South Africa’s PPI remained unch at 6.6%; a good sign that inflation is in check worldwide despite all the money printing.
Comments »‘Breastaurants’ Experiencing A Mini-Boom
via HuffingtonPost.com
NEW YORK — The waitresses at Twin Peaks wear skimpy plaid tops that accentuate their chests. In case you didn’t catch the joke, the chain’s logo is an image of two pointy, snow-capped mountains. And the sports bar doesn’t stop there: It promises “scenic views.”
Twin Peaks owner Randy DeWitt downplays all of that and insists that the appeal of the restaurant goes beyond the obvious. Hearty meals and a focus on making customers feel special, he says, are what really keeps them coming back.
“We believe in feeding the ego before feeding the stomach,” he says. Or as the website of the mountain lodge-themed restaurant states, “Twin Peaks is about you, `cause you’re the man!”
Twin Peaks is part of a booming niche in the beleaguered restaurant industry known as “breastaurants,” or sports bars that feature scantily clad waitresses. These small chains operate in the tradition of Hooters, which pioneered the concept in the 1980s but has struggled in recent years to stay fresh.
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Is Trade in China Dropping Faster Than They Say ?
June Retail Sales Predicted Soft – $COST, $LTD, $SKS, $BKE, $JWN, $KSS, $KORS, $LULU, $ZUMZ, $FRAN, $ANF, $DSW, $BBBY, $BODY
“Retail sales for the month of June are expected to show only modest growth according to research firm Retail Metrics Inc. June is not a particularly good month for most retailers, and this year stores have to compare sales to June 2011 when the sales growth over June 2010 averaged a phenomenal 7.2%.”
Comments »Congressional Budget Office Has Cumulatively Reduced its Estimate of 2017 GDP by 6.6%
Guess who is responsible for curbing this estimate…at least in theory due to politics ?
Comments »America’s Economy Really Is Screwed Up, And The Problem Is Corruption
“Over the past few days, Henry Blodget at Business Insider posted a number of graphs, here and here, which depict something about the US economy that everybody knows to some extent or another, but that most of us won’t have let thoroughly sink in. For some because the consequences are too opaque, for others because they are too scary. But make no mistake: we can only continue to ignore or misinterpret them at our own peril. And even then it’s terribly late in the game.
The essence of Blodget’s argument is this: ”
Comments »Despite Global Central Bank Commitment Markets are Worried of a Lost Decade
The markets finally get it. Stimulus does promote growth, but you can still have a Japan style malaise for a decade or more. Only this time it is different since Japan had their lost decade during a global credit expansion; today the world is going through credit deflation.
Comments »Old Man Buffett’s Favorite Indicator Still Shows Improvement
“Despite cratering commodities and a weakening globaleconomy domestic rail traffic continues to show signs of strength. Carloads were down -2.5% on a year over year basis, but intermodal jumped 5.2%. The 10 week moving average for intermodal is now at 4.2%, it’s highest rate since February. AAR has the details on this week’s data:
Comments »“The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported mixed weekly rail traffic for the week ending June 16, 2012, with U.S. railroads originating 287,036 carloads, down 2.5 percent compared with the same week last year. Intermodal volume for the week totaled 249,975 trailers and containers, up 5.2 percent compared with the same week last year.”
Philadelphia Fed: Prior -5.8%, Market Expects -0.2%, Actual -16.6%
Leading Indicators: Prior 0.1%, Market Expects 0, Actual 0.3%
Existing Home Sales: Prior 4.62 Million, Market Expects 4.56 Million, Actual 4.55 milllion
Comments »U.S. Manufacturing Grows at the Slowest Pace in 11 Months
NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. manufacturing grew in June at its slowest pace in 11 months and hiring in the sector slowed asoverseas demand for U.S. products waned, an industry survey showed on Thursday.
Financial information firm Markit said its U.S. “flash” manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index fell to 52.9 from 54.0 in May. The June reading was the lowest since last July although it stayed above 50, indicating expansion in activity.
For the second straight month, weaker demand from Europe and large emerging markets such as China dented sales. Markit said U.S. manufacturers reported the second largest decline in new export orders since September 2009.”
Comments »India is Creating Heartburn for Investors
“India’s GDP slowed to 5.3 percent in the January to March quarter. Since then S&P has warned that the country could lose its investment grade, and Fitch revised India’s outlook to ‘negative’.
Sentiment has turned against India not just on a slew of weak economic data, but also the country’s political unwillingness to implement reforms, and on allegations of corruption.
We drew on S&P’s report, “Will India Be The First BRIC Fallen Angel?” for a broader look at what’s got everyone bothered about the Indian economy.”
Comments »The Most Resilient Economy in Europe Has Just Slipped Into Recession
U.K. Retail Sales Rise More Than Expected
“U.K. retail sales rose more than economists forecast in May, recovering some of the ground lost the previous month when poor weather damped demand.
Sales including auto fuel gained 1.4 percent from April, the Office for National Statistics said today in London. The median forecast of 20 economists in a Bloomberg News survey was for a 1.2 percent increase. Retail sales fell a revised 2.4 percent in April, curbed by the wettest April on record. Excluding fuel, sales increased 0.9 percent in May.”
Comments »New Zealand’s Economy Grew at the Fastest Pace in Five Years
New Zealand has cause to celebrate as last q marked the best quarter of growth in five years.
Comments »China’s Slowdown is Nearly as Bad as 2008
China is nearing 8 months of contraction in manufacturing and overall growth. The measure of their economy is just about as bad as it was in 2008. Their PMI is now in recession territory @ 48.1. Stimulus thus far has failed to stem the slowdown.
Comments »South Africa Posts its Largest Current Account Deficit in Three Years
A slowing global economy couple with a stronger currency has exports from South Africa slowing.
Comments »Global Q1 TV Shipments Off 8%; LCDs First-Ever Down Quarter
The European Debt Crisis Causes Japan to Report Their First Trade Deficit
“Japan reported its first trade deficit with the European Union since the Finance Ministry began tracking data in 1979 as the debt crisis roiling Spain and Greece limits a rebound in Japanese exports.
An overall shortfall of 907.3 billion yen ($11.5 billion) for May, reported today in Tokyo, was bigger than all 24 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey of economists. Exports rose 10 percent from a year earlier, the most in 17 months, while imports exceeded estimates. The trade gap with the EU was 11.1 billion yen.”
Comments »The Obama Economy: A Look at 13 Key Data Points
Here is a look at how the president may be performing. This article looks at many areas of the economy showing what has transpired since Obama took office.
Comments »Hopium Distorts Reality
Check out these charts and commentary over how the markets overlook reality. Advisers are hoping you miss them while they do the ABCs.
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