Marketbites: Bud Light Sales Plummet
MARKET PERFORMANCE:
Portfolio Manager Commentary:
The S&P 500 traded near the flatline on Monday as Wall Street awaited a pivotal debt ceiling meeting and government officials scrambled to avert a default. Veteran negotiators on both sides resumed talks Monday morning in the Capitol, but mandatory government spending cuts remain a major obstacle. Republicans insist on paring back spending to baseline 2022 levels, but Biden said that any cuts across the board without additional tax hikes are out of the question.
Major averages are coming off a winning week. Led by technology stocks, equities continue grinding higher despite uncertainty in Washington and sticky inflation, with the S&P 500 hovering just below the 4,200 level.
Monday ushered in a relatively light week for economic data, with a second reading for first-quarter GDP slated for Thursday and the personal consumption expenditures gauge, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure, due Friday. The release of Fed minutes on Wednesday from the May meeting could shed light on how central bankers are thinking about the possibility of further rate hikes. First-quarter earnings season is winding down, but notable reports loom from Zoom Video, Lowe's, and Dick's Sporting Goods.
Chart of the Day:
With one blunder after another, the brewing giant behind the Bud Light brand became a case study in how not to handle a culture-war storm. Following Bud Light's controversial marketing campaign with a transgender social-media star, the light beer's sales revenue has taken a nosedive. By the second week of May,Bud Light sales volume was down more than 28% compared with the same period last year in U.S. retail stores, according to an analysis of Nielsen data by consulting company Bump Williams. It was a rare case of a politically inspired product boycott working. The company now plans for the first time to include Bud Light in the brewer’s long-running sponsorship of a veterans organization, wholesalers said. Bud Light is also leaning back into television commercials on themes like football and country music. The brewer recently told its wholesalers that it would buy back unsold cases of beer that have gone past their expiration date.
Source: WSJ
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