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In article <t2nhmu$3ocvn$299@news.freedyn.de>
<governor.swill@gmail.com> wrote:

Very happy to see Swallwell fail after his immature ignorant behavior with a Chink whore spy.

Monkey Pox, right on time to give Democrats an excuse to cheat in the next election.

Consumers' wallets are in for a world of hurt in the latter half
of 2022.

That's the takeaway from some of America's top corporate leaders.

It hints at significant pain ahead for the US economy, as costs
continue to rise and consumers feel pinched.

At Walmart, grocery shoppers are cutting back. AT&T customers
are paying their bills later than usual. Best Buy has seen a
dramatic slowdown in demand for electronics.

While unemployment remains at historic lows, and consumer
spending continues to grow, albeit at a slower pace, there are
troubling signs for the US economy in second quarter earnings
commentary.

In many cases, major corporations are painting a grim picture of
the economy's future.

Walmart sounded the alarm on Monday about its consumers no
longer being able to afford anything other than basic groceries.
"The increasing levels of food and fuel inflation are affecting
how customers spend," Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said in a
statement.

On Tuesday, Unilever, the parent company of Dove soap and Ben &
Jerry's, added to the picture. CEO Alan Jope said on a call with
analysts that "peak cost inflation" for the company will not
come till later this year, signaling that consumers will
continue to be faced with elevated pricing.

"The threat of recession is starting to impact consumer
confidence and change spending patterns and behaviors," Jope said

Then, on Wednesday, Best Buy jumped in, flagging a slowdown in
customers' interest in electronics.

"As high inflation has continued and consumer sentiment has
deteriorated, customer demand within the consumer electronics
industry has softened even further, leading to Q2 financial
results below the expectations we shared in May," said CEO Corie
Barry in the release.

Even companies like McDonald's and Costco — two places consumers
can typically count on for low prices — have started to hike
prices. Recently, a large number of McDonald's franchisees nixed
$1 drinks. The fact that Costco has hiked prices on chicken
bakes and sodas is a sign it isn't immune to inflation either.

Some consumers meanwhile are beginning to struggle to pay their
phone bills — AT&T said it's seeing an uptick in later payments
from customers.

It's not just retailers sounding the alarm. Social-media
companies and tech giants have been also impacted by the
expectation consumer spending could stall in the months ahead.
When businesses cut costs in anticipation of slower growth,
advertising spending — a major source of revenue for companies
like Snap and Meta — often gets scaled back.

Last week, Snap warned investors that it expects slower growth
in the months ahead for this very reason.

"The combination of macroeconomic headwinds, platform policy
changes and increased competition have limited the growth of
campaign budgets," Snap said in an investor letter.

Similarly, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, highlighted
rising inflation and a possible recession on the horizon as
challenges for its business.

Headline inflation hit an 8.6% year-over-year pace in July,
which is the fastest rate since 1981. And experts say that while
inflation may show some signs of having peaked, it's likely that
price increases are here to stay for the next few months.

And there's increasing evidence than pandemic savings are
beginning to run low for many. Credit card balances have risen
$71 billion over the past year and in April, the personal
savings rate fell to its lowest level since 2008. Corporate
commentary paired with a gloomier picture of Americans' finances
hints at a tough second half of the year for businesses and
consumers.

One piece of good news: Due to global supply chains finally
catching up with the outsized consumer demand seen earlier this
year, some department stores like Target are flush with certain
products like loungewear, home goods, and electronics. Consumers
may find more bargains as stores try to unload bloated
inventory, and they may see name brands duking it out with less-
expensive store brands to attract their dollars.

But there's a reason these items are getting discounted.
Consumers don't want them — having shifted their demand from
goods to services. And with inflation impacting everything from
food, to gas, to housing, a discount here or there is unlikely
to make Americans feel any better about the economy.

Read the original article on Business Insider

https://news.yahoo.com/americas-biggest-companies-flashing- warning-101500513.html

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