Keeping in mind that the majority of CER's tenants are non-discretionary retailers that cater for the everyday needs of consumers, it is worthy to note that
"Food and beverage store sales rose 1.0%, the biggest gain since January"
If CER were present at a karaoke night, I reckon the song it would belt out would be. "IM STILL STANDING. YEAH YEAH YEAH"
Retail sales sparkle in November Signals economy on firmer footingExplore related topics Banks Automobiles Dow Jones Industrial Average US Dollar Index Future - Spot Price Story Quotes Comments Screener (853) Alert Email Print ShareBy Greg Robb, MarketWatch WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Consumer spending was solid in November, suggesting that the economy is on sounder footing than previously thought.
U.S. retail sales jumped an encouraging 1.3% in November, according to Commerce Department data released Friday. This was more than double the consensus forecast.
Shortly after the report, the University of Michigan and Reuters reported that their index of consumer sentiment had soared in early December to the highest reading since September,
AM Report: Battle of the DiscountsThe News Hub panel discusses the brewing battle between shoppers and retailers as the holiday season gets underway. Plus, Dionne Searcey offers a glimpse of Bernie Madoff's life behind bars. After the reports were released, economists rushed to upgrade their forecasts for growth in the final three months of the year.
Goldman Sachs pushed their fourth quarter GDP forecast above 3%.
Markets reacted swiftly to the news of a stronger economic outlook.
Stocks /quotes/comstock/10w!i:dji/delayed (INDU 10,471, +65.52, +0.63%) jumped in the wake of the data. The dollar /quotes/comstock/11j!i:dxy0 (DXY 76.57, +0.53, +0.69%) hit a two-month high. Get complete details of forex market moves. Treasury prices dropped, pushing 10-year yields up to the highest since August. See complete Treasury market coverage
The increase in retail sales did not seem to be a fluke. Core sales - excluding autos, gasoline and building materials, rose a solid 0.5%.
Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected total sales to rise 0.5% and sales excluding autos to rise 0.4%. Read forecasts for other top economic indicators.
"This was a surprisingly strong report, and suggests that U.S. consumers are slowly regaining their spending mojo," said Millan Mulraine, an economics strategist at TD Securities, in a note to clients.
It was the strongest sales report since August's 2.4% increase. The gains were widespread, as only clothing and furniture sales dropped in the month. The figures are seasonally adjusted but are not adjusted for inflation.
It is hard to say what the November sales data imply for the critical holiday shopping season. Retailers are hoping to avoid a second consecutive year of sales declines, but many reports are pointing to a lackluster season.
In the past year, retail sales are up 1.9%, the first year-over-year gain since August 2008.
The strong report adds to the perception that the U.S. economy is exiting the recession in good shape. Economists caution that the economy still faces significant headwinds from the credit crunch and high unemployment rate.
Some economists want to see the December retail sales report before getting too excited about November's strength.
Auto sales jumped 1.6%, a sign that consumers are continuing to buy cars despite the end of the government's cash-for-clunkers program.
Excluding the 1.6% rise in auto sales, sales rose 1.2%, the fastest since January.
Gasoline sales added some fuel to November sales, rising 6.0%, the biggest gain since June.
Excluding gasoline stations, sales rose 0.8%. Excluding both autos and gas, sales rose 0.6%.
Sales at electronics stores rose 2.8%, the biggest increase since January. Sales at building-materials stores increased 1.5%, the largest rise since April 2008.
Sales of essentials were brisk, in part because of higher food and gas prices. Gas-station sales rose 6.0%. Food and beverage store sales rose 1.0%, the biggest gain since January. Sales at restaurants and bars increased 0.5%, the biggest gain since February.
Sales at drug stores and personal-care stores rose 0.3%.
Sales at nonstore retailers, such as catalogs and online stores, increased 1.2%, possibly in response to higher gas prices.
Sales at general merchandise stores rose 0.8%.
Sales at sporting-goods, book and hobby stores rose 0.3%.
Furniture-store sales dropped 0.7%, while sales at clothing stores fell 0.7%, the largest decline since June. Miscellaneous store sales dropped 1.8%.
CER Price at posting:
15.0¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
