- The Good And Bad of Credit Cards
- Commodities Rally On Dollar's Weakness
- Next Week's Stars—The Retailers
- Today's Drivers: Retail and Tech
- Can Retailers Meet Those High Expectations?
- Yes, Now A Genocide-Free ETF
- What Matters Most on The Floor
- Wal-Mart And Kohl's Beat—But Cautious Outlook
- After The Bell Big Announcement: HP To Acquire 3Com
- New Highs On Lousy Volume—What's Up?
TRADER TALK RSS FEED
MOST SHARED
- BlackRock: Central Banks To Be Net Buyers of Gold
- Millions May Have to Repay Part of Obama Tax Credit
- Gold Is in a 'Bubble' And Will Keep Going Higher: Gartman
- Weak US Housing Market Drags on Lowe's Profit
- Cisco Ups Tandberg Bid, Claims Over 40% Backing
- Madoff Auction: $4,750 for a Decoy Duck?
- EADS Cautious on Full-Year Forecast after Earnings Dip
- Devon to Sell its Gulf, International Assets
- S&P to Hit 1,175 in the Short Term: Strategist
- Your Jobless Recovery Game Plan
- S&P to Hit 1,175 in the Short Term: Strategist
- Busch: US Health Care Bill a Concern for the Chinese
- Underwater Mortgages Could Sink Even Deeper
- My Market and Fed Outlook Now: BlackRock's Doll
- Farrell: The Market is Still Seeking Reassurance
- GM Cuts Losses—Plans Early Loan Repayment
- Schork Oil Outlook: Still Bearish Crude, But Skeptical
- Gold Is in a 'Bubble' And Will Keep Going Higher: Gartman
- Millions May Have to Repay Part of Obama Tax Credit
- Madoff Auction: $4,750 for a Decoy Duck?
- Slideshow: Madoff's Luxury Boats Go Up for Auction
- Retail Sales Show Gain, But Manufacturing Gauge Slips
- Business Inventories Fall 0.4% in September
- Intel Plans to Increase Dividend 12.75%; Shares Gain
- Several Credit Card Companies See Default Rate Fall
- Fed Proposes Crackdown on Excessive Gift-Card Fees
More Videos
Trader Talk
Text Size 
S&P futures dropped 5 points on the reported death of Benazir Bhutto after a suicide bombing at a rally in Pakistan, then an additional 2 points as the durable goods report was below expectations.
Reading newspaper headlines (and a few analyst reports) the two days after Christmas, you would think some disaster has befallen the American economy. Retail sales were reportedly in the doldrums; everyone seemed in a foul mood.
But according to MasterCard SpendingPulse, total U.S. retail sales, excluding automobile sales, rose 3.6% for the holiday season, spanning the day after Thanksgiving to midnight Monday. Maybe that is a tad below expectations, but it is hardly a disaster. E-commerce had a particularly strong year, posting a 22.4% gain in sales from the same period a year ago.
Personal spending remains strong -- in fact, it grew at the fastest pace in three-and-a-half years.
S&P 500 closed at its highest levels since December 10 and has been up five of the last six days; up 5.6% year to date.
Meantime, retail stocks are just above their lowest levels for the year.
Elsewhere:
1) Citigroup [C
Loading...
()
] down 2 percent pre-open as Goldman Sachs analyst William Tanona lowered estimates; he said Citi may cut its dividend by 40 percent and may need to raise an additional $5 billion to $10 billion in capital.
2) Sallie Mae [SLM
Loading...
()
] down 10 percent pre-open, as it seeks to raise money through a $1.5 billion common stock, $1.0 billion mandatory convert preferred.
Questions? Comments?
- The Good And Bad of Credit Cards
- Commodities Rally On Dollar's Weakness
- Next Week's Stars—The Retailers
- Today's Drivers: Retail and Tech
- Can Retailers Meet Those High Expectations?
- Yes, Now A Genocide-Free ETF
- What Matters Most on The Floor
- Wal-Mart And Kohl's Beat—But Cautious Outlook
- After The Bell Big Announcement: HP To Acquire 3Com
- New Highs On Lousy Volume—What's Up?
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes