Just a few notes on the economy, I'm sure you have more?:
-BTM employment index was 97.6 on 4-5, now 79.6
-Rasmussen Consumer index has fallen 10 points in last month to 104.7 today. 56% believe economy "is getting worse."
Message 20169616
-Daily Treasury Statement show little traction on wages.
-Housing starts show drop, new homes per sale up 13.86%, fairly high supply of new unsold home; 387,000 or 4.3 months. Housing and construction of been one of few mainstays of employment market: 18% of the 1.148 million added employees in last year.
-Bloated inventory of unsold autos. April vehicle sales were only 12.9 million, barely above the lows (12.3 m in 02-03) going back to 1998.
btmna.com
-Food and gasoline eating consumer pocket book. $200-$300 million annually diverted to subsistence items? Saw article in local paper (Oregon coast), stated that RV and hotel bookings for Memorial Day are down.
Refi activity lowest in several years, with refi index averaging 1756 last two weeks. Tax refunds already pocketed and mostly spent.
Debt service payment as % of disposable income likely at new high: 13.3% plus:
Message 20169453
Yet through it all you still get this, with SBUX trading to new high after hours. Where are people getting the money to expand their purchases of overpriced coffee? Go figure?
Troy Wolverton
Starbucks Keeps on Perking in May
By Troy Wolverton
TheStreet.com Staff Reporter
5/26/2004 4:50 PM EDT
URL: thestreet.com
Starbucks (SBUX:Nasdaq) brewed up another month of strong sales in May, the company reported after the market close Wednesday.
Overall sales at the coffee chain in the four weeks ended May 23 were $319 million, up 27% vs. the same period last year, the company said. On a same-store basis, which compares like results at outlets open at least 13 months, the company's sales grew 11%.
May marked the fourth-straight month that the company's overall sales have grown in excess of 25% and its same-store sales have jumped more than 10%. In the year to date, Starbucks has posted $3.3 billion in total sales, up 29% from the same period last year. Same-store sales in the year to date are up 11%.
The company has warned investors that those rates are unsustainable. Over the long term, the company expects its total sales to grow by 20% and its same-store sales to grow by 3% to 7%.
Following Starbucks' report, the company's shares rose 31 cents, or 0.8%, to $39.98 in recent after-hours trading. The stock closed regular trading up 9 cents, or 0.2%, to $39.67. |
