This article caught my attention, as I looked through that third lens of scripture.
God said in the tribulation, common man will work an entire day for a days worth of food for one person, while the oil and wine will not be spoiled, inferring that the wealthy are going to be unaffected.
Are we starting to see signs of this? Could it be related?
- Revelation 6:6 – “And I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”
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Luxury booms while bargain retail suffers
Personal spending in the US is diverging into two distinct categories as strong growth at high-end stores contrasts with continuing difficulties for mass-market, low-price retailers.
Nearly a year after the US economy returned to growth, corporate earnings reports in recent months have provided consistent evidence of the differing fortunes. At high-end stores such as Neiman Marcus and Tiffany, shoppers are demonstrating confidence and spending with vigour. At the other end of the retail spectrum, consumers are cautious amid economic uncertainties, denting the earnings of groups such as Walmart.
In the second quarter of 2010, personal consumption expenditure – the commerce department’s main measure of consumer spending – advanced at an annualised rate of 2 per cent in the US, matching the fourth quarter 2009 figure and improving upon the 1.9 per cent gain recorded in the first quarter of this year. However, these modest increases are much weaker than the rebound in consumer consumption experienced after previous recessions.
For example, in the fourth quarter of 1982, even as the overall economy was only growing at a 0.2 per cent rate, consumption increased by 7.5 per cent. In the first quarter of 1992, consumer spending advanced by 7.1 per cent, and in the fourth quarter of 2001, by 6.4 per cent.
“Retail tends to be the leading edge of an economic recovery and this hasn’t been the case [this time round],” said Jack Kleinhenz, chief economist at the National Retail Federation. “People are finding ways to economise.”
This has hit mass-market retailers, which had initially managed to offset the impact of the recession on revenues through discounting.
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Link to full original article: Luxury booms while bargain retail suffers
myBlessedHope 