Discounters' delight, wind power takes off, and why Trichet should watch his back
Miscellaneous reflections on a Thursday…
Another great month for retailers — well, those named Wal-Mart and Costco anyway. April same-store sales beat analysts' expectations as folks seek out everyday low prices and/or stock up on larger quantities while making fewer shopping trips. Target, Gap, Victoria's Secret doing poorly in contrast. Surely James Howard Kunstler must think Wal-Mart's success in a climate of high gas prices is the last climaxing, ironic gasp of hydrocarbon-intensive consumer excess before the Long Emergency sets in…
Wind power set for record year. New power capacity that came online in Q1 is enough to power 400,000 homes. And if that doesn't demonstrate what a growth industry this is, consider that the law school at Drake University in Iowa is now devoting an entire class to wind law. (By the way, Byron King has a wind-power play in the Outstanding Investments portfolio that's up a tidy 25% and still a "buy.")
ECB prez still in no rush to lower Eurozone interest rates. Jean-Claude Trichet says, "Inflation rates have risen significantly since autumn." Granted, the ECB has mechanisms other than rate cuts to expand the money supply, but still… Nicolas Sarkozy and Silvio Berlusconi might well be fantasizing about ganging up on M. Trichet in a dark alley.
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