November retail sales figures will be released later on Thursday. But as analysts revise their forecasts down on concerns of slowing consumer spending due to recessionary woes, experts predict further troubles for the retail sector.
More Retailers to Fail
A number of U.S. retailers may go under by the end of January next year, warns Jim Awad, managing director of Zephyr Management. And that could rattle the financial markets, he tells CNBC.
Gap's Cash is Interesting
Stacey Gilbert, market strategist at Susquehanna Capital Group, doesn't expect Gap's November same-store sales to be very positive, but the retailer does have cash, which makes it interesting to investors. Abercrombie & Fitch and Ross Stores are also expected to report negative sales, so look to them for downside moves, Gilbert tells CNBC.
Too Many Retailers Anyway?
More ominous signs for the holiday shopping season as America's Research Group lowered its 2008 holiday retail sales forecast to a fall of 3.5 percent versus the previous 1 percent estimate. Britt Beemer, chairman & CEO of America's Research Group, thinks there are too many retailers in the U.S.
Have US Stocks Bottomed?
Although Jim Awad, managing director of Zephyr Management expects more bad news to surface in the coming weeks, he does not think the U.S. markets will make a new low.