How Can Investors Play Both Sides Of Back-to-School Sales?
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Warren Stanley Investors Observer.com |
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The month of August means one thing to most retailers: back-to-school shopping. Back-to-school season is often a boon to retailers, as parents scour malls for items their children need for the upcoming year, like new clothes (which their children outgrow every year), notebooks, paper, and the like. Some states even help out retailers by holding sales-tax holidays, during which certain items like clothes and school supplies are not subject to state sales taxes.
Back-to-school season has taken on an even deeper meaning to retailers this year. As I mentioned in my June 22 article on the retail sector last month, consumer spending has slowed to a crawl during the current recession, as declining incomes and rising unemployment have induced consumers to save more and spend less. Retailers are hoping that since back-to-school items are often must-have items, consumers will awaken from their slumber and give them a much needed boost in revenue.
There is one more reason back-to-school season is important to retailers:
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Warren has been around Investors Observer since the early days. His fingerprints can be found on most services offered here and many started out as one of his special projects. Mr. Stanley looks for below-the-radar news tidbits, company happenings, Wall Street whispers, economic trends and essential strategies others might miss. Then he digs in to find the whole story. And… When he’s done he will share his findings here. One of Warren’s current interests involves strategies, tactics, and tricks of the trade for investors who don’t have a lot of cash to commit to the market. So expect these articles to especially help investors with $5,000 to $10,000 to invest. Many articles here will probably use ETFs and HOLDRs since these are a great low-cost way to play the market.
Q&A
Name: Don
Subject: Companies like Monsanto experimenting in genetically modified food
Q: Considering the world wide distaste/distrust, and many countries laws disallowing genetically modified seed and food, what would be the long term financial outlook for companies like Monsanto who have directed much of their assets to GM and may have a heavy lawsuit liability in the near future. (GM food found recently to cause death in many animals and is under government review world wide to ban this unproven technology.) Should a smart investor avoid these companies?
Thank you. Don
A: Don,
I have not been watching this sector very closely recently, so I’m afraid I cannot offer anything useful regarding Monsanto right now. If you’d like some more information about the company, your broker should be able to retrieve some research reports that may be of use to you.
-Warren