CHICAGO (Reuters) – Packaged food makers H.J. Heinz Co and Hormel Foods Corp both posted better-than-expected quarterly profits as consumers eat more at home to save money, lifting sales of products like ketchup and Spam. [1]
Bon appetite!
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[1]: "Heinz, Hormel beat estimates, ketchup and Spam strong", by Brad Dorfman, Reuters, August 20, 2009.
I guess it easier then Depression Soup.
http://www.depressionsoup.com/
I am using two DJIA stocks as proxies to help with my assessment of the economy: BLACK & DECKER (NYSE: BDK) and HORMEL FOODS (NYSE: HRL). The relationship is roughly ( maybe “crudely” is the better term) similar to a “guns and butter” trade-off on the production possibilities curve.
When a shift from present-oriented consumption (Spam) to future-oriented production (hammers and saws) occurs, it indicates an increase in consumer confidence.
BDK’s performance has been just awful and HRL has been very good. When the two reverse their relative positions, I will be convinced the recession is over.
John-
I was telling L the other day that I wasn’t certain where to invest given the current economic climate. Now I know.
I don’t know why Igor is astounded- he downs more spam than anyone else I know. : )
this could just indicate a boom in boy scout enrollment since that seemed to be ALL we ever packed for camps/hikes when i was younger…lol…i do remember thinkin it was pretty tasty!!
People are stupid. Spam is more expensive than a lot of meats you can get at the grocery store. It’s generally about $3.30/lb which is more than buying chicken, some ground beef, etc, etc. And it tastes like cr@p too. But math is beyond most people these days so they buy Spam because they think it’s cheaper. Did I mention that people are stupid?