Wall Street banks might have lost money hand over fist but Wal-Mart sales jumped 4% last month. So, here’s our question… is this a recession or a rebound?
If you listen to the media you’d think the world was coming to and end. Well, maybe not the world but the economy for sure. Oil is spiking to almost $140, Wall Street is losing money hand over fist. Sounds like we’re in as much trouble, as those poor farmers who grow tomatoes.
But don’t reach for those razor blades just yet. GDP is scraping by at 0.9 percent, tax rebates are still filtering through the economy and Wal-Mart's sales jumped 4% last month.
"I don’t think the economy is that bad," says Jeff Macke. "It’s just a little wet and smelly."
Even so nobody can deny that this economy is terrible for consumer related stocks. This is a year of torture for casino and airline stocks. "That’s what I’m watching in the back half of the year," Macke adds. "But I don’t think you can touch those names until you see inflation easing on oil prices and employment picking up."
So here’s our question, is this a recession or rebound? What do you think?
