UMD Business Faculty Forecast U.S. Economy Sectors
Faculty at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business
have summarized 2012 forecasts for individual sectors of the national economy.
“Several important dynamics frame the 2012 economic outlook,” said Cliff
Rossi, Tyser Teacher Fellow and executive-in-residence. These factors include:
- Massive financial deleveraging across the board by sovereign countries,
state and local governments, banks, businesses, and individuals
- Fear and uncertainty among consumers and investors, despite faint signs
of optimism at times
- Political self-interest and brinksmanship increasingly interfering with
effective policy making
Rossi’s housing and small business forecasts incorporate prospects for credit
and lending and segue to a banking outlook by finance faculty colleague Haluk
Ünal. Consumer spending and retail forecasts follow, respectively, from
marketing professors Janet Wagner and P.K. Kannan.
Housing
Housing will remain weak in 2012. We are in the middle of the cycle that
started with the beginning of the crisis. We dug ourselves into an extraordinary
large hole in terms where we have to come from in terms of house price
depreciation standpoint. Also significant is the pace of foreclosure
proceedings. The “robo-signing” controversy led to a moratorium on foreclosures
– that has been lifted and at the end of 2011 we saw more foreclosure activity
and that will put more property on the market and further depress prices and put
further drag on any stabilization of housing markets in 2012. Thus, home prices
will remain very weak and may decline a little bit more before stabilizing with
slight improvement possibly by late 2012. – Cliff Rossi
Small Business
Small business owners will be challenged to obtain the credit they need for
building their business and creating jobs. Moreover, they’ll be plagued by many
of the same issues they faced last year in terms of building their client and
customer bases. This being a presidential election year, we’re likely to face a
lot of posturing and rhetoric around what Congress and the Obama administration
could do for small business legislatively, but I wouldn’t expect too much to
occur in terms of changes to, or moving through of the legislation we saw
proposed by President Obama around the American Jobs Act.
On the other hand, several surveys at the end of 2011 indicated the small
business outlook for 2012 as bullish along several dimensions. Small business
owners signal they’re seeing improvement on the horizon, in terms of both their
overall revenues and their ability to retain new customers and clients and in
their ability to improve on the jobs front as well. The post-Thanksgiving “Small
Business Saturday” was quite significant. About 100 million Americans supported
(purchased from) small businesses, which was terrific and it was a level of
support about 15 percent higher than expected. This was hugely important, and a
shot in the arm, for small business. My concern is that it appears to be just a
short-term effect.
The credit available for small business in 2012 will likely be on par with
2011 and in some cases not as good. To break this down, the Small Business
Administration hit a record year in terms of their $30 billion in lending.
Because of what’s going on in Congress and some of the stinginess we see there,
it’s unlikely we’ll see record lending from the SBA. Private lending to small
businesses will remain weak and, at best, on par with 2011. – Cliff
Rossi
Banking
The banking industry has been charging off massive amounts in bad loans since
the end of 2007. Last year saw more of the same, and a significant amount of
noncurrent loans are on the balance sheets. There are over 10 million underwater
mortgages. These credit losses caused significant earnings volatility. Since
there is no meaningful growth on the real side of the economy, the banking
industry should not see any significant revenue growth, nor significantly
increase lending. Interest rates are low, the term structure is flat.
Securitization, which used to be a serious source of income, is dead. The
million-dollar question is: ‘How does the banking industry make money?’
Absent of new shocks, delinquent mortgages should improve in 2012. However,
the budget deficit and the growing federal debt is a major threat to the banking
industry. And no one seems to know how our political parties should address it.
Unemployment is expected to remain high, inflation to be moderate, interest
rates low, and growth in corporate profits to be low. This is not an attractive
outlook. On the other hand, across the ocean, the contagion from European
sovereign debt crisis is a major risk. A deeper recession in Europe can have
serious adverse effects for U.S. banks.
These risks are well known. What is not well known is how to hedge these
risks. Those banks that know the answer will come ahead. Others will find
themselves at the mercy of the government. – Haluk Ünal
Consumer Spending
The consumer spending outlook for 2012 seems anemic. The 2011 holiday season
sales, overall, were robust and consumers increased their spending
significantly, compared to the last two years. This has, of course, depleted
savings and increased the debt consumers are carrying, and this will have a
negative impact on spending in the first half of the year. Although employment
levels have picked up somewhat, most of the job creation has been in the
low-paying service sector, and thus will have a tepid impact on discretionary
spending. Ironically, the increase in retail sales and a positive outlook for
businesses in the last quarter of 2011, has led to increased demand expectations
for oil (reaching over $100 a barrel at the start of the year), which in turn
has led to higher gas prices at the pump. Higher gas prices, higher rents and
stagnant income levels will limit any spending momentum gained from the last
quarter of 2011. Spending on consumer durables are going to be affected the
most. Past data suggests the U.S. economy tends to do well in election years,
and there could be optimism on this count with regard to increased consumer
confidence and spending especially during the latter part of the year. This is
however tempered by the strained global financial markets and continued
uncertainty in Europe, which have the potential for significant downside risk to
the economy. If these risks are mitigated, we can expect a bounce back in
consumer spending for the second half of 2012.
– P.K. Kannan
Retail
The retail industry is coming off a holiday season that started with a bang,
but ended with a whimper. According to the National Retail Federation, in-store
sales on Black Friday were 6.6 percent higher than last year’s. Retailers’ sales
were up, but they were heavily reliant on discounts, which will take a toll on
profits. The Wall Street Journal reported that sales stalled in December,
increasing only 0.1 percent from November. In-store sales growth was driven by
autos, which compensated for a 3.9-percent decline in electronics, reflecting
consumers’ resistance to the price of televisions. The New York Times reported
November-December sales for online retailers were up 15.5 percent.
In 2012, growth in overall sales for retailers is likely to be modest as
consumers face stagnating wages and unemployment remains stubbornly high.
Consumers will continue to focus on value. The greatest growth in sales will be
in the e-commerce and m-commerce channels. Successful retailers will serve their
customers through multiple channels. This means not just in stores, but also
through devices such as computers, mobile phones, tables and televisions.
Retailers, such as Macy’s, have been increasing their use of apps and QR codes
to deepen customer engagement
A number of store-level trends are emerging, as retailers innovate to stay
interesting and relevant to their customers. First, retailers are reducing
average store size. For example, WalMart has a new 15,000 square-foot format,
called WalMart Express, which will focus on convenience items. Second, retailers
are experimenting with subleasing floor space to other, smaller retailers. For
example, Target will begin subleasing space to Sephora and Trader Joe’s.
Finally, retailers are growing by expanding into Canada, where the economy is
stronger.
In 2012, retailers will face a challenging economic environment and demanding
consumers. Their success in increasing sales will depend on proactive,
customer-focused strategies. – Janet Wagner
Editors: The contributing faculty members are available for
further comment. The Smith School has an in-house broadcast facility for live or
taped interviews via fiber-optic line for television or multimedia content.
Cliff Rossi, executive-in-residence and Tyser Teaching Fellow
crossi@rhsmith.umd.edu,
301-908-2536, blog/bio:
blogs.rhsmith.umd.edu/cliffordrossi
Haluk Ünal, professor of finance
hunal@rhsmith.umd.edu, 301-405-2256,
bio:
P.K. Kannan, Ralph J. Tyser
Professor of Marketing Science and chair of the Department of Marketing
pkannan@rhsmith.umd.edu,
301-405-2188
Janet Wagner, associate
professor of marketing and director of the Center for Excellence in Service
jwagner@rhsmith.umd.edu,
301-405-2126
