One headline referred to yesterday’s stock trading this way: "Stocks Wilt." Well, if that's what you call a 40-point drop in the Dow Industrials -- after more than 500 points of gains in the previous two weeks -- then I suppose a 0.3 percent decline is wilting. Some might suggest the decline was more of a pause following the solid gains in eight of the last 10 weeks that have taken the Dow to within 4 percent of an all-time high.
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The $700 mark remains elusive for Apple. The stock closed yesterday slightly below that level and has been both above and below $700 in early trading today. The real trick is to close above that threshold. The shares are up just about 100 percent from the low of $354 in the past 52 weeks. The market cap is now above $655 billion, a record level for any American company.
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Despite all of the negative headlines, most consumers are feeling pretty good about the economy. The 2012 Chase Pulse of the Consumer survey finds 64 percent of people believe the economy is either at bottom and stable or has already bottomed out and is getting better. Compare that to 33 percent a year ago at this time. Another report, the S&P/Experian consumer credit default indices, finds the default rate on consumer loans fell for the eighth consecutive month in August. The survey of five different types of loans found only auto loans saw a slight increase in defaults but still remains at a very low 1.09 percent.
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The Country Financial Security index finds 79 percent of people say they are not likely to lose their jobs in the next 90 days, a nine-point improvement from the low point in the recession in 2009. The report finds only 39 percent of those surveyed expect to earn more money in the next year.
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FedEx is feeling the impact of a global slowdown. In a report released this morning, CFO Alan Graf said, "Earnings for the first quarter were below our expectations as weak global economic conditions dampened revenue growth, drove a shift by our customers to our deferred services and outpaced our near-term ability to reduce FedEx Express operating costs to match demands."
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The confidence of America's homebuilders rose in September for the fifth consecutive month. Barry Rutenberg, president of the National Association of Home Builders, said the increase "Provides further assurance that the housing market is moving in a positive direction, but there's still a long way to go on the road to recovery and several obstacles are slowing progress." In particular, he said tight credit conditions are preventing many builders from putting crews back to work.
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It is a product that has achieved cult status. That's right, the McRib is a sandwich some people crave every year as McDonald's teases their taste buds by only offering it for a limited time. Well, McRib fans, who were awaiting the arrival of the pork sandwich smothered in BBQ sauce and onions, will have to wait a bit longer. Ad Age magazine claims to have received a memo saying the traditional arrival of the McRib in late October or early November has been delayed and won't be available until mid-December. The idea is to push the sales into the final few weeks of the year. In reading up on the McRib I found there are many websites for the fans including some less than appetizing discussions about the content -- calories and otherwise. It is almost to the status of the marshmallow Peeps that are put through various experiments each year to determine their durability.
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