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US retail sales were below expectations last week—bringing in $457.73B for July—causing some economists to worry consumer spending was weaker than realized, but analysts at Macquarie Capital Markets insist everything is fine.
Macquarie's David Doyle says we need to focus on the core trends, pointing to the strong labor market and the fact people are getting jobs. This means spending will likely increase, Bloomberg reports.
On top of that consumer confidence is still at healthy highs and wages are rising. After wage growth stalled during the economic recovery it is back on pace, and if things continue wage growth could break a record this decade. [Bloomberg]
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