Consumer Sector Faces March Madness

By Markos Kaminis (Wall St. Greek): Rejoice oh troubled masses of American investors, the consumer has been reported still living. Yes, the dead and depressed are walking and talking, and according to the headlines of the popular press, they are in a better mood for shopping too.

By Markos Kaminis (Wall St. Greek): In a recent article entitled, "Consumers Signal Recession Coming," we highlighted the deteriorating trend of the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index over the past several weeks.

By Markos Kaminis (Wall St. Greek): The market's rise since the start of the year on the resolution (of sorts) of the fiscal policy blockage is well documented and deserved in my opinion. With the debt ceiling resolved (or displaced) as well, most of what bothered investors was cleared away.

Markos Kaminis (Wall St. Greek) submits: The past couple weeks of data have offered an image of what appears to be an improving consumption environment. However, last Friday's Reuters/University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Survey produced a conflicting report showing a souring of sentiment.

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ETF Database submits: Equity markets have been very choppy as of late, as traders remain unsure of the market’s direction going into the summer. With details of the financial reform, Gulf oil spill and the recent G-20 summit swirling, uncertainty is running high as the curtain falls on the second quarter. However, recent news on the consumer front may suggest that things have bottomed out.

Following all the glowing retail sales reports for Christmas, the actual numbers reported today show a mere .1% rise. Excluding autos which rose 1.5%, retail sales actually declined. MarketWatch reports U.S. retail sales rise scant 0.1% in December Sales at U.S. retailers increased 0.1% in December, the government said Thursday, in a report that bucked expectations of stronger sales during the holiday period.

Dr. Stephen Leeb submits:Despite some positive economic news that has come out in recent weeks, one area of the economy that has yet to show real signs of improvement is retail spending. American consumers are still reeling from the near collapse of the U.S. economy, and nearly 10 percent of them don’t have a job (many more if you count partially employed). This raises doubts about the sustainability of the recovery, given that personal consumption accounts for roughly 70 percent of U.S.