Good and Bad Financial News, All in One

Well, this week there is some good news and some bad news for us as American consumers. We’ll start with the bad news first, which is more so bad news for the retailers out there, but we also know that what’s bad news for businesses also translates into bad news financially for we the people. The news for retailers is that the latest quarterly sales numbers are lower than expected, even considering the current recession we’re in. They were forecasted to be a little higher than what they actually were, so this adds a little more of the doldrums back to the current state of our economy.

The day this news hit was April 14th, the day before taxes were due (hopefully you got all your ducks in a row on that one, seems like everyone I know was under the gun with taxes this year), and Wall Street reacted accordingly, with a dip at the end of the day even amongst what some are calling a bear rally that’s due to end any day now if you believe that.

These numbers are telling that we still have a ways to come out of this mess, and it also shows the psyche of the American consumer, that we are still all very fearful and holding on to our money for fear of what it still to come. This of course perpetuates the sinking economy, but we all know that by now, probably all being schooled in at least economy 101 by now. Of course, I can’t stop getting the deal emails and great coupons, so if you have the money to spend it’s a great time to buy large ticket items. The latest one I got was from World Market for a 25% friends and family event – that includes furniture and decor, which is pretty good.

Now finally for the good news. The good news is that the gas prices are being forecasted to remain pretty low over the whole summer, which I believe is when gasoline usually goes up in prices because of a higher demand and more travelling by car. Hopefully it can stay around two bucks a gallon as long as we need it to, Lord knows we need all the relief we can get with the way things are going. There’s really no forecast beyond summer, but I guess I feel good that at least we know we have until then to enjoy these lower prices.