Zero Hedge is usually pretty spot on with their analysis. not sure where the tin foil hat stuff comes in?

Much the article is tin hat conspiracy theories which I have no patience with.

Sears, Penny's and Radio Shack struggled for years because they never kept up with the times. Best Buy and consumer electronics stores are being trounced on by Amazon.com via showrooming . and MC Donald is facing completion by higher quality / casual dining fast food like Chipotle, Pandera Bread and Starbucks. Streaming and Redbox killed Hollywood Video and Blockbusters.
Furthermore, how much of real "growth" is an illusion built on credit card debt. Because credit tightening and the rest of us stop being so stupid and pay cash, we are reducing our spending and living within our means.

probably both.. While my wife might work in the industry we tend to eat at home because we can make higher quality stuff at home then we could hope to find at a restaurant... Granted, we are really spoiled food snobs stuck living in the wasteland that is the pacific northwest. So, when we find ourselves in SF Chi or NY we go out of our way to stop at a place with a couple of Michelin Stars..

restaurant sales numbers are up pretty dramatically over the past year. Also, fast food is not as clear cut of a winner on the increase.

WalMart and Mcdonalds especially. Target is still hurting from the credit card issue. I wonder how long they can keep blaming the weather. Would not analysts estimates take into account the cold? They are missing soft targets. Not good.

Quite true about Radio Shack, Penny's and Sears. I get more worried when I see Target, McDonald's, and Walmart having trouble. I don't think we can keep up this bifurcated economy too much longer.

He mentions Radio Shack, Penny's and Sears. Each of these stores have been struggling for a while and for reasons unrelated to the economy. Still, the export numbers out of China were awful. Get ready for the weather to be blamed again. This time for bad retail numbers.