Okay, so the weekly unemployment report comes in and it is touching upon a 15-year low, and the market goes up. That seems right, yet …
- Dollar bulls are pondering what’s left of the rally that had pundits talking of dollar hegemony just months ago. The U.S. currency slid toward the lowest in almost four months a day after stagnant retail sales became the latest data to undermine prospects for Federal Reserve interest-rate increases.
Forget about retail sales. Low unemployment is, perhaps, the singular reason the Feds would raise rates sooner rather than later, so is the Fed on target for raising rates in June?
The other important mandate of the Fed is inflation, a reason to raise rates if it goes much past 3%, and right now with depressed oil prices, core inflation does not appear to be an issue.
- The U.S. government expects global consumption to grow next year at less than half the rate of 2010, when the world was emerging from a previous recession. The growth is insufficient to close the gap with rising supply, according to Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe’s biggest energy producer.
So, maybe the market is right to be going up, as it appears core inflation will remain tame for some time, although, low unemployment does put pressure on wages, and wages are the single greatest contributor to overall inflation. You know what. I am so confused. I need something I can sink my teeth into with confidence.
- Whole Foods reported that sales growth at stores open more than 57 weeks had slowed to 3.6 percent in the most recent quarter, well off the 5.3 percent gain forecast by analysts. Mackey also announced a plan to revive growth by starting a lower-priced chain aimed at millennials next year.
There are those dang Millennials again. Everywhere I look now, they are popping up, and no wonder, as they are a target now for just about anybody that sells anything.
- Whole Foods has said only that its as-yet-unnamed chain for millennials will be smaller and more focused on value, convenience, and technology than traditional Whole Foods markets.
Technology and non-traditional, two words tacked onto the Millennial description, as is the now-common word “organic.”
- Sales of organic foods in the U.S. jumped 11.3 percent, to $39.1 billion, last year, according to the Organic Trade Association.
First off, when I was growing up, buying organic was something special and expensive. Today, among the Millennial crowd, it is, simply, what is and what is, is affordable.
- “It’s not unique to millennials—they’ve grown up with it,” she says. “There’s no cachet.”
Point being, organics are not only in, they are hot and growing.
- Kroger’s natural and organic Simple Truth line has become a $1 billion-a-year brand. Costco Wholesale sells organic and grass-fed beef and organic coconut oil under its Kirkland Signature brand; its total organic sales were close to $3 billion last year. Even Wal-Mart is hawking everything from organic chia seeds to its Wild Oats Marketplace organic marinara sauce. There are about 3,800 Wal-Mart stores in the U.S. that have at least 30 Wild Oats items, the company says, plus about 2,300 Walmarts have separate organic produce sections.
Yes, the world is changing as the Millennials assume their place as the moneymakers, family folk, and the bulls-eye target for all those consumer dollars.
Hey! Maybe I just got some clarity about the market. Maybe the market has stopped behaving in a traditional manner because the Millenials and their technological bent are not paying attention to the Fed. Perhaps, these young thinkers with money are looking at themselves and seeing what I see – a bright economic future. Perhaps, these folks are doing the smart thing – investing in themselves.
Trade in the day; invest in your life …
