(t) G(ood)
Bring out Pis-ant to talk about the all time highs.
All these economic numbers that fail to show the RECOVERY are racist. There is no other explaination.
Come on, did the peasants complain when the Sherriff was taxing them all into hovels, so that they could keep the castle so grand? No, nay verily they did not.
Rejoice and know that the lords of the lands are doing so well, and that our sweat made it so. Thus it is and shall ever be.
If we open green I am opening up a bottle of Everclear... oh shit better get it out of the closet...
But I bought an umbrella and sunscreen!
Big banks are continuing criminal enterprises...death, by law, to the oligarchs.
As Milli Vanilli once said...
BLAME IT ON THE RAIN...
In the ultimate irony, they turned out to be frauds!
usa people are full to the gills with made in china crap already. MOAR! FORWARD!
I blame it on indoor weather. People can't afford to heat their homes because fucking inflation is out of control.
At least at the SEC they actually do something like watch porn while on the clock...
http://www.kmov.com/news/investigates/News-4-investigates-Workers-paid-t...
News 4 investigates: Workers paid taxpayer dollars to do nothing(KMOV.com) – News 4 dug for answers after finding out workers in Wentzville are being paid do nothing at a facility where they are supposed to be processing paper applications of those signing up for insurance under the Affordable Care Act.
...
The full video news piece is at the website.
This contractor (Serco) has 1.2B contract with the Federal Government
and it gets better as if it couldn't
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/12/us-britain-g4s-serco-idUSBREA4...
UK charity calls for government ban for G4S and Serco(Reuters) - British outsourcing firms G4S (GFS.L) and Serco (SRP.L) should be barred from bidding for government work until a fraud investigation into their failed criminal-tagging contracts is complete, a penal reform charity said on Tuesday.
The two firms were found in July to have charged for monitoring criminals who were dead, in prison or had not been tagged at all. The scandal led to a ban on new work, managerial departures, business overhauls and big hits to shares and profits at both companies.
...
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hFWngq2L99o In the wise words of Milli Vanilli, "Blame it on the Rain."
We've gotta sink the biz mark that's makin such a fuss...
Market going higher, as expected.
Bad is good for the Wall Street boys. Got to get your bonuses. Bid the market higher.
I'm waiting on a rainy day to go on a credit-fueled spending binge. Too damn nice outside right now.
I posted a month ago approximately 40% of all the households in Iowa were behind on their utility bills. One doesn't have to be a rocket scientist to know the carryover effect is going to be little to no spending increases for retail. It also means that people are tapped out to not be able to pay their utilities in the first place.
Hey look at the gambling revenues and booze sales. Last I checked gambling revenues were dropping, but booze sales peaking..
Maybe if the FED buys everyone a new CHINEASY knicknack GDP will rise. Frankly I don't have room for BS crap anymore..
Honestly anyone tracking food inflation (i.e. by decreasing weights on packages) AND in the increased prices per lb on meat, cheese, eggs, and gasoline still hovering at 3.6-4/gal with incomes flat to stagnant (any savers completely hosed on return rates) and you'd have to be a FED chairman or on the board with head up the elite ass to understand why purchases are dropping also why they will continue to drop.
They can do whatever the fuck they want with the stock market, drive food/energy prices to the fucking moon, but if wages stagnate it'll just crush the purchasing power of the US. RIP US consumer courtesy FED and US policy makers that allowed for complete manipulation and rigging of what once might have been markets.
Housing prices - won't go anywhere unless the rich in China continue to come to US. I see theM all over the place here driving $100k cars, living in $.5-1M homes. Please pony up we need you Chineasy money to keep this turd afload.
OldE_Ant
If you think things are bad now with soaring food, energy and healthcare costs, just wait till the REAL costs of 0zer0care hit every person with EMPLOYER SPONSORED health plans this fall. Those double digit premium increase announcements are going to KILL the Holiday Retail Season this year. It's not the new normal anymore.... it's only going to get worse from here.
The Fed should be thrilled! They wanted to increase the cost of living and have done a bang up job keeping tuition, healthcare, food, energy and housing costs elevated with all their ZIRP and QE. If income doesn't get equally inflated through wages and continues to be crushed by 6 years of ZIRP, this is EXACTLY the result they should have expected.
No one is talking about the effect of ACA on discretionary spending. Both real and imagined expenses associated with ACA including much higher deductibles may impact the economy from January 2014 into the future.
0zer0care is actually going to get Much Much Much worse. This is the year that EMPLOYER SPONSORED plans get whacked. Everyone will see double digit premium increases this fall, PLUS tens of millions of Employer health plans are going to be eliminated. And there is NOTHING 0zer0 can do to stop it. No executive order is going to prevent this because the risk pools have been obliterated and the financials are driving this runnaway trainwreck now. The bloodbath that is coming is going to make the shitstorm that happened last fall when 5 million people lost their HC plans look like a tea party.
When will the talking heads on the media circuit start discussing the rising gas prices??? Who cares about JayZ getting smacked by his in law! Talk about Memorial Day gas prices you lying propaganda talking heads! he he he, time for coffee #2
When will the talking heads on the media circuit start discussing the rising gas prices??? Who cares about JayZ getting smacked by his in law! Talk about Memorial Day gas prices you lying propaganda talking heads! he he he, time for coffee #2
If this continues, we're going to start seeing/hearing some signs of panic from TPTB. I wonder how they'll approach it? Try to get us all pumped up to spend, like Bush telling us all to go shopping? (THAT would be funny, all things considered.)
Or maybe they'll send us all checks again?
There's really NOT a hell of a lot they CAN do. Bottom line, no one has the money to go shopping.
So, my suggestion to them is "If you LIKE your economy, you can CHOKE on your economy!"
TPTB only have 2 choices. QE to Infinity & Beyond. And when that doesn't work anymore, crash the market, panic the masses, then implement MyRA to take over all Retirement Accounts. The sociopathic bankers will never stop until they own it all, or it all lays in rubble around them and us.
Not surprising. This is what I have been seeing. Now May is off to a pretty good start. Better than April but not by a whole lot. In the end though money looks like it will be tighter.