Consumers Spending Selectively

Executive Summary: The rolling recession hit the retail industry during the first half of this year. Demand for many retailers’ merchandise plummeted during Q2, even as consumers paid up for services like travel and dining and big-ticket items like new cars and homes. Jackie examines how the shift in consumer behavior affected the earnings of particular retailers last quarter as well as the ytd performance of particular Consumer Discretionary industries’ share price indexes. … Also: US households are in good shape right now with unemployment low. But consumer debt has been on the rise, and other factors may weigh on consumer spending soon—including the resumption of student loan payments.