Retailers, Materials & Fintech

Check out the accompanying pdf and chart collection. Executive Summary: First the good news: Retail sales rose solidly in both March and April. Now the bad news: Two retail giants missed their Q1 earnings marks, causing recession-fearing investors to jettison their stocks. Jackie recaps what their management teams had to say about the quarter. … Also: With recession fears running high among investors, why is the S&P 500 Materials sector in their good graces? It has outperformed the market and most other sectors ytd. Within Materials, we focus on one industry with a shiny outlook, Steel, and a single member, Nucor. … Also: A look at Walmart’s foray into fintech.