Navigating the Retailing Crosscurrents
Retail is a sector I find interesting right now. The space seems to be in flux as it tries to navigate numerous crosscurrents. Consumer confidence is at a five-year high which should be great for retail stocks. However, as neither political party is really championing an extension right now, it appears that the payroll tax holiday will expire at the end of the year. This would take $120 billion annually out of consumers' pockets, and probably provide a substantial headwind -- especially at the low end of the market -- unless Congress kicks the entire can down the road for a few months while they negotiate a longer-term deal. Job growth is anemic for this point in a recovery, but we are still adding over 100,000 new jobs a month.
So judging where consumer demand is going is very challenging at the moment. My take is that the low end of the market is something I want to avoid right now due to tepid job growth and the payroll tax expiration. The luxury and mid-market sectors should do better. For my account, I am holding a couple of middle- and higher-end retailers whose stock prices have already taken their lumps. I think they have little downside should things get worse and they should do well if we manage to muddle through the next few months....281 more words left in this article. To read them, just click below and try Real Money FREE for 14 days.
There’s no substitute for a trading floor to get great ideas, so Jim Cramer created a better one at Real Money and blogs there exclusively. We then added legendary hedge fund manager, Doug Kass, with his exclusive Daily Diary and best investing ideas. Staffed with more than 4 dozen investing pros, money managers, journalists and analysts, Real Money Pro gives you a flood of opinions, analysis and actionable trading advice found nowhere else, and allows you to interact directly with each expert.
Already a Subscriber? Please login.
