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MONEY WATCH.Navigation: Main page Author: Lim, Paul J. Section: Money & Business
Window-Shoppers Are Turning Into Buyers One of the most important shopping days of the year--the day after Thanksgiving, otherwise known as Black Friday--is in the books. Now economists can start assessing whether this will be a financially merry Christmas after all. Already, forecasts are being ratcheted higher. The National Retail Federation believes that holiday spending will increase 6 percent overall compared with last year. While that's below the 6.7 percent jump in 2004, it's higher than earlier predictions of 5 percent growth. There are reasons to be optimistic. For starters, online holiday sales are expected to hit record highs. And the recent fall in gas prices enables consumers to "redirect their spending on other goods and services," says Wayne Best, an economist for Visa. Even before Black Friday, Visa reported a 16.6 percent increase in pre-holiday spending. Another reason to be hopeful: Retailers like Wal-Mart have already launched aggressive cost-cutting and promotional campaigns to get shoppers in the stores early--before they start getting their winter heating bills. Companies Actually Dust Off Their Wallets and InvestWhile General Motors is going in reverse with its plans to shutter factories and lay off workers, corporate America as a whole is actually shifting into overdrive. According to Thomson Financial, capital spending on new plants and equipment by S&P 500 companies jumped more than 24 percent in the third quarter, led by major new investments by oil companies, energy firms, and the financial services industry. Not only does this mark the first time since 2001 that capital spending has grown more than 20 percent, but it also represents the seventh straight month of capital spending increases. "This is something special," says Thomson's director of research, Mike Thompson. It couldn't have come at a better time. It sends the markets a message--that now is a good time to be investing. That's why Thompson says: "Don't be surprised if the equity markets start to become the preferred asset class over bonds." Now Batting, No. 15, Bill MillerYes, Virginia, it is possible to beat the stock market. For 14 consecutive years, Bill Miller, the manager of the vaunted Legg Mason Value Trust fund, has bested the Standard & Poor's 500 index. "It's a feat that no other manager has matched at a single fund," says Morningstar analyst Christopher Traulsen. Will Miller's streak reach 15? It's going to be close. With a little more than a month left in the trading year, Miller's fund is up 6.8 percent--1.2 percentage points better than the S&P. What's remarkable, says Traulsen, is that Miller is doing this without owning energy stocks, which have been the market leaders. It just goes to show: You don't have to jump into popular--and volatile--sectors to consistently beat the market. PHOTO (COLOR) PHOTO (COLOR) ~~~~~~~~ By Paul J. Lim in the Fair Use guidelines of the 1976 U.S. Copyright Act. info [at] singlearticles.com Powered by CommonSense |
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