all because of oil. It took long enough though.
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A slump in sales of new cars saw US retail sales fall 0.1% in June, according to government figures.
The Commerce Department data surprised analysts who had expected a 0.4% climb in month-on-month sales.
However, when sales from the volatile auto sector were stripped out, sales actually rose 0.3%.
Surging fuel costs, as a result of global oil prices, and worries about interest rate rises have seen shoppers being more cautious with their cash.
The figure was an indication that petrol prices were "beginning to bite and beginning to squeeze customers pretty hard", said economist Nariman Behravesh of Global Insight.
BBC Full Article here
PeakOil is You
US shoppers in spending cutback- (at long last!!)
US shoppers in spending cutback- (at long last!!)
by KevO » Sat 15 Jul 2006, 07:19:50
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Re: US shoppers in spending cutback- (at long last!!)
by peaker_2005 » Sat 15 Jul 2006, 08:41:17
I reckon $100 will be the real pinch point.
Of course, I could be wrong.
0.1% is statistically almost insignificant.
Of course, I could be wrong.
0.1% is statistically almost insignificant.
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Re: US shoppers in spending cutback- (at long last!!)
by SoothSayer » Sat 15 Jul 2006, 09:42:10
It's odd to think that consumers will have to cut-back and then cut-back a bit more ... for year after endless year.
It may be a very slow process ... but as energy etc become more & more expensive, discretionary spending money will cease to be available ... and won't stretch far anyway ...
It may be a very slow process ... but as energy etc become more & more expensive, discretionary spending money will cease to be available ... and won't stretch far anyway ...
Technology will save us!
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Re: US shoppers in spending cutback- (at long last!!)
by Eli » Sat 15 Jul 2006, 10:06:51
Along this same line, Ford stock has been further down graded into junk status.
Two of the largest employers in the US are headed for Bankruptcy. The biggest slowdown in auto sales has been in their large SUV segment, who'd guess that?
Gm and Ford are screwed, they are already loosing gobs of money and with SUV sales tanking their loses are going to accelerate.
The government is going to tighten the money supply as oil inflation takes hold further putting pressure on consumers. People are going to try and get loans to pay for stuff but won't be able to get the cash.
Two of the largest employers in the US are headed for Bankruptcy. The biggest slowdown in auto sales has been in their large SUV segment, who'd guess that?
Gm and Ford are screwed, they are already loosing gobs of money and with SUV sales tanking their loses are going to accelerate.
The government is going to tighten the money supply as oil inflation takes hold further putting pressure on consumers. People are going to try and get loans to pay for stuff but won't be able to get the cash.
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Re: US shoppers in spending cutback- (at long last!!)
by DoomersUnite » Sat 15 Jul 2006, 11:46:12
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('SoothSayer', 'I')t's odd to think that consumers will have to cut-back and then cut-back a bit more ... for year after endless year.
It may be a very slow process ... but as energy etc become more & more expensive, discretionary spending money will cease to be available ... and won't stretch far anyway ...
It may be a very slow process ... but as energy etc become more & more expensive, discretionary spending money will cease to be available ... and won't stretch far anyway ...
You must have a pretty poor outlook on your gross income to think this in any way might be possible. I don't recall discretionary spending disappearing in the early 80's when oil prices peaked.
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Re: US shoppers in spending cutback- (at long last!!)
by DoomersUnite » Sat 15 Jul 2006, 11:50:17
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Eli', 'A')long this same line, Ford stock has been further down graded into junk status.
Two of the largest employers in the US are headed for Bankruptcy. The biggest slowdown in auto sales has been in their large SUV segment, who'd guess that?
Gm and Ford are screwed, they are already loosing gobs of money and with SUV sales tanking their loses are going to accelerate.
The government is going to tighten the money supply as oil inflation takes hold further putting pressure on consumers. People are going to try and get loans to pay for stuff but won't be able to get the cash.
Two of the largest employers in the US are headed for Bankruptcy. The biggest slowdown in auto sales has been in their large SUV segment, who'd guess that?
Gm and Ford are screwed, they are already loosing gobs of money and with SUV sales tanking their loses are going to accelerate.
The government is going to tighten the money supply as oil inflation takes hold further putting pressure on consumers. People are going to try and get loans to pay for stuff but won't be able to get the cash.
Ford and GM make crappy cars and depend too heavily on SUV's for their profits. A perfectly good way for them to go bankrupt, incompetence at the highest levels should be rewarded by dissolution.
And people who know better know when to buy, I just acquired my first 1/2 ton, 15mpg pickup because everyone else has been fleeing the segment. Once a recession hits and oil prices head back down, I'll pick up a hybrid or diesel on the flip side at some huge discount.
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Re: US shoppers in spending cutback- (at long last!!)
by Grimnir » Sat 15 Jul 2006, 11:55:23
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('DoomersUnite', 'Y')ou must have a pretty poor outlook on your gross income to think this in any way might be possible. I don't recall discretionary spending disappearing in the early 80's when oil prices peaked.
People still saved money in the 80's.
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Re: US shoppers in spending cutback- (at long last!!)
by Eli » Sat 15 Jul 2006, 12:11:33
Well the eighties is a very poor example of what lies ahead for us all.
Discretionary spending sure as hell disappeared during the Great Depression.
People could not find work at all. It is hard for people to remember but there was time in the US when men and women in this country would just wander around trying to do odd jobs just for a meal.
Running low on the single most important resource to the global economy has never happened before. If you stop and think about it for a second what is the one way that you could start a world wide Greater Depression?
How about having the key resource that drives everything start to dry up.
Things are going to get bizarrely bad it will be as if we are all walking around in a very bad dream from which we cannot wake up.
Discretionary spending sure as hell disappeared during the Great Depression.
People could not find work at all. It is hard for people to remember but there was time in the US when men and women in this country would just wander around trying to do odd jobs just for a meal.
Running low on the single most important resource to the global economy has never happened before. If you stop and think about it for a second what is the one way that you could start a world wide Greater Depression?
How about having the key resource that drives everything start to dry up.
Things are going to get bizarrely bad it will be as if we are all walking around in a very bad dream from which we cannot wake up.
Last edited by Eli on Sat 15 Jul 2006, 12:29:15, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: US shoppers in spending cutback- (at long last!!)
by SoothSayer » Sat 15 Jul 2006, 12:22:18
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Grimnir', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('DoomersUnite', 'Y')ou must have a pretty poor outlook on your gross income to think this in any way might be possible. I don't recall discretionary spending disappearing in the early 80's when oil prices peaked.
People still saved money in the 80's.
Oh I'll be alright then ...
In the UK:
- Natural gas & electricity are going up 25% or more a year.
- Car tyres have doubled in price in 1 year.
- Car fuel has gone up a lot.
I assume other things are going up in parallel.
Now that energy availability is peaking this will continue year after year as natural gas and oil fade away.
Does your income increase say 20% or more year after year, after tax? How about if you are a pensioner?
Let's take just the car tyres: a set of 4 kills my spending money for a month. This year it might be for TWO months.
Where will I be in say 3 years time? Holidaying in Barbados?
I think not: I will be more concerned on keeping warm in winter and keeping the cars fueled and road legal.
I am very pleased that you have so much income that you can afford to pay 20% more each year to simply stand still ... sadly not all of us are that well off.
Also, after some years of this, economies and companies can fail ... so perhaps your good incomes won't be there forever?
Just a quick look at the UK balance of payments makes me shudder .... it has been derailed by only a year or so of importing under 10% of our oil and gas needs. (Prior to that we were a net exporter).
The shortfall will increase to 30% soon enough ... that will blow the UK economy out of the water ... taking a fair few well-off people down as well as the poor.
I can't even begin to imagine what the UK economy will look like in 10-15 years. The US economy will probably have its own share of problems in parallel with those of the UK.
Throw in very cheap labour provided by the coming mass migrations, and perhaps you will find that your job or your disposable income is no longer there.
I'm surprised that posters on this forum still don't seem to grasp what's about to happen. We might not see Mad Max for decades, if ever. Neverthless the Western economies are about to go into the meat grinder, slowly but surely. Very few will be immune to the effects.
Come back in 10 years and tell me about your disposable income.
Technology will save us!
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