ZeroHedge reported the following yesterday:
Bloomberg reported the AT&T’s CEO John Stankey said that customers are starting to put off paying their phone bills – which resulted in the wireless carrier cutting this year’s forecast for free cash flow by $2 billion.
With food, gas and utility inflation already hitting consumers’ pocketbooks, it is no wonder they are starting to see a slow down in cash flowing to “nice to haves” versus must haves. I realize there is a significant number of people who believe their cell phones are a must have and many have built businesses around them, but an overwhelming number really don’t need it especially the children.
If you think back to the June labor report, the job growth was from people taking second jobs, not from the addition of new jobs into the market. If memory serves me right, there was actually a reduction in the labor participation rate. This is not looking good.