This morning the nation's retailers reported on their sales for the month of September. In general, September's sales gains were better than those of last month, but not as good as a year ago. Among the major retailers, Wal Mart gained 4.2%, Kmart gained 5.5%, Sears gained 4.5%, Dayton Hudson gained 5.3%, and J. C. Penney lost 0.9%. Recent comments by retail sector analysts suggest that consumers are spending cautiously and that the growth in retail sales is dissappointing. This slowdown in consumer spending should come as no surprise to anyone. The average annualized growth of the Gross Domestic Product for the first half of this year was only 2%. Personal consumption expenditures account for 2/3 of the Gross Domestic Product.
The Labor Department reported 341,000 first time claims for unemployment insurance during the week ended September 30. This was 6,000 higher than the preceding week, but 21,000 lower than the recent high of 362,000 recorded for the week ended September 9.
Stock and Bond investors drew positive implications from today's news. Both markets closed up for the day.