Housing Crash Effect #784: Circuit City "shocks" the market with a 3Q loss, stock plummets

"Sales" do not equal "profits" as you'll all come to see as retailer stocks plummet. Retailers led by Wal-Mart will be chasing each other to the bottom with fire sale pricing to clear dead inventory as consumer spending dries up.

No more housing ATM loot = no more Circuit City shopping sprees. Their stock is off 40% in just the past few weeks alone.

Desperate Wal-Mart slashing prices = all retailers who compete get slaughtered.
Housing crash = consumers hunker down.

Get ready America. This downturn is gonna be brutal. Anyone see the PPI inflation data today too? What a mess.

Consumer electronics retailer Circuit City Stores Inc. said Tuesday it swung to a loss in the third quarter as deep discounts on flat-panel televisions and computer hardware and software cut into profit margins. It also lowered its full-year sales outlook and shares fell more than 16 percent.

The nation's second biggest consumer electronics chain after Best Buy Co. Inc. reported a loss of $16 million, or 9 cents per share, in the three months ended Nov. 30. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial were looking for a profit of 5 cents per share.