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"No Iraq bounce in US retail sales


Confidence seems to be picking up
US retail sales slipped lower last month, in a fresh sign that the end of the war in Iraq did not trigger the hoped-for economic rebound.

The US Commerce Department said sales for April fell by 0.1% compared with the previous month, falling far short of the surprise 2.3% increase recorded in March.

Retail sales are regarded as a key indicator of overall economic health in the US, where consumer spending accounts for two thirds of all economic activity.

On Wall Street, the benchmark Dow Jones share index was down 0.5% at 8,636 shortly after the latest figures were published.

Shopping cautiously

The slowdown at America's shopping malls comes amid a deteriorating jobs climate, with US unemployment climbing to 6% in April after three consecutive months of job losses.

Some analysts fear that a further rise in unemployment could lead consumers to rein in their spending, depriving the economy of its main growth engine.

"Consumers are tentative. They are lacking in commitment to the recovery, but they are not in a situation where they are battening down the hatches either," said Ken Mayland, president of Clearview Economics.

The bigger than expected decline in retail sales last month was partly reflected a sharp decrease in petrol prices.

Although this was partly offset by a 2.5% increase in car sales, as consumers rushed to take advantage of attractive financing deals."

source: BBC News

Honestly I think it will take no less than two years or so for the economy to START to improve. I actually believe that we need a REGIME CHANGE before any of that can happen. It's obvious that the administration we have there right now don't know what de hell they are doing and thus far all the measures (cutting taxes, invading Iraq) have done nothing to stimulate the economy. People would be worried about taxes if they had a JOB first. So to me cuttiing taxes is mute when thousands of people are losing their jobs. The Iraq situation is only going to put money in the pockets of people who already have.

It amazes me that whenever the Republicans are in control the economy starts to go downhill. Before 9/11 even happened this economy started to tank and the Bush administration did not have a clue as to what to do to save it.

I think we still have plenty tough times to go through before we see the light at the end of the tunnel

Well I go to school for retail. I go to FIT and it has come to the conclusion that stores can only survive with marking down products. People are not willing to spend $100 for a shirt when they are in doubt if they will have a job next week. I also agree that for the economy to really change we need a regime change. Bush couldn't be anymore obvious in what he stands for and who he is trying to help with his tax cuts, that even Alan Greenspan, the head of the Fed states would not help the economy. Technically tax cuts don't even make sense in a poor economy because it just means a larger deficit somewhere else. If public officials were just smart enough to save some money when the economy is going good, there wouldn't be such major problems when it goes downhill. The unemployment rate has gone up and salaries are decreasing or staying the same. If people have no money to spend, there's no money in the economy. Also, interest rates keep going down and it still doesn't seem to be helping. If we didn't have a leader that was investing so much money to invade someplace else and keep people there indefinitely, maybe there could be investment on the homefront. I agree that it's going to take a couple years for things to turn around, and hopefully by then we will be under a new regime.

I think the economy will get worse before it even begins to show signs of getting better. You all had great points regarding the current administration for real. It's been quite obvious since day one that the economy was never a main concern for them. Cost of living is still on the rise (at least in NY, the price of everything is still rising), but less people are employed. Instead of focusing on creating a healthier job market or making sure corporations find solutions other then layin people off (since this is the ONLY thing they do rather than think of an alternative), the government is showing much more interest in the affairs of other countries. They're more concerned with the "freedom", and "better life" for Iraqis then they are for they're own people! The focus on foreign lands has absolutely NO affect on us normal everyday people, so it basically doesn't concern the majority of the population. Too much to say on this topic really, but to sum it up, we should buckle our seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy ride!

the economy will go back up, but 2 try and predict a time frame, i don't think even industry watchers can predict. rite now we are facing the highest unemployment rate in ny, but not sure if nationwide. it will take a while. the question is what will people do 2 help better themselves when the economy goes back up and prepare themselves if it plunges again.

salt