Target (TGT), Kohl’s (KSS), Walmart (WMT) and Best Buy (BBY) are among the big American retailers that wowed Wall Street with their latest sales and earnings. Lindsey Bell, investment strategist with CFRA Research, thinks that consumers will keep spending.
Bell doesn’t seem overly concerned about consumer debt levels. She tweeted last month about how some people are growing nervous about auto loans, but pointed out that such loans are a small piece of the country’s overall debt load.
She is, however, worried about rising government debt levels. Bell said on Twitter last week that Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell is right to point out that as the United States takes on more debt, that will mean the federal government will be faced with higher interest payments.
Bell said that could hurt the country’s ability to stay competitive with the rest of the world, since Washington will be focused more on servicing the debt instead of spending on areas such as education.
Bell will be talking about the surprising strength in retail and the nation’s debt situation with CNN anchor Julia Chatterley on the “Markets Now” live show Wednesday at 12:45 pm ET.
Chatterley will also be joined by Kathleen Smith, principal at Renaissance Capital and manager of the Renaissance IPO ETF (IPO), to discuss how the initial public offering market is heating up with Lyft set to debut on Wall Street later this month.
Smith will also talk about the IPO prospects for Lyft rival Uber and fellow unicorns Airbnb, WeWork, Slack and Pinterest, as well as consumer companies Levi Strauss and Peloton.
“Markets Now” streams live from the New York Stock Exchange every Wednesday at 12:45 p.m. ET. Hosted by CNN’s business correspondents, the 15-minute program features incisive commentary from experts.
You can watch “Markets Now” at CNN.com/MarketsNow from your desk or on your phone or tablet. If you can’t catch the show live, check out highlights online and through the Markets Now newsletter, delivered to your inbox every afternoon.
Source : CNN
