One of the biggest question marks surrounding the sustainability of the economic recovery is the strength of the American consumer. Buyers were understandably shell-shocked by the recession, as tumbling home prices, increased insecurity, higher unemployment, and tighter credit kept wallets slammed shut. Given this environment, it is hardly surprising that consumer spending plummeted, and retailers were scrambling to move unsold inventories by offering huge promotions.[More...]

BloggingStocks: Analyst upgrades: Wells Fargo upgraded Qualcomm (QCOM) to outperform from market perform. The firm believes key risks have been eliminated, such as the license dispute with Nokia (NOK) and litigation with Broadcom (BRCM), and thinks Qualcomm is ... Read more

PetSmart (PETM) made good use of their annual Analyst Day this year, as they raised guidance for the third quarter and the full year.  For the current quarter, PetSmart raised their EPS guidance to $.25 to $.29; this would easily outpace consensus estimates of $.22.  Furthermore, the company has lifted their full year outlook to $1.43 to $1.51, which is also better than expectations.  Management said that they are cautiously optimistic about the future citing better profit margins and lower expenses.  Interestingly, just two months ago the company lowered their guidance for the third quarter and full year earnings, but apparently the quarter has gone a little better than anticipated.[More...]

BloggingStocks: There is a bill making rounds on Capitol Hill that would provide a tax break for up to $3,500 for pet expenses. Does Fido really deserve a tax deduction? Do we really need to subsidize pet ownership in this country? The recession has been extra ... Read more