Deep Holiday Discounts Scare Markets (stocks, including Wal-Mart, down)

[DeepModem Mom]

WP: Deep Holiday Discounts Scare Markets
By Jerry Knight
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, November 28, 2005; 5:30 PM


The holiday shopping season got off to a great start for Wal-Mart, but Wall Street came out of the Thanksgiving weekend with a lot less to be thankful for.

Stock prices fell today, helped by traders' fear that the deep discounts drawing shoppers into the stores over the weekend will cut into retailers' profits.

Retail chains led the retreat. Even Wal-Mart, which for days has been telling anyone who would listen how good business is, saw its stock slide as traders expressed skepticism about consumer spending.

The official diagnosis of Thanksgiving shopping was that consumers spent freely, especially at Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Circuit City and other chains that lured shoppers with big discounts. But researchers who drilled down into the data suggested that middle-brow, mid-price mall merchants may be this season's turkeys; hot fashion and hot prices are boosting sales, but otherwise business isn't anything special.

While most Wall Street analysts blamed fears about retail sales for today's retreat, others said the market was ripe for a pullback....


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/28/AR2005112801146.html

[NanceGreggs]

1. Oh, what a tangled web we weave ...

... when we (BU$HCO) allow our Big Oil friends to gouge their customers, who then necessarily have to cut back on holiday spending, taking profits out of the pockets of our other friend, Big Business!

Wouldn't want to be the WH switchboard operator in the weeks to come -- gonna be one steaming heap of angry phone calls!

[sandnsea]

2. Now I'm confused

Chris Matthews just said the stock market was up today :shrug:

:sarcasm:

[pretzel4gore]

3. that big drug maker announced big layoffs

and the markets jumps at the good news of human suffering, but even then, tweety is a goddam liar, the market fell today

[DemoTex]

5. He crowed about the economy.

What rock is he sleeping under?

[adarling]

4. well good

they don't deserve any of our money, there was nothing out there to buy!!! First year ever my mom and aunts didnt come home with 40 bags of crap. They each came with three....guess not a good year for christmas. I am at the age where i love shopping for other people on christmas and have some money to do it but the retailers are making it impossible with nothing to buy. I am from Dallas, Tx and there was not many big crowds and the millions of malls we have except the outlet malls.