Economy - Surprise, Surprise!

I love headlines like this in the Financial Times:

Surprise slowdown in US retail sales.

Well, paint me pink and call me a Cadillac. Isn't that just astounding? Retail sales are down. Who would'a thunk?

I really want to know if the person who wrote this, and the editor who authorized it, have been living under a rock for, lo, these many years. Do they read the paper? Have they noticed that there's a meltdown going on in the stock market? That the DJIA has been going up and down like a hooker on crack score night? That subprime mortgages are moving into reset, causing hundreds and thousands of people to default on their mortgages? That the price of gas is going up to the point where low-income people cannot afford to drive (although public transport is a good thing)? That the price of health insurance has increased by bigger increments than working peoples' salaries? That home prices are dropping, construction has slowed down, and people can't refinance or sell their homes? That the average working American has little, if any, money saved, and carries a huge credit card debt?

Purchases were weaker than expected as sales growth slowed to 0.3 per cent from 0.5 per cent, the commerce department said.

The surprise slowdown in sales added to fears that US households will curtail spending as house prices weaken and borrowing conditions tighten.

Stocks fell and bond yields slid as investors priced in a greater likelihood of aggressive interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, starting next week. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond fell to 4.42 per cent from 4.47 per cent.

“Recent financial distress and gradual slowing in the US economy are now limiting consumer resilience,” said Peter Kretzmer, an economist at Bank of ­America.

Emphasis mine - Ed.

And they're simply amazed that working people are not spending like crazy. Just shoot me now. No, better yet, shoot the lot of them. They're clearly too stupid to be allowed to survive.

Stumble It!