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Strategies & Market Trends : The Residential Real Estate Post-Crash Index-Moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: yard_man who wrote (76231)	10/15/2012 1:20:45 PM
From: patron_anejo_por_favor	2 Recommendations Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 119360

Yes, funny how retail sales are "ex-auto" but not "ex-gasoline". I'm sure that's just a random choice.....<G>

To: yard_man who wrote (76231)	10/15/2012 1:27:05 PM
From: Smiling Bob	Respond to of 119360

Agree and fully expect the stock slide to carry on by day's end Retail numbers a farce C eanrings are meaningless. Haven't we learned fat squid doesn't translate to good economy? Probably close flat or pretty close ---- IPhone helped retail sales, but only a touch Higher cost of gas, food suggests gain less positive than it appears By Jeffry Bartash, MarketWatch WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — No, the iPhone didn’t save the day for the U.S. economy in September. Sales of the new iPhone 5, of course, were astronomical last month. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) sold more than 5 million units globally after the latest version went on sale in late September. The launch of iPhone helped deliver a boost to retail sales. They jumped 1.1% in September, above Wall Street’s expectations of a 0.9% gain. The iPhone may have accounted entirely for the upside surprise — and maybe a touch more. Read about September retail sales. Indeed, the launch of every new version of the iPhone has led to a larger-than-expected increase in retail sales the month it was released, according to Spencer Jakab of The Wall Street Journal. Read Jakab’s article. The influence of the iPhone is obvious when breaking down spending by category. Sales among retailers of electronics and appliances — chains such as Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) — surged 4.5% last month. That’s the biggest increase since October 2011’s gain of 5.3%. ECONOMY AND POLITICS Bernanke defends QE3 Fed Chairman, speaking at IMF meeting in Tokyo, sticks up for his central bank's extraordinary efforts to boost U.S. economy. • Retail sales jump 1.1% in Sept. • New York factory activity weak • Crosscurrents in the economy • Political Watch blog • U.S. economic calendar • Global economic calendar • Columns: Nutting \| Delamaide • Follow @MKTWEconomics Not coincidentally, Apple released the iPhone 4S in October 2011. Retail sales were significantly stronger than expected in that month, too. What’s more, sales also rose sharply in the nonstore category — government speak for online retailers such as Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) that also are heavy sellers of electronics. Retail spending rose 1.8% for these stores. Apple’s physical stores and online site fall into either one or both of the electronics and nonstore categories. (By law, the Commerce Department cannot identify which stores specifically fall into which group.) “Although we don’t get a breakdown of the data by specific electronic goods, the jump in sales is probably due to the September 21 release of the iPhone 5,” wrote economist Jeremy Lawson of BNP Paribas. So bravo for Apple and iPhone lovers. Yet the bulk of the increase in retail spending in September occurred in other segments, mainly auto dealers, gas stations and grocery stores. These categories accounted for more than 58% of the increase in spending last month, compared to a combined 22% gain for nonstore and electronics retailers. Spending on gas and food, moreover, reflected the high price of fuel in September as well as the rising cost of groceries. “Food and beverage spending was up big,” noted chief economist Richard Moody of Regions Bank. These are not positive developments for consumers or the economy overall. When Americans have to spend more on basic necessities, they have less cash for other goods and services. The upshot: higher retail spending in the third quarter — July, August and September — are probably not as positive as they appear. “These are good numbers for the third quarter, but there are reasons to be concerned,” Moody said. Those concerns include slow wage growth, a low savings rate and a sluggish jobs market. Consumer spending, which accounts for than two-thirds of the U.S. economy, is limited by all three. That’s why the economy is expected to expand by a lackluster 1.6% in the third quarter, according to the latest MarketWatch forecast. See Economic Calendar. Growth has tapered off since the first three months of 2012. Unfortunately, the new iPhone can’t increase paychecks or savings accounts or encourage businesses to hire. Copyright © 2012 MarketWatch, Inc. All rights reserved. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy - UPDATED 10/18/2011. Intraday Data provided by SIX Financial Information and subject to terms of use. Historical and current end-of-day data provided by SIX Financial Information. Intraday data delayed per exchange requirements. S&P/Dow Jones Indices (SM) from Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All quotes are in local exchange time. Real time last sale data provided by NASDAQ. More information on NASDAQ traded symbols and their current financial status. Intraday data delayed 15 minutes for Nasdaq, and 20 minutes for other exchanges. S&P/Dow Jones Indices (SM) from Dow Jones & Company, Inc. SEHK intraday data is provided by SIX Financial Information and is at least 60-minutes delayed. All quotes are in local exchange time