Stocks pull back on weak economic data (8/12/16)
After the markets hit all-time highs yesterday, many stocks retreated on weaker-than-expected retail sales and a drop in wholesale prices.
The Dow dropped 37 points, with 21 of its components declining; the S&P 500 Index lost 1; and the Nasdaq added 4. Decliners outpaced advancers by ten to nine on both the NYSE and the Nasdaq. Treasury prices strengthened. Gold futures fell $6.80 to close at $1,343.20 an ounce. Crude-oil futures climbed $1.00 to settle at $44.49 a barrel.
For the week, the Dow was up 0.16%, the S&P 500 Index edged 0.04% higher, and the Nasdaq gained 0.22%.
In earnings news:
- Beleaguered retailer J.C. Penney posted a second-quarter loss of five cents a share, improving on its loss of 41 cents a share a year ago and beating analysts’ expectations of a 15 cents per share loss. Revenue edged up slightly to $2.92 billion, but fell just short of the estimate of $2.93 billion. Penney’s shares (JCP) rose 6.14%.
- Nordstrom reported second-quarter earnings of 67 cents a share versus 93 cents a share last year. Revenue slipped to $3.65 billion. The company attributed the results to lean inventories that helped it avoid additional markups. Nordstrom’s stock (JWN) gained 8.03%.
In other business news:
- U.S. retail sales were flat in July, according to the Commerce Department. The June figure was revised upward to 0.8% from 0.6%. Excluding autos and gasoline, sales fell 0.1%. Economists anticipated that the headline number would climb by 0.5%. The two bright spots in the report were sales at auto and parts dealers, which gained 1.1%, and noncore retailers (including online merchants like Amazon and catalogs), which rose 1.3%.
- The producer-price index, which measures what companies pay each other for goods and services, dropped 0.4% in July, according to the Labor Department. Excluding food and energy, the core number fell 0.3%. Economists expected an increase of 0.1% in the headline number and an increase of 0.2% in core PPI. The data shows that inflation pressures continue to be muted.
*****
In the past, I’ve made the case that selfies can have their place in the world. I’m sure many of you may disagree, but I like looking back at vacation photos that include pictures of all of the members of our family. And until this point I, unlike Taylor Swift, have lacked the means to have a personal photographer at my beck and call to capture the amazing time I’m having at my Fourth of July celebration (or my “spontaneous” dates and walks along the beach).
But maybe I don’t need to pack my selfie stick for our next vacation. Startups are popping up across the world to help travelers capture the perfect moments from their travels.
· Last year, a firm by the name of Cape launched operations in ski resorts in Lake Tahoe and Colorado. For $200, the company uses drones to capture a minute-and-a-half long video footage of you skiing or biking. Small price to pay for winning the $10,000 grand prize on America’s Funniest Videos when they broadcast a montage of my falls.
· For something a little more up close and personal, Flytographer lets you live out your celebrity fantasy and hire a photographer to document your travels in one of 180 destinations in posed photo shoots or “documentary style”. Prices start at $250, and you can book in increments of 30 minutes to three hours.
· But for the ultimate experience, look to Black Tomato, a travel company that specializes in one-of-a-kind experiences. The company has launched a new service, called “Drone the World”, that pairs you with a one-of-a-kind drone photographer who will capture your one-of-a-kind experience in a one-of-a-kind manner. And when I say one-of-a-kind, I mean it. You’ll have the opportunity to work with filmmaker Tim Browning, who worked on Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Skyfall, and Spectre. Just $5,500 per person for the weekend. Not a bad gig for Mr. Browning, who gets to hang out in some of the world’s most exotic locations and fly a drone—probably while sipping a mai tai. I’m so in the wrong line of work.
