The United States economy got good news on the economy after the Commerce Department released information on consumer spending and monthly inflation for the month of April. In other economic news, Amazon hit a new high regarding its stock value. The company that is slowly taking over the world is completely crushing its competition in terms of value. Finally, Radioshack is getting ever closer to being phased out of existence.
The Commerce Department's report
The Commerce Department said that consumer spending in the United States increased by 0.4% in April after an upwardly revised 0.3% rise in March.
While these number may not seem like a lot, one has to remember that consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of economic activity in America. The 0.4% increase in April was the largest since December 2016, while households also spent more on good and services in April.
This also caused monthly inflation to rebound, which may allow the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in June. The news could also calm concerns about second-quarter economic growth after weak reports in other areas for April. In the first quarter of 2017, consumer spending grew at its slowest pace in over seven years. This kept gross domestic product (GDP) growth to a 1.2% annual rate for the first three months of 2017.
Amazon's stock hits an impressive mark
Amazon, the e-commerce giant that has changed how people the world over shop, hit a new milestone on the stock market. For the first time in the company's history, its stock hit the $1,000 mark, but finished just below the mark and has been hovering around $995. Permanently crossing this mark would put Amazon alongside Seaboard, Priceline, NVR Inc.
and Berkshire Hathaway. These are the only other U.S. companies which have shares that trade above $1,000.
This also puts Amazon's market value at about $478 billion, which is double that of Walmart and over fifteen times that of Target. Amazon's stock value is now up more than 30% since the start of 2017 and is up over 1,500% since 2009.
The parent company of rival Google, Alphabet Inc., is also getting close to the $1,000 mark. Its stock is currently hovering around the $970 mark.
Only a few RadioShack's remain
Over the weekend, RadioShack suddenly closed more than 1,000 stores just two months after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. This leaves the struggling 96-year-old electronics retailer with only 70 company-owned stores and 425 stores owned by franchisees that are open in the United States. At its height, RadioShack boasted over 7,300 stores across America.
