Retail Sales in U.S. Declined for a Second Month in May

story from Bloomberg
Jun 13, 2012 2:01 PM PT

Retail Sales in U.S. Declined for a Second Month in May
The retail sales number fell again for the second month in a row.

A very slight fall two months in a row, but still bad.

Retail sales in the U.S. fell in May for a second month, prompting economists to cut forecasts for economic growth as limited job and income gains hold back consumers.

The 0.2 percent decrease matched April’s drop that was previously reported as a gain, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. Sales excluding car dealerships slumped by the most in two years.

We need big Rises in sales ... right ?

But I guess the stimulus has failed to create spendable income for the citizens !!

The smallest wage gains in a year and unemployment exceeding 8 percent are taking a toll on the consumer spending that accounts for about 70 percent of the economy, leaving it more vulnerable to shocks from the European crisis. Federal Reserve policy makers gather next week to decide whether further stimulus is needed to fuel the three-year-old expansion.

“The consumer is pulling back,” said Michael Brown, an economist at Wells Fargo Securities LLC in Charlotte, North Carolina, who correctly forecast the drop in sales. “There isn’t a lot of job creation. We will continue to see softer numbers.”

...... more details in the article.


And this malarkey:

"Federal Reserve policy makers gather next week to decide whether further stimulus is needed to fuel the three-year-old expansion"

Great "Expansion" isn't it ?

Listening to news radio 880 in new york earlier today... apparently this is a slightly skewed statistic.

Retail sales were UP something like .01%, however, a fall of $0.10-$0.20 in gas prices made the over all number less. if gas prices were high, retail sales would've been up considerably.

Ain't gov't propaganda fun????