Retail Sales figures were released yesterday (April 1) and it was no joke! Since the bulk of the US economy is derived from some kind of consumption- the rate of change in hawk-in’ goods and services should be front and center of your investment process. The pink line above shows the year-over-year change in this data. Let me summarize for you; going from a 6-handle down to a 2-handle in just a few short months is really bad. This is not supportive of any kind of growth narrative. When growth is slowing do you just stand in the ring with your arms by your side as Mike Tyson is pounding you? You should be looking to recalibrate your holdings. Go back in history and learn from what has worked. Where should you be focusing your attention? What data are you looking at to determine when growth is set to turn back up? Are you even looking at the data? It’s game time, and put me in coach! I’m ready to play ball.

Cheers,

P. Franklin, Jr.

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