This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive
compensation for actions taken through them.
Wall St. has voted on how strong holiday sales will be this year. Shares of Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) and Target (NYSE: TGT) are down year to date. Walmart (NYSE: WMT) and Sears (NYSE: SHLD) are barely higher than the S&P 500, which is flat for the period. The stock price of Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) is an exception to the trend. It is up by 20% since the start of January, although it has sold off recently.
The National Retail Federation expects sales for November and December to be 2.8% higher. A number of industry observers believe that means some retailers will add jobs. Reuters recently reported that expectation is an illusion, fostered by hiring at several large retailers, including Toys ‘R’ Us and Macy’s (NYSE: M). Many smaller retailers may add no workers at all. The retail employment trend is a strong indication that a holiday sales recovery is already dead. The industry cannot afford that. There have been too many lean years over the past four.
Holiday sales and job additions are a good overall proxy for how the economy will fare in the first months of 2012. Consumers, worried that next year the U.S. economy will be like it was in 2011 will save what they can or pay down debt. GDP, up an unexpected 2.5% in the third quarter, will slow again.
Investor pessimism is built into the stocks of large retailers. If investors are right, early 2012 will be another hard period for America’s consumers.
Douglas A. McIntyre
The Average American Is Losing Their Savings Every Day (Sponsor)
If you’re like many Americans and keep your money ‘safe’ in a checking or savings account, think again. The average yield on a savings account is a paltry .4% today, and inflation is much higher. Checking accounts are even worse.
Every day you don’t move to a high-yield savings account that beats inflation, you lose more and more value.
But there is good news. To win qualified customers, some accounts are paying 9-10x this national average. That’s an incredible way to keep your money safe, and get paid at the same time. Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other one time cash bonuses, and is FDIC insured.
Click here to see how much more you could be earning on your savings today. It takes just a few minutes and your money could be working for you.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
Our expert who first called NVIDIA in 2009 is predicting 2025 will see a historic AI breakthrough.
You can follow him investing $500,000 of his own money on our top AI stocks for free.