One myth is that older Americans are much more interested in shedding furniture and housewares than in buying them because most are empty-nesters. The reality: Older consumers account for more than 40% of the money spent on new household furnishings and equipment in the U.S. In part, this is because two-thirds of the owners of second homes are at least 50 years old, and need couches, tables and cutlery for those getaway places. In addition, one in six families headed by a person over 50 has a member under 18, as more people have children at later ages. At the same time, the recession undoubtedly is forcing more 25-year-olds and 40-year-old single parents to rethink the charms of their parents' homestead. Bottom line: Older consumers will keep trudging off to Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY), Target (TGT), Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) and Ikea for years.

home town giant

"You've got this incredible all-at-once retail thing going on," he said, which is sending stocks across the board up, including Target (TGT), Williams Sonoma (WSM), Tiffany (TIF), Dollar Tree (DLTR) and Family Dollar (FDO)." Stop Trading!, Aug. 21

In every single case I can spin every single piece of data negative. There are no pure positives. Target (TGT), Wal-Mart (WMT) and Kohl's (KSS) say back to school is good? A whole host of little ones say it is bad. Home Depot (HD) says things are getting better but Sears (SHLD) and Lowe's (LOW) can't say that.

Where else has the media been wrong? He cited a headline in the Wall Street Journal that said the consumer is holding back the recovery. "But that's not true," said Cramer, who noted that Target (TGT), along with Wal-Mart (WMT) and Kohl's (KSS) all said the back-to-school season was looking better than expected.

But how about the 85% of the market that doesn't sell into China? Do we decide to take back the Target (TGT) gains of yesterday?

Finerman noted that Ackman's Pershing Square had reported taking a 2.4 million- share stake in McDonald's (MCD), which could prove to be a thorn in the side of McDonalds' share price if investors fear he has made another poor call after his high-profile position in Target (TGT) didn't play out in his favor.

PershingSquareCapital reduced its holdings to 32,994,586 shares (4.4%), after selling 25,396,649 shares and settling options trades between June 10 and August 7. The sales were transacted at prices ranging from $37.74 to $39.39 apiece.

I like the J.C. Penney (JCP) dip and I notice the incredible action in Kohl's (KSS) and Target (TGT) and wish they were down. They are such tells for the turn, especially Kohl's, which is almost at its high. Reduced inventories more than make up for reduced sales.

In an Aug. 6 blog post, Cramer wrote that the media had prematurely predicted a poor back-to-school season for retailers such as Macy's, Target (TGT), Gap (GPS) and JCPenney (JCP). "Back-to-school is looking very big," he wrote, "and given the low inventories, the cash flow could be tremendous here."

been there

too stogy

retail

same reason

Retail

Lost money

HIGH END RETAIL

house of pain

bad end of year

target