If you have ever drank a large amount of alcohol in a short period of time, I certainly have, then you know what the repercussions feel like. A massive head ache, bad taste in your mouth, some regrets about taking your pants off at certain points during the evening.... Hang overs suck. The American consumer has been drunk during this holiday shopping season. The economy has been bad for years now and Americans are used to spending money. This has created some pent up demand to go out this Holiday season and spend. There have been records set this holiday shopping season and huge crowds charging into retailers to spend money. Not money that they actually have though, a lot of this holiday season has been paid for by credit. Can we make 'credit' a bad word soon like 'gay' and/or 'retarded'? It sure needs to be, but anyway. The American consumer isn't the only spender taking on more debt, the European Union is too.
A European debt crisis or at least painful awakening to the fact they have to make massive reforms and an American consumer waking up to higher credit card balances on December 26th are not factors that will lead to a bull market. The winter months ahead are looking colder and colder for the market if you ask me. Oh yeah there is a Presidential election and gridlock in Washington D.C. to look forward to also.
Hangover? The market is going to wake up from this free spending, good weather, manageable fuel prices Holiday season soon. When it does it is going to squint at the light, peal its face off the slobber encrusted pillow case, stumble to the bathroom, throw up, and then look in the mirror and see that someone wrote, "Going way lower now!!!" on its forehead with a sharpie.
0 comments:
Post a Comment