by Nomi Prins
Daily Reckoning
February is half over, and we’re that much closer to spring.
As far as the markets go, this past week has been driven by a lackluster set of new economic data and heightened concerns about whether the coronavirus is contained or not, whether the Chinese have downplayed the figures or not and what the real economic impact in China and around the world might be.
But we could already be feeling the effects here at home…
The latest information reveals that consumer spending dropped substantially in January. And core retail sales dropped off.
Clothing sales, for example, dropped 3.1% last month. That’s the largest month-over-month decline since March 2009.