Post by unlawflcombatnt on Jun 7, 2007 17:36:03 GMT -6
May retail sales show a significatnt slowdown over the last year. Below are excerpts from an article from Bloomberg News discussing the slowdown. The title of the article is:
U.S. Retail May Sales Slow; Macy's Trails Estimates
By Heather Burke
"June 7 (Bloomberg) -- Sales at Macy's Inc., J.C. Penney Co. and other U.S. retailers fell in May as shoppers curbed purchases due to higher gasoline prices and a sluggish housing market.
Sales at stores open at least a year at Macy's, the second- largest U.S. department-store chain, dropped 3.3 percent, the most in 18 months. Same-store sales fell 2 percent at J.C. Penney, the third largest. Both trailed analysts' estimates.
U.S. retail sales from February through May rose at about half the pace from a year earlier as consumers reined in purchases of non-essential items such as clothing and home furnishings. The slowdown may continue into June, according to Michael Niemira, chief economist at the International Council of Shopping Centers.
``We are really at a point here where this is going to be, probably for 2007, a slow-growth period for the retail world,'' said Eric Beder, an analyst at Brean Murray Carret & Co. in New York. Consumers ``don't really see the need to take out their wallets when they are worried about their housing prices, or gas or a number of other economic features.''
Same-store sales at 50 U.S. retail chains increased a combined 2.5 percent last month, the ICSC said today. That's down from a gain of 4.5 percent in May 2006. Same-store sales are an industry benchmark because they exclude results from new or closed stores....
U.S. sales of previously owned homes dropped in April to the lowest level in almost four years, the National Association of Realtors said May 25. The median price of an existing home fell 0.8 percent last month to $220,900.
With lower home prices and higher interest rates, people find it harder to extract equity from their properties. That may contribute to a slowdown in consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the U.S. economy, economists have said....
The 3.3 percent drop at Macy's, formerly called Federated Department Stores Inc., missed analysts' estimates for a decline of 1.4 percent, according to Retail Metrics....
U.S. retail sales for the four months through May rose 2.2 percent, about half the 4.1 percent gain in the comparable period in 2006, according to the ICSC's Niemira....."
The entire article can be found at Bloomberg News under
U.S. Retail May Sales Slow; Macy's Trails Estimates
U.S. Retail May Sales Slow; Macy's Trails Estimates
By Heather Burke
"June 7 (Bloomberg) -- Sales at Macy's Inc., J.C. Penney Co. and other U.S. retailers fell in May as shoppers curbed purchases due to higher gasoline prices and a sluggish housing market.
Sales at stores open at least a year at Macy's, the second- largest U.S. department-store chain, dropped 3.3 percent, the most in 18 months. Same-store sales fell 2 percent at J.C. Penney, the third largest. Both trailed analysts' estimates.
U.S. retail sales from February through May rose at about half the pace from a year earlier as consumers reined in purchases of non-essential items such as clothing and home furnishings. The slowdown may continue into June, according to Michael Niemira, chief economist at the International Council of Shopping Centers.
``We are really at a point here where this is going to be, probably for 2007, a slow-growth period for the retail world,'' said Eric Beder, an analyst at Brean Murray Carret & Co. in New York. Consumers ``don't really see the need to take out their wallets when they are worried about their housing prices, or gas or a number of other economic features.''
Same-store sales at 50 U.S. retail chains increased a combined 2.5 percent last month, the ICSC said today. That's down from a gain of 4.5 percent in May 2006. Same-store sales are an industry benchmark because they exclude results from new or closed stores....
U.S. sales of previously owned homes dropped in April to the lowest level in almost four years, the National Association of Realtors said May 25. The median price of an existing home fell 0.8 percent last month to $220,900.
With lower home prices and higher interest rates, people find it harder to extract equity from their properties. That may contribute to a slowdown in consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the U.S. economy, economists have said....
The 3.3 percent drop at Macy's, formerly called Federated Department Stores Inc., missed analysts' estimates for a decline of 1.4 percent, according to Retail Metrics....
U.S. retail sales for the four months through May rose 2.2 percent, about half the 4.1 percent gain in the comparable period in 2006, according to the ICSC's Niemira....."
The entire article can be found at Bloomberg News under
U.S. Retail May Sales Slow; Macy's Trails Estimates