You would have to be named Dr. Pangloss to find good news this morning on the retail sector, but in that fashion there might be a little reprieve from the degree of the onslaught of bad news. Retail sales came out this morning for November, and they were not as bad as expected.
November retail and food sales came in at -1.8% on a headline basis,and that compared with estimates of around -2.2%. On anex-Autos basis, that number was -1.6% rather than the -1.8% consensusestimate. October’s numbers were revised slightly worse to -2.9% from -2.8% previously reported.
What is interesting is that many retailers saw gains last month fromsporting goods to food and beverage, to general merchandise, to healthand personal care, to clothing, to even furniture. What is not reallyoutlined here is that the sales are still going to "heavily discounteditems" and large sales rather than across the board.
Either way, Dr. Pangloss would tell you this is good news on a day when almost no other good news can be found.
Jon C. Ogg
December 12, 2008
Take This Retirement Quiz To Get Matched With An Advisor Now (Sponsored)
Are you ready for retirement? Planning for retirement can be overwhelming, that’s why it could be a good idea to speak to a fiduciary financial advisor about your goals today.
Start by taking this retirement quiz right here from SmartAsset that will match you with up to 3 financial advisors that serve your area and beyond in 5 minutes. Smart Asset is now matching over 50,000 people a month.
Click here now to get started.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Editors' Picks
