Richard Hastings Good Quotations

Consumers are benefiting from a combination of tax stimulus, new products, good apparel fashions and compelling prices.

I think it's kind of funny they're changing roles, but I'm also getting the impression that, over the past two years, there seems to be a trend to moving top management around so they get more well-rounded experience. I think that's a good move and maybe a part of the company's succession plan.

Wal-Mart's much slower rate of sales growth in November clearly shows this is a matured global business. As supermarket goods continue to increase as a percentage of sales -- and this includes consumables and perishables sold in big volume at Sam's Club -- we will expect to see a persistently slower rate of top line growth.

Weaker spending on seasonal goods has been building up for four months now. The two factors hurting consumers particularly at the low- and middle-income levels are that wages have not grown and gasoline prices could go even higher.

It ended up a pretty good season. The retailers that didn't do well did it to themselves.

The fact that the Chinese currency is pegged to the dollar helps eliminate the inflationary effect on goods from China, ... The U.S., however, doesn't see that benefit from its other trading partners.

If spending on durable goods slows down, it could also weaken sales of consumer electronics, especially on big ticket items that have a higher profit margin but are interest rate sensitive.