"While there are a number of special factors that skew the data, the softening of late has revealed the weakest trend for consumer spending since mid-2016."
When the Census Bureau releases retail sales data at 830am on Valentine's Day, it will be the first time in two months that markets have gotten an update on the state of US retail spending, as the January release was postponed due to the government shutdown (Thursday's release will be for December data). And if Bank of America's proprietary card spending data is any indication, it's set to be a doozy.
As BofA's economists summarize the latest internal spending data, consumer spending weakened at the turn of the year, following a period of solid performance. In fact, retail sales ex-autos, as measured by the aggregated BAC credit and debit card data, tumbled 0.3% month-over-month seasonally adjusted in January - the biggest drop in three years. This follows a flat reading in retail sales ex-autos in December.
DONT be fooled by the MSM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-02-12/brace-plunge-retail-sales
Realist - Everybody in America is soft, and hates conflict. The cure for this, both in politics and social life, is the same -- hardihood. Give them raw truth.
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