The eurozone economy is tentatively happy – with the exception of Greece – but the US sales figures may be about to wipe the smile off its faceAs the economic news from the eurozone improves by a notch (although not in Greece, inevitably), US consumers are sending the opposite signal.Sluggish retail sales in the first quarter of the year were, we were told, caused by a cold snap. There would be a spring bounce, investors assumed, as supposedly confident Americans spent their windfalls from the lower oil price. Well, it didn’t happen in April: yesterday’s figures were flat, and the weather-related explanation is wearing thin. This could be the start of a worrying trend. Continue reading...
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