Is Retail Signaling a Newly Confident Consumer?
Web Editor, "Mad Money"
“We’re seeing the turn” in retail, Cramer said during Wednesday’s Stop Trading!.
The Mad Money host noted that the Retail HOLDRs exchange-traded fund is starting to rise in price, as is Kohl’s . Also, Costco held its ground in the face of a disappointing report and guidance from BJ’s Wholesale, and it looks like J.C. Penney under $20 a share was a mistake. All of this is good news, he said, as it shows what looks like a return of confidence for spending consumers.
“This is again that better tone that’s developing [in] the market,” Cramer said. “And it’s nice to see.”
In earnings news, Deere said things about Europe that ran contrary to what other companies have reported about the Continent. Where some have pointed to strength there, Deere apparently saw only weakness. The stock was down about 1.5% during Wednesday trading.
Also in earnings, Cramer scoffed at any investors who bid up Vestas Wind Systems' share price ahead of its quarter, which he called “one of the worst” he has seen.
“Knuckleheads,” Cramer said, “it’s wind.”
Cramer also revisited his call for General Motors to allocate a significant portion of its coming initial public offering to everyday taxpayers. He thinks retail investors who own the stock would be more likely to buy GM’s cars, and that would create a virtuous cycle benefiting both parties.
But with the IPO underwritten by J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley and other major banks, it’s more than likely that mostly large institutional investors will participate.
“This deal’s being done wrong,” Cramer said. “But no one cares.”
When this story published, Cramer's charitable trust owned Costco.
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