Stock Preacher

---- Paul A. Ebeling Jr. AKA the RedRoadMaster

• The Red Roadmaster’s Technical Report on the US Major Market Indices + ™
• The Red Roadmaster’s Technical Report on the US Major Market Indices
• What happened last week? - Courtesy of the RedRoadMaster
• The World Economic Forum says that Canada has the strongest Bank in the World
• In View: The World Economic Forum; AKA Davos
• Wall Street comes back sharp early losses:
• Will the Big US Banks be Nationalized?
• Gold futures soared above US$1,000 oz last Friday
• Hot topic: US Consumer Credit falls more than expected in December 2008
• BHP takes $1.6 billion charge, to cut 6,000 jobs

Consumers in the US will spend 27% less for Father’s Day than for Mother’s Day - why? Well, because neckties, T shirts, and back yard barbeques cost less than flowers and restaurant dinners.

The average amount spent on gifts for these special holidays since records began to be kept in 2002, say Moms are always in the lead, according to Kathy Grannis, a spokeswoman for the National Retail Federation.

US shoppers plan to spend US$91.00 for Father’s Day on June 21 this year, compared with US$124.00 for Mother’s Day this past May 10, according to surveys for the NRF, a trade group based in Washington.

This year, average spending on Dads may fall 3.9%, compared with an 11% drop for Moms as consumers tighten their belts this year. “If you are looking to trim dollars, mentally it is easier to do that for Dad,” Pam Goodfellow, a senior analyst at BIGresearch in Worthington, Ohio, said in a telephone interview.

The firm conducted the survey for the NRF. “Dads understand we can do a cookout as opposed to Mom or Grandma, who always prefer to be taken out for lunch or dinner.” Moms usually received flowers, a restaurant meal, jewelry or a gift card, according to a survey of more than 8,000 consumers conducted March 31 to April 7.

Dinner in the back yard or a ball game rank highest for Dads, followed by clothes, gift cards and electronics, a May 5-12 survey showed.

Happy Father's Day to all you Dads.