U.S. July Retail Sales Rise 1.8%; Ex-Autos Up 0.3% (half of expected)

[papau]

Americans spent money in July on discounted automobiles, expensive fuel to run them and not much else, leading to a 1.8 percent increase in U.S. retail sales that trailed economists' forecasts.

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000006&sid=apvYY_k8BglM&refer=home

U.S. July Retail Sales Rise 1.8%; Ex-Autos Up 0.3% (Update2)
Aug. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Americans spent money in July on discounted automobiles, expensive fuel to run them and not much else, leading to a 1.8 percent increase in U.S. retail sales that trailed economists' forecasts.

Last month's increase followed a 1.7 percent gain in June, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. Excluding auto dealers, sales rose 0.3 percent, half the median forecast in a Bloomberg News economist survey. Job growth has helped support demand for cars and other goods, and the Labor Department said today that initial jobless claims unexpectedly fell last week.

<snip>
Economists expected retail sales would rise 2.1 percent last month, based on the median forecast of 72 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. Sales excluding automobiles were expected to rise 0.6 percent following a 0.9 percent June increase.
<snip>

[hatrack]

1. "Economists expected . .. " Economists were surprised . . . "

Two of my favorite cliches in the English language! :evilgrin:

[papau]

2. :-)

:-)

[hippywife]

3. I heard a report on NPR the other day

that the rise in retail sales was mostly for durable goods like cars, boats, etc and that sales of non-durable good were down. That tells me that the people that have money and are largely uneffected by the downturn in the economy, "the haves", are the only ones spending money.

The employee discount programs the car makers are running are most likely the only thing contributing to their slight increase in sales and yet it hasn't pegged them as high as expected. Notice the foreign car makers aren't seeing a need for these give away promotions and there is a waiting list for hybrids. And yet the American car makers still don't or don't want to get it. If they had made the investment in manufacturing hybrids when the Japanese did, they might have stayed competitive without these special discount programs.

Around here, I've seen alot of boats sitting in front of people's homes with for sale signs on them for most of the spring and summer. The average worker isn't making enough money to run them anymore.

[Voltaire99]

4. Good surmise

Anecdotally, anyway, I can confirm your hunch. I live in a city where economic activity is decidedly slowed: sale signs are everywhere, businesses visibly empty. (The city's foolhardy decision to subsidize with tax breaks the opening of a block filled with corporate chain stores has resulted in these places having more non-living wage employees than customers.)

Yet when I travel to the suburbs to see relatives, I pass the sprawling, buzzing upscale malls. They're hives of activity.

Upper middle class Bush America is spending its heart out. That's one reason it couldn't give a rat's ass about the rest of the nation: these are high times for the haves. What problems? What unemployment? What war?

[durablend]

5. This is why the poor/middle class are SCREWED

As long as the rich are spending, who cares about the unwashed?