Wall Street’s expectations?

Stocks ended mostly unchanged on Monday. There is much anticipation with quarterly earnings reports due on the financials and many other benchmark companies. The question on everyone’s mind is will corporate America’s performance continue to fuel the stock rally by beating Wall Street’s expectations? But the bigger question is, while the recession has depleted trillions in household wealth, can the American consumer drive economic improvement?

Do not underestimate the American consumer. The American consumer will lead us out of this recession and fuel economic growth. Earnings from corporate America for the most part have been very encouraging with many companies reporting top-line sales growth. This reflects consumer demand is there in a number of segments. While consumers have become more price/value driven, they are willing to spend if the right deal is presented. In addition, with the stock markets continued push toward a 10,000 Dow, consumers are feeling better about their 401(k) accounts and portfolios. This will translate into more consumer spending which in turn will fuel job growth. Do not underestimate the American consumer. The dynamics in how they purchase may be different but his consumer will buy – and that’s a good thing.