recession

More Retailers Announce Price Cuts; Economy Weakens Further

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MORE RETAILERS ANNOUNCE PRICE CUTS

Walgreens (WBA) has joined the growing list of retailers that have announced sweeping price cuts for their products. The list also includes Walmart, Target, Amazon, etc. All of them cite the need to increase customers traffic. Presumably the increase in traffic will also increase sales and translate to higher profits. Let’s hope so. The attitude of current shoppers is almost defensive in nature. Impulse shopping has been replaced by planned shopping for specific items and includes conscious price comparisons with competing vendors and online searches.

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Cash Is King Right Now, Not Gold

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CASH IS KING FOR NOW

Amidst the fallout of stock markets crashing worldwide, gold (silver, too) and oil imploding, and the scare of coronavirus, the dollar itself stands tall. That is not what some were expecting. Nevertheless, unrealistic expectations abound today, so let’s see what we can learn from this.

When investors sell en masse, they generally turn to cash as a resting place for their money. Cash for most people today still means US dollars. This implies an increase in demand for US dollars.  Gold investors and their advisors seem to have been expecting just the opposite.

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