The Pump Is Subtracted

The city of Ledgerville! Retail sales up 0.8% in September. Mayor Pennywhistle: everyone is shopping, where will they park? Baron Von Bottomline: peak consumer vitality! Dash: minus gas stations, sales rose about $1.6 billion. Pop: of a $5.7 billion total, mostly fuel. Zap: the Fed's Beige Book found little or no change in spending, with lower-income shoppers more cautious. And so, once again, the pump is subtracted.

Strip out the gas stations and September's retail jump was modest: sales excluding gasoline rose about $1.6 billion of the $5.7 billion total, the Fed's Beige Book found little or no change in consumer spending with lower-income customers more cautious, and nearly one in five households using buy-now-pay-later owes a payment of over $500.

Starring

🎙️The AnnouncerMayor PennywhistleBaron Von BottomlineDashPopZap