Posted on 11/07/2007 1:35:35 PM PST by 1rudeboy
Christmas is still nearly seven weeks away, and already the media are offering a “Bah, Humbug” for retail sales and the U.S. economy.
CNN shoveled coal at the positive economic news on November 2 and immediately moved into full Grinch mode.
“You know, just earlier this week the broadest measure of the economy, Kyra, the GDP, came in at 3.9 percent, stronger than expected. What’s working against it, though, the financials, concerns that we’re going to have a lot more carnage coming from that very important sector, consumer spending …” said “Newsroom” correspondent Susan Lisovicz.
Gloomy reporting about holiday sales is nothing new for the media. In 2005 the Los Angeles Times declared that shopping season was off to a “lukewarm” start, and CBS “Sunday Morning” declared Black Friday sales “were a bit flat.”
But all of that negativity didn’t keep Christmas from coming – in fact, retailers saw 6.3-percent growth of holiday sales in 2005. The National Retail Federation actually had to revise its sales forecast from 5 percent to 6 percent thanks to Thanksgiving weekend sales.
The media were similarly downbeat in 2006, using the terms “mixed performance,” “not so merry” and “lackluster” to describe seasonal sales – which ended up growing by 4.6 percent.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessandmedia.org ...
Just so long as nobody starts “talking down the economy”, I think we’ll be OK.
They started the “Lousy Christmas” talk about the same time last year.
Nobody buying poisoned Chinese toys?
Maybe when they go on sale.
On to home depot, most of the Christmas trees are actually tagged as "CHRISTMAS" trees and one of the main inflatables that is at the entrance to the department is printed with a huge Merry Christmas!
May not be a big deal to others...but I liked it and told both store managers that I appreciated it!
Best of the four in my opinion.
I don’t need CNN to tell me anything.
I need only the knowledge that people cannot use their homes as ATM machines this year to tell me that this will be a really bad retail Christmas.
Our economy is built on credit. When people aint got it, they don’t buy stuff.
It’s not rocket science.
It’s Deja Vu all over again.
I mean, if you are CNN's target demographic (easily convinced of impending doom), and believe that our nearly six-year economic expansion is purely credit-driven . . . .
It’s so crowded nobody goes there anymore.
As opposed to the 1990s internet stock bubble.
Is the MSM even allowed to use the word “Christmas” anymore?
Well, if the shoe fits... loans and credit pouring in to pay for services. It's the ultimate phony economy. Personally I hope it crashes so that we stop sending our dollars overseas, the dollar rebuilds its value and those of us who actually follow the laws of economics can buy stuff at lower prices again.
Individual cases notwithstanding, I am talking about the general climate.
The general climate is, fugetaboutit.
When dicussing economics, it’s best to leave metaphysics to the side.
Christmas is December 25, dude.
Thanksgiving (remember that?) is more than two weeks away.
Pimping Christmas when the leaves are still on the trees is sacrilegious and a disgrace.
Brighter note for the Prince of this World, maybe.
;)
I promised not to drink & cuss so much & he promised to bring me a big ole flat-screen HDTV!
Woo-Hoo!
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