A week ago it was the better than expected weather's fault for the big Wal-Mart miss [2]. Today, it is the turn of that other retail bellwether, Target, to blame sunny days.
From the release [3]: "Target’s first quarter earnings were below expectations as a result of softer-than-expected sales, particularly in apparel and other seasonal and weather-sensitive categories,” said Gregg Steinhafel, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Target Corporation. “While we are disappointed in our first quarter performance, we remain confident in our strategy, and we continue to invest in initiatives, including Canada, our digital channels and CityTarget, that will drive Target’s long-term growth."
Of course, what this miss really means is that the payroll tax impact on consumption, so well seasonally-adjusted out of the wholesale retail sales numbers, and thus PCE and GDP, and which Goldman has been so inquisitively looking for and not finding at the national level leading it to believe the US economy is steadily on the mend, is more than present at the micro level. One only has to look. And with gas prices set to rise back to all time highs in a day or two, one can forget hopes that the fade in the payroll tax hike's impact on consumption will be promptly forgotten as other forms of taxation strip the already empty consumer wallet even more bare.