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Holiday shopping season a bust for retailers?

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    2012 sales the weakest since 2008

  • Duration 3:44
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Please signs the economic recovery has actually stalled the holiday shopping season turned out to be a bit of a bust for the retailers.

2012 saw the worst year over year performance since 2008.

Sales -- electronics clothing jewelry.

Rose less than a percentage point while.

Analysts had expected growth of at least 3% joining me now -- B taos -- Managing partner of -- would investments.

Merry Christmas happy new year.

You know it does that surprise you at all.

If it really didn't mean you could kind of smell -- you could feel it in the economy.

No one was excited about this holiday season everyone felt as though they had very little clarity.

On where the future was economically.

So it really was pricing plus I walked around malls I walked -- New York.

He saw a lot of people you didn't see a lot of bags so I was not shocked by this -- 2012.

The year of indecisiveness.

Yet that's exactly the way -- -- -- you know put it you know.

Going all the way through the very beginning with obamacare going to be you know overturned because that seldom we might -- hiring picked up because and remember obamacare is a drain on.

The finances a lot of companies so people -- make a lot of decisions until that Supreme Court decision came -- then there was questions about the election now there's questions about fiscal -- and as a result of that everyone has basically -- inertia.

Nobody wants to move forward nobody wants to make decisions.

It's -- very tough economic environment it -- you know out in -- shopping malls it's really.

Being felt and we we measure that right -- we shopper track.

Yes and shopper track his down from what they it forecasted a recently revised at lower down about 25%.

And a -- I think it's important to point out that stock prices on a lot of retailers and in all companies especially retailers moved up in anticipation.

Of good sales and as a result of the numbers not be very good I think you're gonna see the earnings estimates from analysts on Wall Street come down so you might start to see that.

Impact on to the stock market as well how much of this Ed is if fiscal cliff as opposed to just the aggregate.

Of bad economic news.

Yeah I don't think most people really understand the fiscal -- I think they're starting to get it just as Molly had showed a couple minutes ago.

About how much more you're gonna pay taxes I don't have a lot of fiscal cliff.

I just think it's a lot of confusion and when people are confused they they really don't know what to do and they don't see any silver lining out there.

So they hold back -- -- -- I'll give me example with my kids are buying Christmas gifts it was more than negotiation.

With them what I can get away with spending what they want and need to spend.

Right now that it wasn't you know that that shows you a little bit about my household right.

But I -- that was the feeling I had I wasn't excited about buying gifts for my kids -- my wife I was more or less saying I have to buy certain things but I wasn't going overboard and I think a lot Americans are like that today is they're gonna be a ripple effect from the bad holiday shopping season through the economy.

-- and and again you know you you always try to -- show silver lining out there in the silver lining is that stock prices based on expected earnings are cheap.

-- and they're still very very inexpensive based on where they should be.

But I think -- -- -- February and as we get into next year.

How we're gonna see a really rough economy and I would not be surprised if we solve our GDP growth you don't really go sideways -- -- be even lower at this point where there's nothing good happening.

And until we start to see that you're not -- see people spending.

I guarantee that -- -- tasking negotiating with his kids.

Gosh I hope you got some really nice for your wife now you're going to be you know we've been -- I'm still negotiating now one year after I had that I sound like a -- negotiation trust me on that.

-- -- just gave thanks very much.

Yes that that's a --

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