BJ’s Wholesale serves as one of the few warehouse club chains in the United States. Its more than 240 warehouses are primarily located along the East Coast, most prominently in the New England area. Similar to its warehouse club peers, BJ’s charges annual membership fees and keeps costs down by operating a “no-frills” store environment. The company limits the use of distribution centers where possible and stores inventory on pallets directly on the sales floor, often in bulk quantities. The company also offers a limited assortment of stock-keeping units at its warehouses (around 7,000) to achieve greater procurement scale on select items. About 80% of BJ’s net sales stem from grocery items and general merchandise, with the remaining 20% coming from gasoline and other ancillary services.

Monday Tee Up: Inflation, Powell, Banks This will be a busy week, with fresh inflation data being released, Fed Chairman Powell testifying before Congress, and the new earnings season kicking off with the big banks reporting. As well, Wall Street will continue to analyze the June jobs report that showed some cooling in the labor market. Last week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.5%, the S&P 500 gained 1.5%, and the Nasdaq was higher by 2.8%. Year-to-date, the DJIA is higher by 4%, the S&P is up 17%, and the Nasdaq has popped 22%. On the economic calendar, Fed Chairman Powell will be grilled by Washington lawmakers about the state of the economy as part of his semiannual update. On Tuesday, he testifies before the Senate; on Wednesday, he moves over to the House. On Thursday, Wall Street will get new inflation data in the form of the Consumer Price Index (CPI). In May, CPI printed at 3.3% and Core CPI was 3.4%. Argus forecasts that CPI for June will be 3.1% and Core CPI will edge up to 3.5%. On Friday, more inflation data is due from the wholesale side via the Producer Price Index and Consumer Sentiment reports. On the earnings calendar, the new reporting season kicks off. On Thursday, we hear from Delta Air Lines, PepsiCo, and Conagra Brands. On Friday, major banks start to check in, with the likes of JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of New York, and Wells Fargo all reporting. Steve Biggar, Argus' Director of Financial Institutions Research, offers the following thoughts. 'We expect profits from lending businesses to remain under pressure as higher interest rates continue to negatively impact loan growth, and loss provisions remain elevated in a slowing economy -- meaning regional banks likely will have a tougher quarter than the larger global banks. Capital markets should be a bright spot, resulting in good profit gains for JPMorgan and Citigroup, as well as Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. Fees from bond underwriting, initial public offerings, and merger & acquisition advisory have all improved after some two-years of weak activity, aided by growing confidence about the Federal Reserve's pivot to lower interest rates and a soft economic landing.' Last week, the June jobs report showed some slight cracks in the tight labor market. Nonfarm Payrolls printed at 206,000, slightly below the results from May. The Unemployment Rate inched up to 4.1% in June. The Fed expected to see this number because of the strain on the economy from higher interest rates. Mortgage rates ticked up to 6.95% last week for the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. Gas prices rose four cents to $3.48 per gallon for the average price of regular gas. The Atlanta Fed GDPNow indicator is forecasting for 2Q and calls for expansion of 1.5%. The Cleveland Fed CPINow indicator currently forecasts 3.16% for July CPI. The next Fed rate decision is on July 31, with odds at 8% for a rate cut. By the mid-September meeting, odds jump to 77%. By November 7, odds hit 88% and for December 18, odds hit 96%. Argus forecasts that the Fed will cut interest rates twice this year, with two more rate cuts in 2025.

The Vickers Top Buyers & Sellers is a daily report that identifies the five companies the largest insider purchase transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions as well as the five companies the largest insider sales transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions.

Monday Tee Up: A Short but Busy Week

The Vickers Top Buyers & Sellers is a daily report that identifies the five companies the largest insider purchase transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions as well as the five companies the largest insider sales transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions.

Stocks remained little changed on Monday morning ahead of the consumer price index release tomorrow and the Fed's decision on interest rates on Wednesday. Shares of Macy's rose 19% on news that the company is considering a $5.8 billion buyout offer. Cigna stock rose 17% when it ended merger talks with Humana. The Dow rose 0.2%, the S&P slightly up, and the Nasdaq fell 0.4%. Crude oil fell nearly 3% to $71 per barrel, while gold fell $17 to $1998 per ounce.

Stocks edged higher on Wednesday morning as investors weighed new GDP and employment data. The Commerce Department said that the U.S. economy expanded at a 2.1% annualized rate in 2Q, down from its previous estimate of 2.4% and below the Reuters consensus, which also called for 2.4% growth. Employment data pointed to a cooling labor market. Payroll provider ADP said that U.S. companies added 177,000 jobs in August, down from 371,000 in July and below the consensus estimate of 195,000. The Dow rose 0.1%, the S&P 0.3%, and the Nasdaq 0.4%. Crude oil traded near $81.50 per barrel, while gold rose $9 to $1974 per ounce.

The Vickers Top Buyers & Sellers is a daily report that identifies the five companies the largest insider purchase transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions as well as the five companies the largest insider sales transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions.

Stocks edged higher on Tuesday morning, led by gains in the Financial and Consumer Discretionary sectors. The World Bank issued mixed forecasts for the global economy. It expects global GDP to increase 2.1% this year, up from its prior forecast of 1.7% but down from 3.1% growth in 2022. The revision included a higher growth forecast for the U.S., to 1.1% from 0.5%, and for China, to 5.6% from 4.3%. At the same time, the bank cut its global growth forecast for 2024 to 2.4% from 2.7%. The Dow was flat, the S&P rose 0.2%, and the Nasdaq rose 0.3%. Crude oil traded near $72 per barrel, while gold rose slightly to $1975 per ounce.

Stocks are plunging Wednesday as Credit Suisse (CS) plummets to all-time lows, adding to concerns regarding the health of the banking industry. Credit Suisse's largest shareholder ruled out additional investment, sending shares 17% lower. The Producer Price Index contrasted Tuesday's CPI report, coming in better than expected with hefty downward revisions to January's reading. Headline PPI fell 0.1% following a 0.3% rise in January (revised from 0.7%), while the core figure remained flat following a 0.1% advance in January (revised from 0.5%). Lastly, Retail Sales fell 0.4% following a 3.2% surge in January and fell 0.1% when excluding autos. The S&P 500 is down 1.6%, the Dow is down 1.7% and the Nasdaq is down 0.9%. Crude oil fell 3.9% to $68 per barrel, while gold rose $15 to $1926 per ounce.

Stocks fell sharply on Thursday morning on interest rate concerns and weak retail sales data. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points, as expected, though the 'dot-plot' forecast of Fed officials pointed to a higher than previously projected peak rate of 5.1% next year. The Commerce Department reported that U.S. retail sales fell 0.6% in November, down from a 1.3% increase in October. The decline was greater than the Reuters consensus, which called for a slight drop of 0.1%. The Dow fell 2.2%, the S&P 2.4%, and the Nasdaq 2.9%. Crude oil fell 1% to $76.50 per barrel, while gold fell $30 to $1789 per ounce.

Washed Out, Part 2. As the S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Nasdaq 100 test their June bear-market lows and teeter on another major breakdown, we are starting to see some signs that at least a short-term bounce is near. Can we still see a mighty capitulation that gives up another 10%? Absolutely. And that might be what is needed to end the carnage. Another possibility is that the market continues lower over the next few months, never capitulates, and simply takes its time to find new lows.

The Vickers Top Buyers & Sellers is a daily report that identifies the five companies the largest insider purchase transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions as well as the five companies the largest insider sales transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions.

Stocks fell sharply on Friday morning as a stronger-than-expected May employment report pointed to continued aggressive interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. The Labor Department said that the U.S. economy added 390,000 payroll jobs in May, well above the consensus forecast of 325,000 though down from a revised 436,000 in April. The unemployment rate held steady at 3.6%, slightly above the consensus forecast of 3.5%. Average hourly earnings rose 0.3%, in line with April but below the consensus forecast of 0.4% growth. The Dow fell 1.0%, the S&P 1.5%, and the Nasdaq 2.3%. Crude oil rose to $118.50 per barrel, while gold traded near $1864 per ounce.

After months of gradual improvement, the Insider Index from Vickers Stock Research has moved into the neutral zone (from bearish) for the first time since October 2020. While just barely neutral, the new reading is in stark contrast to the extremely bearish reading from early July 2021, when the index was at its most-bearish level since it was created in 1987. Meanwhile, the volume of insider transactions remains strong, pointing to statistical significance in the current data from Vickers.

After reaching euphoric levels in first part of November, sentiment has quickly cooled following the recent price volatility. This is not one bit surprising as the major indices rapidly pulled back from all-time highs during the month of November.

Measurements of sentiment reflect ongoing optimism and, so far, liquidity has trumped most technical indicators. Indeed, there is a fair amount of historical precedent for that.

The stock market moved lower last week as inflation concerns spread from Wall Street to Main Street. Blue chips relatively outperformed as earnings season kicked off. During Friday's session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 299 points, or 0.86%. The S&P 500 was down 0.75%, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.80%. For the week, the DJIA was down 182 points, or 0.52%, the S&P 500 was down 0.97%, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.87%. Year-to-date, the DJIA is up 13.33%, the S&P 500 is up 15.20%, and the Nasdaq Composite is up 11.94%.