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Just the Beginning of Big Corporation Bad NewsThis is a difficult time of the year, with companies preannouncing more bad news. More bad news from already weak visibility reported at the end of the third quarter last year. The economic data aren't helping either and, in spite of already revised expectations from economic analysts, most of the news is coming in below consensus expectations. Retail sales numbers for this past December confirmed what retailers reported after Christmas: that it was one of the worst years for the retail industry in decades. According to the Commerce Department, retail sales dropped a substantial 2.7% in December, double the 1.2% drop expected by Wall Street economists. In all of 2007, total retail sales gained some 4.1%. For 2008, retail sales gave up all of this gain to close down the year 0.1%. For December, virtually all industry sectors of retail sales showed a drop in activity, with automobile sales dropping an enormous 22.4% from 2007. Even Wal-Mart is now saying that it has noticed there is a fundamental change in way consumers are behaving. The world's biggest retail chain expects consumers to be buying far less goods for some time to come. The retailer doesn't expect a turnaround in the economy anytime soon. With this reality and more bad news from corporations, I think it's very reasonable to expect that the stock market will continue to head lower in the near term. Germany's biggest bank, Deutsche Bank, just reported a substantial €4.8-billion loss in its latest fourth quarter due to bad management decisions on risk and a weakening global economy. I fear this is just the beginning of the bad news that's going to be coming from the world's major corporations. So, all we can do is hunker down and ride out the storm once again. Despite all the attractive valuations in the stock market, I'd be very wary about taking on new positions at this time. Investment risk is just too high. Profit Confidential --- http://www.profitconfidential.com/ LOMBARDI PUBLISHING CORPORATION News, Analysis, and Information Services Since 1986. One Million Customers in 141 Countries. Lombardi Publishing Corporation Financial Publications Division 350 Fifth Avenue, Suite 3304 New York, NY 10118-3304 --- Copyright 2008; Lombardi Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved. No part of this e-newsletter may be used or reproduced in any manner or means, including print, electronic, mechanical, or by any information storage and retrieval system whatsoever , without written permission from the copyright holder.Article Tags: Retail Sales Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com
ABOUT THE AUTHORMitchell Clark, B. Comm., Senior Editor at Lombardi Financial, specializes in small-cap stocks. He’s the editor of a variety of popular Lombardi Financial newsletters, such as Penny Stock Reporter, Micro-Cap Stocks, and Monster Profits. Mitchell, who has been with Lombardi Financial for eleven years, is currently authoring a book on how to pick small-cap stocks for maximum profits. Prior to joining Lombardi, Mitchell was a stock broker for a division of one of the largest financial institutions in North America.
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