PSCD News and Press, PowerShares S&P SmallCap Consumer Discretionary Pf From 06/13/22

Have we seen the worst of expectations for Fed hikes? Retailer discounting a driver in the rollover of inflation expectations. Beware of backward-looking earnings estimates. For further details see: Beware Of Backward-Looking Earnings Estimates

The year-over-year change in core CPI peaked in March and is coming down, albeit slower than we’d all like to see. The economy is slowing in some areas and inflation is still high but probably peaking. Bond yields are starting to look pretty attractive relative to stock div...

In the final installment, we review the relationship between innovation, markets, and global political stability over the last two centuries. This history suggests the existence of investors who are both more complex and less autonomous than either rationalists or behavioralists typic...

The broader retail space has been weak relative to the S&P 500 so far this year. On a YTD basis, the VanEck Vectors Retail ETF has underperformed the S&P 500 by 4.5 percentage points, trading down by 18.2% as of today. The market seems to believe that consumers will move d...

In this market, we have been finding our members rare combinations of value and growth. We have traded ASO successfully, but think for investors we are still looking at a cheap stock, with growth. The short interest is unusually high, which is a headwind for ASO but also a possibl...

Rent-A-Center, in the past, was a slow-growth, unprofitable business, but since the Acima purchase, the company has bolstered profits. The business saw a poor Q1 2022, but the consensus low EPS estimate is still $4.50 per share. If the consensus EPS pans out in 2022, Rent-A-Center...

Innovation surges have historically occurred near secular low-points in real commodity prices, equity yields, and global political instability. High growth in disruptive innovations tends to occur as commodity prices, equity yields, and global instability rise. Growth rates in the...

Too many good things happening under the hood in Shoe Carnival. Higher costs have been adversely affecting margins, but sustained investment continues. Shoe Carnival's declining float, rising equity, and solid cash flow remain encouraging long-term trends. For further detail...

According to the latest estimates from deStatis, retail sales crashed by 5.4% in April 2022 when compared to March; nearly identical m/m results from the prior April. Only this time, no case count conundrum or overstimulated government in sight. No one can blame the pandemic for this ...

ANF reported Q1 earnings that missed badly on the bottom line and showcased concerning forward trends. Inventory and cost of goods rose significantly above projections. ANF also changed guidance and said they don’t see a meaningful increase from 2021 revenues. The compa...