I'm sorry about the profanity, dear readers, and I was feeling guilty last night for subjecting you to it; however, it was warranted.
You won't be getting that today as we are doing a dump. Sorry.
"Target earnings disappoint; Lowe’s cuts sales outlook" by Elizabeth A. Harris | New York Times August 21, 2014
A disparate batch of retail companies released lackluster, mostly disappointing earnings results Wednesday, accompanied by a significantly lowered forecast from Target and more store closings from Staples.
Target released the roughest results Wednesday, with a huge slide in profits on the heels of several difficult quarters. To explain the unsatisfying results, executives pointed to continued difficulty in the company’s push in Canada....
PFFFFFT!
Target’s second-quarter results included $148 million of expenses related to the enormous breach of customer data during the holiday season last year, which has cost the company in consumer trust and in dollars.
Related: AmeriKa Media Missing the Target
And that is why the government, that has been collecting all electronic communication and monitoring all movements just let it slide down the memory hole; that and the fact that the largest hacking organization in the world is in fact the Amerikan $urveillance $tructure that has been built over many decades and continues to be refined and reworked for presentation.
John Mulligan, Target’s chief financial officer, said total expenses related to the breach had reached $236 million, partly offset by $90 million in insurance coverage, bringing the net cost to $146 million. The company also said that it believed most of the costs related to the breach were behind it.
In Canada, where the company opened more than 100 stores in a matter of months last year, executives said that operational issues and inventory problems had persisted, creating inconsistent levels of products in some places, and that there was too much inventory overall....
Target reported $234 million in profits in its second quarter, down 61.7 percent from the same period last year, when profits reached $611 million. Revenue rose 1.7 percent, to $17.4 billion, up slightly from $17.1 billion a year earlier....
On a somewhat brighter note came Lowe’s, the country’s second-largest home improvement retailer, whose performance depends to a significant degree on the health of the housing sector, which has shown some encouraging signs lately...
What, a quarter-of-a-million dollars in three months time with revenue rising no good?
Profits were $1.04 billion for the quarter, up 10.4 percent from the year before.
It's really amazing, isn't it? The other ends of this economy totoal $hit, and yet the top and corporations are $wimming in loot.
The news from Lowe’s was not altogether positive, however, as the company trimmed its sales growth estimate for the full year.... It also cut its growth estimates for sales....
I'm not going to listen to that because of what I saw featured on the front page I didn't buy.
These results come a day after Home Depot, the country’s largest home improvement retailer, reported a very strong quarter and raised its yearly earnings guidance.
That's better. Lie to me again.
Another retailer to report earnings Wednesday was American Eagle Outfitters, which, along with many other traditional teenage retailers such as Aéropostale, has been struggling for several quarters.
After we have been told for three months second-quarter was hot, hot, hot! This is getting sooooo old.
Btw, that means the kids have no money.
American Eagle performed better than expected, but those expectations were exceedingly low....
I love the $hit $hell game of the Bo$ton Globe bu$ine$$ section!
“The company successfully underpromised, overdelivered,” Richard E. Jaffe, an analyst at Stifel, wrote in a note to investors.
I'm sure there is a message to this failure of a White House and administration.
The struggling retailer Staples also reported earnings Wednesday, including a 2 percent decrease in total sales.
See: Staples Shareholders Get $tuck
How bad?
The company said that it had closed 80 of its North American stores in the second quarter and planned to close about 140 total stores during 2014. This year, the Framingham, Mass., chain announced that it would close 225 stores by the end of its next fiscal year.
“Earnings are OK,” Ken Perkins, founder of Retail Metrics, said of the reports Wednesday. “Nothing to get too excited about.”
I'm not.
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Time for some fellatio:
"Yellen to give her outlook as Fed honeymoon fades" by Martin Crutsinger | Associated Press August 21, 2014
WASHINGTON — Janet Yellen has won credit for guiding the Federal Reserve’s first six months of transition from the Ben Bernanke era. Bernanke’s Fed had steered the economy through a deep crisis by slashing interest rates and restoring confidence in banks. Yellen has carried on his approach with barely a hiccup.
She might one day recall her first six months as a too-brief honeymoon.
The perilous question that awaits Yellen’s Fed has put investors on nervous alert: Can it raise rates from record lows without weakening the US economy or spooking markets?
Or, conversely, will it wait too long to raise rates, causing the economy to overheat and inflation to surge?
No one knows.
(Blog editor holds hands out with palms toward ceiling)
Which helps explain the anticipation surrounding Yellen’s speech Friday at the economic conference sponsored every August in Jackson Hole, Wyo., by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Given that this year’s topic is labor markets, Yellen is sure to spell out her latest assessment of the US job market.
What she says, or perhaps does not say, will shape perceptions of when and how aggressively the Fed will raise rates.
She has frequently characterized the job market as weaker than the unemployment rate suggests. She has noted that the jobless rate, a nearly normal 6.2 percent, belies other unhealthy trends: Weak pay growth, a sizable number of part-timers who want full-time work, and high proportions of people who looked for a job for more than six months or stopped looking.
Might Yellen describe those trends as chronic problems with no end in sight? Or temporary drags on the job market, destined to fade as the economy improves? Investors will seek a sign of a coming rate hike as it would mean higher rates on business and consumer loans and could hurt stock prices.
At Jackson Hole, Bernanke sometimes used his speeches to telegraph actions the Fed was considering. Yellen could take the opportunity to shed light on the Fed’s plans for withdrawing the extraordinary support it has provided since 2008.
‘‘The road ahead will get much tougher for Yellen when she starts outlining the Fed’s exit strategy,’’ said David Jones, an economist at DMJ Advisors and the author of a book on the Fed’s first century. ‘‘Any change could be accompanied by significant market instability.’’
This year, the Fed has been paring its monthly bond purchases, which have been intended to keep long-term rates low. Yellen has emphasized that after the bond purchases end this fall, the Fed will keep rates low and maintain its vast investment portfolio to keep downward pressure on rates.
The impending end of the purchases, a step investors once anticipated with dread, is now being taken in stride. The market has remained calm, and stocks are up this year, suggesting that Yellen’s reassurances have had an effect.
I'm glad the central bankers and money junkies of the world are $table and $ecure. Let's phatten them up before meal time.
But her first six months have had stumbles. Responding to a question in her first press conference, stocks sank on fears that rate increases could start sooner than expected.
Asked about her six-month comment at her next press conference, Yellen decoupled the phrase ‘‘considerable time’’ from any specific period.
Orwell would be proud of the euphemi$m.
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Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial, said Yellen was trying to be clear without perhaps recognizing how much a Fed chair’s words can be over-interpreted.
‘‘Yellen is a much clearer speaker than past Fed chairmen,’’ Swonk said. ‘‘But Yellen learned the dangers from being too clear. She will never use the words ‘six months’ again.’’
Oh, more censorship of the language and things you shouldn't say. Now go censor yourself.
Yellen has appeared comfortable fielding questions and has withstood grilling from members of Congress. She has remained cool and has parried attacks in a calm voice that hints of her native Brooklyn....
I could could say something, but I won't. It's a four letter word to be found in these phrases.
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Not really excited about bringing you anything from the Globe today or anymore, but will post shit, but now it is time to go look for a job.
NEXT DAY UPDATES:
Maybe this will get you excited.
"Sears Holdings posts loss of nearly $1 billion" by Elizabeth A. Harris | New York Times August 22, 2014
Sears Holdings announced Thursday that it had lost nearly $1 billion in the first six months of the year.
The company has been bleeding money for several quarters as its leadership tries to transform the business from a traditional retailer into a more targeted company that relies on loyal shoppers, who are offered personalized deals.
Members of its free Shop Your Way rewards program accounted for 73 percent of quarterly sales, the company said Thursday, and its online sales in the quarter grew 18 percent from the period a year earlier.
Nonetheless, rewards for the company have not materialized.
But the economy is $well, the $tock markets making the rich phat are excellent, jobs are coming, the machine is roaring. I'm tired of this ma$$ media pooh-pooh.
Sears Holdings, which owns Sears and Kmart stores, lost $573 million during its second quarter and $975 million during the first half of the year. The company’s quarterly revenue declined to $8 billion, from $8.9 billion in the period a year earlier.
The company’s chief executive, Edward S. Lampert, a hedge fund magnate whose investment acumen was once compared to that of Warren E. Buffett, called the performance unacceptable and sought to assure investors that he was committed to reversing the retailer’s fortunes.
Also see: Warren Buffett's firm to pay $896,000 penalty
Didn't make the website for $ome rea$on.
I hope that didn't make you choke on your breakfast.
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Part of Lampert’s plan for Sears includes closing underperforming stores. The company reported that it had closed about 95 stores this year, out of about 130 locations it previously said it would close. Once those stores are shuttered, the company will have about 1,900 Sears and Kmart big-box stores in the United States.
These are places average people shop, not where the elite of Bo$ton for whom the Globe is written of and for go. It's been one long depression for us.
On a call recorded for investors, company executives pointed to several weak spots that helped lead to the disappointing performance. The grocery business — which several major competitors, including Target and Walmart, have emphasized in recent years to encourage frequent trips to their stores — was described as poor, as was the household business.
That is so odd.
An area that was called out as a positive indicator could also be read with trepidation.
$igh.
Executives said that a year ago, domestic sales of mattresses and appliances, which were once thought to be synonymous with the retailer, in its existing stores had declined 0.8 percent, but this quarter they rose despite a tough environment for consumer electronics. The rise, though, was a meager 0.1 percent over the previous year.
Sears Canada accounted for 16 percent of the company’s decline in revenue for the quarter, and executives reminded investors Thursday that the company hoped to sell its 51 percent stake in that entity, which it believes will generate $765 million in cash.
They blaming Canada like WalMart did as they $elling everything off?
Also reflected in the quarterly earnings Thursday was the separation of Lands’ End from the business.
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"US housing, job markets showing stronger signs of recovery" Associated Press August 22, 2014
WASHINGTON — A fourth straight monthly increase in sales of existing homes provided the latest evidence Thursday that the US housing market is rebounding from a weak start to the year.
What?
Housing has been a drag on an otherwise strengthening economy, in part because a harsh winter delayed many sales.
I don't want to see anymore climate change articles, especially when we NEVER REALLY HAD A SUMMER AGAIN (like three or four years ago)!!
But Americans are stepping up purchases as more homes have been put up for sale.
But.
And low mortgage rates and moderating price gains have made homes more affordable.
‘‘The momentum is in the right direction,’’ said Andrew Labelle, an economist at TD Bank who noted that the past four months have marked the fastest four-month sales gain since 2011. ‘‘Sustained jobs gains, as well as the fall in mortgage rates since the beginning of the year, appear to have unleashed at least some pent-up demand.’’
Where? Just the other day I was told 2/3rds of the states lost jobs, but blah, blah, blah.
Applications for US unemployment benefits tumbled last week and are now at levels consistent with a healthy job market.
They never extended unemployment benefits, millions upon millions are not counted, and the propaganda pre$$ puts out this insulting $hit? C'MON!!
The Labor Department said Thursday that applications for jobless aid fell 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 298,000. The less-volatile four-week moving average rose 4,750 to 300,750. Jobless claims are at levels last seen before the 2007-2009 recession.
Housing and job market gains, which helped drive the stock market higher on Thursday, also were factors that contributed to the sharp advance of a gauge that predicts the economy's future health.
That is what all this propaganda and money-rigging with the Fed is all about: keeping stock prices high so the rich can have fortunes of paper.
The Conference Board said Thursday that its index of leading indicators rose 0.9 percent last month, the sixth straight increase and the best showing since a 1 percent rise in March.
And yet retail sales are in a wicked funk?!!??
Financial market conditions, a big rise in applications for building permits, and falling applications for unemployment benefits were the biggest sources of strength in July.
The index was held back by a drop in average weekly hours in manufacturing and weaker orders for civilian capital goods.
Which were supposed to driving this thing, manufacturing and housing. I'm flabberga$ted at the mixed me$$age bull$hit day after day, hey. Guys writing and editing this just want to pick up the check.
‘‘The pace of economic activity remained reasonably strong in July,’’ said Conference Board economist Ken Goldstein. ‘‘Although retail sales were a little disappointing, hiring and industrial activity improved.’’
Written of and for, folks. It's a $upremaci$t paper in more ways than one.
***********
The encouraging readings contrast with reports earlier this year, when weak sales and limited building led economists to characterize housing as a faltering piece of the economic recovery. Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen and vice chairman Stanley Fischer had pointed to housing as an economic weak spot.
Economists noted that housing still hasn’t fully recovered from its slowdown earlier this year, yet economists say they’re encouraged by signs that the latest sales gains are sustainable.
More $elf-$erving $hit-$hoveling delu$ion and di$tortion.
Stephanie Karol, an economist at IHS Global Insight, said a ‘‘virtuous cycle’’ is emerging: More homeowners are listing their properties for sale. A greater supply of homes then encourages more potential buyers to take the plunge. And that, in turn, helps sustain modest price gains, which lead more people to sell.
‘‘This is exactly the sort of pattern we want to see,’’ Karol said....
Uh-huh. So virtuous is this $y$tem set up for looters.
First-time buyers are likely benefiting from strong job gains. But these buyers also face higher credit standards and down-payment requirements, making it harder for many to qualify for mortgages.
I'm so sick of seeing words like BUT, STILL, YET in my pos propaganda reports (and I use the term very loosely), but (pun intended) even worse is LEADING A SENTENCE with them. It shows that it's third-tier talent and well-connected nepotism that is driving the newspaper industry. No wonder they are failing so badly.
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Turns out it was private equity and foreclosure vultures (along with the wealthy) that were driving up sales and giving them good numbers. For the other 95%, pfffft.
Homes are Part of a Healthy Economy
Globe still is home (embarra$$ing $hame), and sorry I'm late with this payment:
"Late-payment rate on US mortgages declines in 2Q" by Alex Veiga | Associated Press August 21, 2014
LOS ANGELES — The last time the rate was lower was the first quarter of 2008....
Uh-oh. Bubble about to burst.
TransUnion’s records go back to the second quarter of 2007. The mortgage delinquency rate has been steadily declining over the past two years. At the same time, US home sales and prices have been rebounding while foreclosures have been declining.
They already took all the houses, by hook or by robosign crook.
Homeowners have seen their finances boosted by rising home values, an improving job market, and efforts to restructure home loans so they’re more affordable. That has enabled them to make timely payments.
And if the propaganda pre$$ repeats it enough it might just come true.
In addition, many of the risky home loans made before 2008 that went unpaid are no longer a factor, because the homes have been sold or foreclosed upon. Loans issued since then, after banks tightened lending standards, are less likely to go unpaid.
No, there is a new $windle now.
Then there are also all the STUDENT LOANS that were BUNDLED! What until those come due!
That has helped drive lower late-payment rates among younger borrowers.
What younger borrowers? I've seen article after article describing how the student loan debt is pushing back homeownership for college grads. That plus the job scarcity.
This blah-blah of propaganda has to stop!
The mortgage delinquency rate for borrowers under 30 was 2.34 percent in the second quarter, the lowest of any age group. They also accounted for the smallest slice of borrowers with a home loan at 4.2 percent, according to TransUnion.
50% default rate?
By age group, borrowers ages 40-49 had the highest late-payment rate at 4.43 percent.
Meanwhile, the number of new home loans issued by lenders tumbled in the first three months of the year by 51 percent to 1.1 million, TransUnion said.
The steep decline came as higher interest rates led fewer borrowers to refinance their existing mortgages and a bitterly cold winter prompted would-be homebuyers to put off their home purchase....
I don't mean to get huffy, but c'mon!
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