retail

Canada reported weaker than expected retail sales report. Instead of a 1.0% rise in January, StatsCan reported a 0.3% decline. Weakness was especially noted in the ex-auto component which was flat instead of up 0.7% as the consensus…

I don't think people realize that the Chinese have just made a rather sizable shift in economic policy. The Chinese are moving on multiple fronts now toward a new economic paradigm that includes slower growth but more domestic consumption.…

By Marc Chandler The Swedish krona is surging today. Hawkish central bank comments have offset disappointing retail sales figures and there is some talk of some month-end related demand. The euro recorded multi-year lows against the…

Retail sales have recovered to pre-recession levels, but not when adjusted for population growth. With that considered sales are only at 1999 levels and less than half of the recession's decline has been recovered.

By Marshall Auerback Yesterday, Ed wrote a good piece on consumer spending and the return of the economy to the status quo ante. I think it's a little bit more malign than that. There has been a real positive change in the underpinnings…

Here is my mantra regarding so-called 'unsustainable' debt levels. I feel strongly about this topic so I'll repeat it and show you a few statistics on consumer debt from the recent US government data: oor quality growth can continue…

This is what the biggest mall in the world looks like on a typical Saturday, very reminiscent of this Hugh Hendry video of China's empty skyscrapers and this video of China's empty city.

I saw this video before but after reader Rick e-mailed it to me I decided to post it. The headline is the interesting part. Greenspan believes the double dip scenario has been off the table for a number of months and that the wealth effect…

Howard Davidowitz, chairman of Davidowitz & Associates Inc., tells Bloomberg's Pimm Fox that the companies doing the best in the retail space are the luxury retailers like Saks(SKS), Tiffany (TIF), Coach (COH). The implication is that…

by Annaly Capital Management Seasonally adjusted greetings to Annaly Salvos readers around the world! In the commercial spirit of the season (and a day early for our blog post this week), we thought we’d go down a level from the headline…