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FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2013
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Tepid retail sales raise concerns Adult obesity rates remain at plateau
WASHINGTON (AP) — Bleaker outlooks at retailers like Wal-Mart and Macy’s are raising doubts that consumers will spend enough in coming months to lift the still-subpar U.S. economy. Though the economy is growing steadily, Americans are being hampered by weak pay, higher taxes and tepid hiring. Sluggish overseas economies are also slowing sales for U.S. retailers. It’s a picture the Federal Reserve will weigh in deciding whether to scale back its bond purchases as soon as next month. “Consumers aren’t going to start spending with abandon until we see much stronger job and wage growth,” says Mark Vitner, an economist at Wells Fargo. Average weekly paychecks have grown just 1.3 percent since the recession ended more than four years ago. Over the past 12 months, pay has trailed even low inflation. That’s why spending has remained lackluster and why many Americans may be postponing purchases at department stores so they can afford to buy cars, homes and other costly necessities. Americans increased their spending at an annual rate of just 1.8 percent in the April-June quarter — down from a 2.3 percent rate in the January-March period. Consumer spending is expected to improve in the second half of the year. But most economists foresee only a slight acceleration to an annual rate of 2 percent to 2.5 percent. Those spending rates are historically weak. And they’re too meager to significantly boost the economy, which grew at an annual rate of just 1.4 percent in the first half of the year. Consumer spending fuels about 70 percent of the U.S. economy. For much of this year, many Americans have made major purchases that they had postponed during the recession and the weak economic recovery. Auto and home sales have strengthened. Yet that’s left less spending money for discretionary purchases such as electronic goods, clothes and eating out. “Consumers are very much need-based,” said Ken Perkins, president of RetailMetrics, a retail research firm. “If they’re buying a new car, that leaves less money for a child’s wardrobe.”
AP
In this July 12 file photo, shoppers peruse the aisles at a Walmart in Bristol, Pa. Americans increased their spending at an annual rate of just 1.8 percent
That trend has weakened sales and profits of retailers like Macy’s. On Wednesday, Macy’s reported a disappointing profit for its second quarter and cut its outlook for the year. And Wal-Mart, the world’s biggest retailer, issued a quarterly earnings report Thursday that intensified worries about the strength of U.S. consumers, long a driving force for the global economy. The Bentonville, Ark.-based discounter cut its annual profit and revenue forecasts. Wal-Mart said it expects economic strains in the United States and abroad to squeeze its low-income shoppers the rest of the year. Wal-Mart is considered an economic bellwether: It accounts for nearly 10 percent of nonautomotive retail spending in the United States. The company attributed its gloomier report in part to a Social Security tax increase that’s reduced most Americans’ paychecks this year. Charles Holley, the company’s chief financial officer, said its customers appear to be reluctant to buy discretionary items, like flat-screen TVs. The state of the American consumer will be a key factor the Fed will consider in deciding whether to scale back its $85 billion a month in Treasury and mortgage bond purchases. Those purchases have been intended to keep rates on mortgages and other long-term loans near
in the April-June quarter, down from a 2.3 percent rate in the January-March period.
Shopping Centers, expects total sales for the back-toschool season to grow 3.1 percent from last year to $42.2 billion. That would be less than the 3.6 percent gain in 2012 and below the 3.3 percent average annual increase for the past decade. Among consumers who are making tough decisions about where to direct their limited spending money is Lance McConnell of Urbandale, Iowa. McConnell, 33, a teacher, bought a used car a few weeks ago for $23,000. He said the $350 monthly payments mean he won’t be making any impulse purchases for the back-toschool season and beyond. “I feel overall confident about the economy,” said McConnell, a father of three daughters, ages 3, 6 and 8. “But we really watch what we spend and how we spend.” Such sentiment may help explain why Macy’s, typically a stellar performer, issued a dim outlook Wednesday. Similarly, Kohl’s Corp., a department store chain that serves middle-income shoppers, announced Thursday that its secondquarter net income declined 4 percent. It, too, trimmed its outlook for the year. Those cautionary reports came on top of warnings this week from two teen stalwarts, American Eagle Outfitters Inc. and Aeropostale Inc. Both cited the need to discount much of their merchandise to induce shoppers to buy.
record lows. Chairman Ben Bernanke and other Fed officials have said the central bank may start slowing its bond purchases later this year if the economy continues to strengthen. Many economists think the slowdown will be announced at the Fed’s next meeting on Sept. 17-18. Fears that a slowdown in the Fed’s purchases will hurt stocks and bonds sent financial markets plunging Thursday. Many traders worry that less Fed bond buying will cause interest rates to rise and loans to grow more expensive. The Fed’s aggressive bond buying is credited with helping drive the stock market’s record run. Vitner is among those who think the Fed will start slowing its bond purchases in September. He suggested that bond purchases on a scale of $85 billion a month are intended for extraordinary circumstances. “It’s not something you use when the economy is just struggling,” Vitner added. Retail analysts note that back-to-school sales have been slow so far — potentially a worrisome sign for winter holiday sales late this year. If the back-to-school business falls below expectations, stores could pare their holiday orders, Perkins said. That would slow production at manufacturers. Michael P. Niemira, chief economist at the International Council of
ATLANTA (AP) — Adult obesity still isn’t budging, the latest government survey shows. The national telephone survey found 13 states with very high rates of obesity last year. Overall, the proportion of U.S. adults deemed obese has been about the same for years now. “A plateau is better than rising numbers. But it’s discouraging because we’re plateauing at a very high number,” said Kelly Brownell, a Duke University public policy expert who specializes in obesity. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does the survey each year, and recently released 2012 results. At least 30 percent of adults were obese in 13 states: Alabama, Arkansas,
One Fort Hood victim was shot 12 times: expert FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) — One of the soldiers killed during the 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood suffered a dozen gunshot wounds, including some that indicate he was trying to charge the gunman, a medical expert testified Thursday. Spc. Frederick Greene was among 13 people killed when a gunman opened fire inside a crowded medical building at the sprawling Army post in Texas on Nov. 5, 2009. The accused shooter, Maj. Nidal Hasan, is also accused of wounding more than 30 people during the worst mass shooting ever on a U.S. military base. The bullet wounds that riddled Greene’s body were “consistent” with him trying to charge his attacker, Lt. Col. Phillip Berran told the judge overseeing Hasan’s military trial at Fort Hood. The pathologist had reviewed photos of Greene’s body before jurors were led into the courtroom. Berran later testified that another victim, Pfc. Aaron Nemelka, was shot three times and that his wounds were consistent with being
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Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia. In 2011, a dozen states reached that threshold. Louisiana and Mississippi led the list. In both, nearly 35 percent of adults were obese. Colorado was lowest, with less than 21 percent obese. It’s not surprising states in the South and Midwest top the charts year after year, experts say. Many states in those regions have higher poverty rates. “When you have a limited income, you have to buy foods that are cheap. And foods that are cheap tend to have a lot of sugar and salt and fat,” said Dr. George Bray, an obesity expert at Louisiana State University.
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shot while lying on the ground. Nemelka was among at least five victims who were shot while lying down, according to testimony from several pathologists this week. Among those victims was the lone civilian killed in the attack, physician’s assistant Michael Grant Cahill, who witnesses said tried to charge Hasan during the shootings armed only with a chair. Hasan — who is acting as his own attorney — raised no objections and didn’t question any of the witnesses Thursday, which has largely been his strategy since the trial began last week. The Army psychiatrist’s lack of defense so far has allowed prosecutors to call more than 70 witnesses, indicating that the trial could wrap up far sooner than the months-long timeline originally announced by the judge. The military defense attorneys who have been ordered to help Hasan during the trial have accused Hasan of trying to convince jurors to convict him and sentence him to death.
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