Tuesday, December 07, 2010

A Sign of a Recovery?: America Reaches for the Latte Again

It seems that Starbucks fix is starting to trickle back into America's spending habits.

But now customers who swore off frivolous spending during the recession are lining up again for their $4 caffeine fix. The company's net income nearly doubled and revenue rose 17 percent in the most recent quarter compared with a year earlier, as more Americans allowed themselves a small treat.

I guess this is what they call frugality fatigue where people miss the little luxuries and want to enjoy them again. I mean Starbucks has nearly recovered to pre-recession levels according to this. That might be as green a shoot as you can find if the consumer actually starts to spend some of the money they have been socking away.

I mean one of the top gifts this holiday season is supposed to be a $500 IPad. So as the consumer comes back to the mall we might see more of an upturn than you might think coming down the pike. Now we need to see businesses follow-through and increase production if this consumer demand continues. Maybe some of those trillions will now come off the sidelines as businesses know their tax rates for the next 2 years and they can actual chase some home grown demand.

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