{"id":61430,"date":"2022-05-17T09:04:07","date_gmt":"2022-05-17T13:04:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.t3live.com\/blog\/?p=61430"},"modified":"2022-05-17T09:07:00","modified_gmt":"2022-05-17T13:07:00","slug":"coffee-with-greta-consumers-shake-off-high-inflation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.t3live.com\/2022\/05\/17\/coffee-with-greta-consumers-shake-off-high-inflation\/","title":{"rendered":"Coffee With Greta: The People vs. Inflation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor's Note:<\/strong> Coffee With Greta is a FREE morning update from our newest contributor Greta Wall. Want to get it by email every day? Click here<\/span><\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

DJIA Futures: <\/b>+371 (+1.1%)<\/span><\/p>\n

SPX Futures: <\/b>+56 (+1.4%)<\/span><\/p>\n

NASDAQ Futures:<\/b>+213 (+1.7%)<\/span><\/p>\n

Good morning friends!<\/span><\/p>\n

Futures are rallying after some strong economic data.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s get right to it!<\/span><\/p>\n

April Retail Sales Jump<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Commerce Department <\/span>reported<\/span><\/a> U.S. retail sales rose 0.9% in April to $677.7 billion as consumers remain resilient in the face of soaring prices.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Although that was slightly lower than economists\u2019 expectations for a 1% gain, March was revised higher to a 1.4% increase from the original 0.7%.<\/span><\/p>\n

Retail sales were up 8.2% compared to April 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gasoline sales surged 36.9% year-over-year while restaurant sales jumped 19.8% annually.<\/span><\/p>\n

Core retail sales, which excludes gas stations and auto dealers, rose 1% last month.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Adjusted for inflation on a monthly basis, retail sales were still up 0.6%.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Walmart Tumbles On Earnings Miss<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Walmart <\/b>(WMT) shares are falling 5.6% ahead of the open after missing Q1 earnings expectations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The retailer reported adjusted earnings of $1.30 per share on $141.57 billion in revenue.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That was weaker than analysts\u2019 expectations for adjusted EPS of $1.48 but beat estimates for $138.94 billion in revenue.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Walmart\u2019s CFO blamed the miss on high fuel costs, labor costs, and high inventory levels.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The CEO said, \u201cWe\u2019re adjusting and will balance the needs of our customers for value with the need to deliver profit growth for our future\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

The company raised its sales outlook, forecasting net revenue growth of about 4% this year vs the prior 3% outlook.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But Walmart lowered profit expectations, now expecting full-year EPS to decline about 1% year-over-year.<\/span><\/p>\n

Home Depot Rallies On Earnings Beat<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Home Depot <\/b>(HD) shares are up 3.6% in premarket trade after reporting a record first quarter.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The home improvement retailer reported earnings of $4.09 per share on $38.91 billion in revenue.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That crushed analysts\u2019 expectations for EPS of $3.68 on $36.72 billion in revenue.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Revenue jumped 3.8% and set a new record for Q1.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Same-store sales increased 2.2%.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Home Depot hiked its full-year outlook, now expecting revenue growth of about 3% and EPS growth in the mid-single digits.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Berkshire Invests in Citigroup, Paramount<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Citigroup <\/b>(C) shares are 5% higher ahead of the open while <\/span>Paramount <\/b>(PARA) is jumping 10% after <\/span>Berkshire Hathaway <\/b>(BRK.A) unveiled new investments in both companies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In an SEC filing Monday evening, Berkshire said it purchased more than 55 million Citigroup shares and had a $2.95 billion stake in the bank as of the end of March.<\/span><\/p>\n

Warren Buffett\u2019s company also bought 68.9 million shares of Paramount, bringing that stake to $2.6 billion at the end of March.<\/span><\/p>\n

Oil Prices Rise, U.S. Gas Prices At Fresh Record<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Oil prices jumped to a 7-week high today as the EU continues efforts to ban Russian oil imports.<\/span><\/p>\n

West Texas Intermediate crude futures are up 0.3% to $114.50 bbl while Brent crude futures are 0.4% higher at $114.75 bbl.<\/span><\/p>\n

Brent rose to a high of $115.69 earlier today, the highest since March 28.<\/span><\/p>\n

The market is also expecting higher demand as China lifts Covid restrictions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

U.S. gas prices hit a fresh record-high today as well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

AAA<\/span><\/a> shows the national average for a gallon of regular jumped 4 cents overnight to $4.523.<\/span><\/p>\n

Diesel also rose to a new record $5.573\/gal.<\/span><\/p>\n

Musk Still Focused On Fake Twitter Accounts<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Twitter <\/b>(TWTR) shares are falling 2% ahead of the open after Elon Musk said he will not move ahead on his take over deal without more clarity on fake users.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In a <\/span>tweet<\/span><\/a> this morning, Musk said \u201cMy offer was based on Twitter\u2019s SEC filings being accurate. Yesterday, Twitter\u2019s CEO publicly refused to show proof of <5%. This deal cannot move forward until he does.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Twitter then filed a <\/span>proxy statement<\/span><\/a> with the SEC, saying it is committed to the deal at the pre-agreed price.<\/span><\/p>\n

Musk hinted Monday he could seek to renegotiate that $44 billion price.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bloomberg <\/span>reported<\/span><\/a> that Musk said a deal at a lower price wasn\u2019t \u201cout of the question\u201d during an event in Miami Monday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Twitter shares tumbled 8.2% in Monday\u2019s session and have erased all gains made since Musk disclosed his investment in the company in early April.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Tesla CEO estimates fake users make up at least 20% of all Twitter users while the company says it is less than 5%.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

United Airlines Rallies On Updated Outlook<\/strong><\/h2>\n

United Airlines <\/b>(UAL) shares are up 4.2% in premarket trade after the company issued an updated Q2 outlook after-hours on Monday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In an SEC <\/span>filing<\/span><\/a>, the airline said, \u201cthe demand environment has continued to improve, resulting in a higher unit revenue outlook for the second quarter 2022.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

United now expects total revenue per available seat mile (TRASM) to be 23% to 25% higher compared to Q2 2019, up from previous guidance of 17%.<\/span><\/p>\n

The company also expects capacity to be 14% higher versus previous guidance of 13%.<\/span><\/p>\n

Homebuilder Sentiment Expected to Fall<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The National Association of Homebuilders releases its April sentiment index at 10:00 a.m. ET.<\/span><\/p>\n

Economists expect the index to fall 2 points to 75.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Homebuilders have enjoyed strong demand for new homes amid a severe shortage of existing homes in the market.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But they have also struggled with high costs, supply chain shortages, and an ongoing labor shortage.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Case You Missed It<\/span><\/h2>\n