Once again, the evidence points to a reinvigorated consumer as retail earnings are shattering consensus across the board. More well-off consumers are shopping as William Sonoma enjoyed comparable store sales of 8.7%. According to company CEO Laura Alber people are investing in their homes and buying gifts for the holidays.
Then there are the stores that might have been left for dead, like Best Buy, which will be among the biggest winners in the market today.
| Company | Ticker | EPS (Actual) | EPS (Est) | Rev (Actual $M) | Rev (Est $M) |
| Copa Holdings | CPA | 2.25 | 2.04 | $663.70 | $681.19 |
| Keurig Green Mountain | GMCR | 0.90 | 0.77 | $1,195.60 | $1,161.48 |
| L Brands | LB | 0.44 | 0.40 | $2,318.90 | $2,308.38 |
| Salesforce.com | CRM | 0.14 | 0.13 | $1,380.00 | $1,371.23 |
| Williams-Sonoma | WSM | 0.68 | 0.63 | $1,143.00 | $1,118.71 |
| Best Buy | BBY | 0.32 | 0.25 | $9,380.00 | $9,114.49 |
| Dollar Tree | DLTR | 0.69 | 0.64 | $2,095.20 | $2,064.97 |
| JinkoSolar Holdings* | JKS | 1.36 | 0.71 | $417.30 | $459.39 |
| Mobileye | MBLY | 0.04 | 0.04 | $34.70 | $31.09 |
| The Children's Place | PLCE | 1.82 | 1.79 | $487.30 | $488.02 |
* = Open WSS Idea
Guidance has been mostly to the upside with the exceptions only slightly different than Wall Street consensus. Still, there was an interesting bifurcation of the market with retail and consumer names higher, though major indices were under pressure all session long. Those Fed minutes didn't tell us a lot, but I did think comments on global economic issues was telling... turns out, maybe the Fed isn't going to be the superhero that prints money to save the planet.
Heck, they can't even save America.
On that note, there is real concern about global deflation which could spark a contagion. It's worth watching, but not acting on at the moment. In the meantime, consumer prices for October came in hotter than expected. The news sent already weak equity futures even lower because a lack of inflation is a key rationale for not hiking rates. In the real world, there is much more inflation than expressed by government numbers, however when those numbers begin to catch up with reality, the Fed has to react.
Not completely there yet, but getting closer.
Tonight, President Obama outlines his plans to go-it-alone on immigration despite massive public opinion against an imperial approach to this issue. This is certainly an economic issue in addition to a moral issue, but the two are almost always tied at the hip when thought through.
As a political gambit, even Hispanics aren't fawning over the idea that 5 million illegal immigrants get rewarded while more than six million people are trying to enter the country through the legal process. Americans understand the complexity of sending 12 million people back home, but overwhelmingly want them to pay fines (being here is a crime), back taxes and security checks.
| 38% | 43% | 57% | 74% |
| SupportExecutive Action | Hispanics Support | Favor Pathway to Citizenship | Favor Pathway with Fines, Back Taxes & Security Checks |
The announcement will be made tonight right at the start of the Latin Grammy Awards- no major network will carry the speech, but I will discuss on my show- Making Money With Charles Payne on Fox Business at 6 PM EST.
Equity futures began trading the morning under pressure, mostly from bad news from the rest of the world, primarily Europe which cannot right the ship. Giving up on socialistic tendencies is tough, even when you've run out of other people's money.
The pause here is understandable and a chance to gauge the will of investors. Consolidation mostly shakes out weak hands, but also some winning trades will be cashed in as well.
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