The Squeeze Is on the Middle Class

The state of retail results and consumer debt confirm our Middle-Class Squeeze investing theme.

On this episode of the Cocktail Investing Podcast, we focus on the growing headwind for the economy and retail that is associated with our Middle-Class Squeeze investing theme. Consumers, especially those associated with our Aging of the Population investing theme, have racked up record credit card debt over the last several years, and it’s beginning to weigh on their ability to spend. This has reignited retail apocalypse as the number of announced brick & mortar store closings reignites following disappointing holiday sales and same store comp sales and the continued shift to digital shopping that is part of our Digital Lifestyle investing theme.Related: Buffett, Musk and What’s Next for StocksOn the podcast we talk about which retailers are benefitting from the Middle-Class Squeeze tailwinds, which means vibrant same store comps and opening more locations in the coming months. In addition, we run through the latest economic dataand share why we’ll be paying close attention to insider selling activity between now and the end of March.Have a topic we should tackle on the podcast, email me at cversace@tematicaresearch.comAnd don’t forget to subscribe to the Cocktail Investing Podcast on iTunes! Resources for this podcast:
  • Chris Versace – @_ChrisVersace
  • Lenore Hawkins – @EllesEconomy
  • Tematica Research – https://www.tematicaresearch.com
  • Thematic Signals: https://www.tematicaresearch.com/thematic-signals/