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• Friday, 12 March 2010

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• Green Brands – Appealing to Consumer Social Responsibility - 16 February 2010

The consumer swing to "green brands" is closely related to ethical/green consumerism for the man in the street, as well as being linked to corporate triple bottom line reporting, and the growing trend of socially responsible investing for stock market players. It is widely agreed that this trend toward going green will gain momentum moving into the future, as the world-wide focus remains on the many and diverse issues relating to global warming.

• Gas Prices Falling in Line With Oil Prices - 25 January 2010

While declining oil prices over the last week have not necessarily caught the attention of consumers as much as they have speculators and impacted businesses, the falling gas prices have. Friday (January 22) marked the seventh consecutive day of falling fuel prices with the current national average at $2.73, according to Wright Express and the Oil Price Information Service.

• Corporate Social Responsibility - 7 January 2010

As authorities express concern over global warming and all its associated implications, consumers are encouraged to do whatever they can to reduce their impact on the environment. While there have always been groups of pro-environmentalists, increased awareness of the consequences of poor environmental management has resulted in a marked increase in ethical consumerism and green branding. It has also put a whole new perspective on how both consumers and management teams view corporate social responsibility (CSR).

• Auto and Gasoline Sales Help Boost November Retail Sales Growth - 14 December 2009

Despite initial reports from many retailers that the start to the holiday season has been relatively sluggish, the Commerce Department reported Friday (December 11) morning that retail sales climbed by 1.3 percent in November. This follows a 1.1 percent boost in retail performance during October.

• Is US Economy Heading for a ‘Double Dip’? - 3 December 2009

With the majority of economic analysts in agreement that the US economy is moving out of the recession and is in a recovery phase, many are still dubious, biding their time to see if the recovery will be sustained, or go into decline again in what is being termed as a 'double dip'. The view that the US economy is in recovery is being based primarily on the 3.5 percent growth experienced in the third quarter, but the surge of optimism has not touched everyone, and some economists are calling for authorities to be prepared with economic stimulus plans to be put into action early next year, particularly with the aim of creating jobs in a struggling labor market where the ranks of the unemployed keep growing.

• Disappointing Black Friday – Will Cyber Monday Save the Day? - 30 November 2009

American consumers are still hard-pressed for cash, and are likely to remain so for some time to come, but retailers were nonetheless hopeful that Black Friday would coax shoppers to use credit cards and dip into the household budget to stock up for the festive season. Certainly, shoppers turned out in their thousands to take advantage of Black Friday specials, with many retailers opening at midnight on Thanksgiving in an effort to have first claim on consumer dollars. However, when the dust and excitement settled, it was revealed that Black Friday had been disappointing as shoppers had spent less on average than they did a year ago.

• Consumer Activity under the Spotlight in Coming Weeks - 16 November 2009

With the famed Black Friday less than two weeks away, and consumers suffering from what has been coined as "frugal fatigue", the US consumer is under the spotlight as Wall Street investors look for signs that the US economy may, in fact, be on the road to recovery, spurred on by consumers who are tired of economizing and may throw caution to the winds for their festive season shopping. With Thanksgiving in the US taking place on the fourth Thursday of November each year, the Friday following Thanksgiving is the unofficial beginning of a festive season shopping season which has been known to continue into the New Year. Referred to as "Black Friday" because the annual consumer spending spree drags a lot of retailers out of the red and into the black financially speaking, many consumers take the day off work, descending on retail stores in their hordes to spend some quality time with their credit cards. While this may sound like a nightmare to many people, Black Friday devotees insist that it is well worth the effort, as competition is stiff and prices are often reduced to cost or below for a predetermined number of items to lure buyers into stores - the trick is to be there first.

• Investors Look Ahead With Cautious Enthusiasm - 7 September 2009

With stocks see-sawing over the past two weeks and trading volumes being light, stock market traders are no doubt looking forward to the weeks ahead as fall campaigns for Congress get underway. While the week ahead will see a range of economic reports being released, including readings on weekly jobless claims and consumer sentiment, President Obama’s speech to the nation scheduled for Wednesday night with address an issue which affects both Wall Street and Main Street – that of health care reform.

• Dow Jones Under the Spotlight - 17 August 2009

With second quarter corporate earnings coming to an end, it is generally expected that the series of rallies experienced on Wall Street are also likely to come to an end. It has become increasingly clear that the better than expected results from corporate companies have been as a result of aggressive cost-cutting measures, rather than an increase in demand for goods and services. Consumers continue to feel the pressure of job losses and stretched to the limit household budgets. The effect of the recession on consumers was further confirmed by the disappointing July retail sales published last week along with subdued consumer sentiment for August, revealing that aggressive cost-cutting measures are taking place on the home-front as well.

• Wall Street Dealt a Blow by Dismal Retail Results - 14 may 2009

Dismal retail results and rising foreclosure numbers dealt Wall Street a blow on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ending the day down 2.18 percent, the Standard & Poor’s 500 losing 2.69 percent and the Nasdaq Composite dropping 3.01 percent. The next two days will determine whether the markets will recover sufficiently to end the week on a positive note. Having rallied since hitting an early March low, Wall Street traders were optimistic that the rally would be extended into this week. This optimism was based on a string of economic reports that exceeded expectations, as well as indications that some of the nation’s largest banks may be turning around and have weathered the financial crisis storm.

• Searching For The Silver Lining - 9 March 2009

Embattled Wall Street traders have been on the lookout for signs that the market is bottoming out, but as the weeks pass by with major indices reflecting an ever declining market, it appears that the question of “Are we there yet?” is becoming impossible to answer. Last week saw the Dow Jones industrial average falling 6.17 percent to end at 6,626.94, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 shed 7.03 percent to end at 683.38 and the Nasdaq composite lost 6.1 percent to close on Friday at 1,293.85. This means that both the Dow and S&P have plunged by around 24 percent, and Nasdaq by nearly 18 percent, since the beginning of 2009.

Is The Color of the Future Green? - 3 July 2008

There was a time in the not too distant past when being environmentally and socially responsible and making money were incompatible concepts in the investment world. However, with heightened awareness of the damage being done to the earth and its atmosphere through careless misuse of natural resources, along with the damage caused by pollution, many consumers and investors are choosing to go “green”.

Uncertainty Reigns on Wall Street - 13 June 2008

The market suffered yet another blow on Wednesday 11 June, when the Dow at the New York Stock Exchange fell by more than 200 points. Ongoing concerns over rising oil prices, along with fears regarding rising inflation and the possibility of interest rates being raised, as well as almost stagnant economic growth, are seen as the main contributing factors behind the market’s current volatility.