Summer of Recovery in Full Swing: Retail Sales Fall for 3rd Month in a Row

Bad news for Obama (and anybody looking for the economy to recover anytime soon). As Rick Moran writes at PJ Tatler:

It’s the first time retail sales have fallen for three straight months since the end of 2008 and it’s just one more indication that the economy we have today is going to be the same, or very similar, to what we see on election day.

But, don’t let that distract you. The biggest and most pressing issue is obviously Mitt Romney’s tax returns. And did you know that one of the villains in the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises, is named Bane. Which you know…Mitt Romeny worked at Bain. So EVIL.

More on the summer of non-recovery via the Wall Street Journal:

Americans reined in their spending for the third straight month in June, fueling fears that the economy is stalling after gathering steam early this year.

Retail sales dropped 0.5% in June, the government said Monday, falling short of the 0.2% rise that most economists were expecting. Retail sales haven’t fallen three months in a row since 2008. April’s figures were revised down.

Stocks dropped on the disappointing news. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 43 points, or 0.3%, to 12,735, while prices of U.S. Treasury bonds rose as investors sought a safe place for their cash.

une’s sales were hampered by the recent drop in the price of oil, which reduces the dollar value of sales at gasoline stations. Normally, that is a good thing:

Falling prices at the pump should help the economy by putting more cash in consumers’ wallets and encouraging spending. Retail sales are an important part of overall consumer spending, which fuels two-thirds of America’s economy.