[Lorianne]

The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for April, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $436.8 billion, virtually unchanged (±0.5%)* from the previous month, but 0.9 percent (±0.9%)* above April 2014. Total sales for the February 2015 through April 2015 period were up 1.5 percent (±0.7%) from the same period a year ago. The February 2015 to March 2015 percent change was revised from +0.9 percent (±0.5%) to +1.1 percent (±0.2%).

Retail trade sales were down 0.1 (±0.5%)* from March 2015, and 0.1 percent (±0.7%)* below last year. Food services and drinking places were up 8.5 percent (±3.3%) from April 2014 and nonstore retailers were up 6.3 percent (±1.9%) from last year.

http://www.census.gov/retail/marts/www/marts_current.pdf

[expat_panama]

Happy Friday as the rally continues. Again.  Stocks saw yesterday's follow-thru now into futures up +0.24% although metals come from yesterday's rally to -0.27%.  Today's static:

8:30 AM Empire Manufacturing
9:15 AM Industrial Production
9:15 AM Capacity Utilization
10:00 AM Mich Sentiment
4:00 PM Net Long-Term TIC Flows
 

[griswold3]

http://www.thestreet.com/story/13150806/1/the-chilling-thing-the-trucking-business-just-said-about-the-economy.html

NEW YORK (TheStreet) — The vast $700-billion US trucking industry with its 3.4 million drivers that hauled 10 billion tons last year — 69% of the nation’s freight — is an early warning system for the overall economy. And it’s been making the wrong rumbling sounds.

Rates for intermodal containers by rail dropped on a year over year basis in January, February, and March, according to the Cass Intermodal Price Index by Cass Information Systems (CASS - Get Report).