STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Thursday, 5 July 2012

[Demeter]

45. Retailers post worst June sales in three years

CAN YOU SAY PRICE OF GAS, CHILDREN? I THOUGHT YOU COULD

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/retailers-post-disappointing-june-sales-2012-07-05?siteid=YAHOOB

As economic uncertainty led to a decline in both consumer confidence and sentiment in June, American shoppers also exercised caution with their wallets and delivered mainly disappointing sales for U.S. retailers.

From discounters Costco Wholesale Corp. and Target Corp. to department-store operator Macy’s Inc. and teen-oriented Buckle Inc., monthly sales results came up short of expectations Thursday. Signaling that retailers in the middle continued to be squeezed, Kohl’s Corp.’s sales fell a wider-than-expected 4.2%. The company also said second-quarter profit would be at the low end of its previously forecast range of 96 cents to $1.02 a share...Macy’s Inc.’s sales rose 1.2%, missing the 1.9% estimate.

“This was a function of a macroeconomic environment that is stagnant at best, and lower spending by tourists in cities such as New York,” said Chief Executive Terry Lundgren, adding sales also were hurt more than expected by renovations at Macy’s New York flagship.

WHAT TOURISTS?

Among 20 retailers that reported their results, more than two-thirds of them missed estimates, according to Thomson Reuters. Total June sales at stores open at least a year — a key industry performance metric that strips out the impact of new and closed stores — rose 0.1%, short of the 0.5% gain Wall Street was looking for and the smallest pace since sales declined in August 2009, according to Thomson Reuters.

As stock markets have declined in the past three months amid uncertainty about the euro-zone financial crisis, China’s slowing economy, and disappointing job growth in the U.S., consumers paused in their spending even in the face of gasoline prices declining for 11 straight weeks....


GOTTEN ANY BLOOD FROM THAT STONE YET, CHISELERS?