Ahhhhhhhhh... the smell of Jimmy Carter II in the air.NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Wal-Mart's core shoppers are running out of money much faster than a year ago due to rising gasoline prices, and the retail giant is worried, CEO Mike Duke said Wednesday.
"We're seeing core consumers under a lot of pressure," Duke said at an event in New York. "There's no doubt that rising fuel prices are having an impact."
Wal-Mart shoppers, many of whom live paycheck to paycheck, typically shop in bulk at the beginning of the month when their paychecks come in.
Lately, they're "running out of money" at a faster clip, he said.
Wal-Mart shoppers running out of money - Apr. 27, 2011
Ahhhhhhhhh... the smell of Jimmy Carter II in the air.
It's nice Jimmy the Second has had a laser-like focus on the economy.
.
Is it a bad sign when Americans are beginning to not have money even for the cheap Chinese knockoff crap Wal-Mart sells?
Economic growth slowed to a crawl in the first three months of the year as a spike in gasoline, higher overall inflation and continued weakness in the housing market all took a toll on the recovery.
Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the nation's economic health, rose at an annual rate of 1.8%, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. That's a significant slowdown from the 3.1% growth rate in the final quarter of 2010.
The sharp rise in oil prices in recent months was a major drag on growth. Besides cutting into consumer spending, higher prices for imported oil caused a rise in the nation's imports, which slowed the economy. The increase in imported goods shaved 0.8 percentage points off of growth by itself.
Rising overall inflation also took a bite out of growth in the quarter. Since GDP is adjusted for inflation, higher prices mean the economy must grow at a faster pace just to keep up. Consumer prices were up 3.8% from a year earlier, according to the report, compared to a rise of only 1.7% in the fourth quarter.
And the weak real estate market continued to weigh on the economy, as investment in homes and housing construction fell at a 4.1% pace in the quarter, while investment in non-residential real estate, such as offices, stores and factories, plunged by 29%.
hmmm...high cost of fuel a drag on the economy...no #$%^....
More people sought unemployment benefits last week, the second rise in three weeks, a sign of the slow and uneven jobs recovery.
Applications for unemployment benefits jumped 25,000 to a seasonally adjusted 429,000 for the week ending April 23, the Labor Department said Thursday. That's the highest total since late January.
The four-week average of applications, a less volatile measure, rose to 408,500, its third straight rise and the first time it has topped 400,000 in two months. Applications near 375,000 are consistent with sustained job creation.
More than half of Americans say the U.S. economy is in a recession or a depression despite official data that show a moderate recovery, according to a poll released on Thursday.
The April 20-23 Gallup survey of 1,013 U.S. adults found that only 27 percent said the economy is growing. Twenty-nine percent said the economy is in a depression and 26 percent said it is in a recession, with another 16 percent saying it is "slowing down," Gallup said.
The beleaguered dollar extended its broad decline after U.S. economic data pointed to a dismal employment picture and slowing growth, bearing out the Federal Reserve's reluctance to tighten monetary policy anytime soon.
U.S. jobless claims unexpectedly jumped last week and the government reported the pace of economic growth in the country slowed sharply in the fourth quarter, further adding to the negative dollar sentiment permeating the market.
Traders have been selling the dollar in droves in recent weeks, sending the greenback to multiyear lows against most other major currencies. That selloff continued Wednesday when Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke indicated the central bank is far from tightening monetary policy.
Ahhhhhhhhh... the smell of Jimmy Carter II in the air.
It's nice Jimmy the Second has had a laser-like focus on the economy.
.
Public disapproval of President Barack Obama's handling of the economy reached a new high in mid-April, according to a new McClatchy-Marist poll, as gasoline prices neared $4 a gallon and Washington lawmakers fought a bitter battle over the federal budget.
Some 57 percent of registered voters said they disapproved of Obama's economic management, while only 40 percent approved. That's the lowest score of his presidency.
"These numbers spell political trouble," said Lee Miringoff, the director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion in New York, which conducted the survey. "To get re-elected with a 57 percent disapproval rating would be a very tall order."
today:
Poll: Obama is losing public's confidence on economy | McClatchy
more: 57% feel the "worst is yet to come"
"up sharply from 39% in january"
71% said the nation was still in recession
his tax the rich speech didn't work, points out marist
uh oh
LOL! What you left out from your poll ~ "Obama could take solace from one finding: Sixty-three percent of those surveyed said the current economic conditions were mostly something the president had inherited, while 30 percent said they were mostly the result of his policies."
Read more: Poll: Obama is losing public's confidence on economy | McClatchy
Interesting observation.
Is it even possible to make crap even cheaper and sell it at stores even more stripped down and bare bones than Wal Mart? I wonder who could out walmart Wal Mart?
Wal mart needs to stop selling all those expensive products made by greedy American unionists making high wages and getting cadillac benefits. If they bought overseas from people operating sweatshops using child labor, they could lower those prices and attract more business.
Finally someone who understands
but we elected him to fix it last i checked, he better wipe that "solace" off his face and get busy
tick tick tick
lol I admit I laughed a bit.
Iamitter is a good guy, even if he does have a bit of conservative handicap! :sun
Iamitter is a good guy, even if he does have a bit of conservative handicap! :sun
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