We should see some small increases in retail sales over coming months, but without a decent pickup in the labor market and incomes, we won't see much of an improvement.

We've started to see a gradual improvement in the labor market, and that will slowly feed through to consumer spending and boost services more widely.

Sam Walton established a mantra: the store manager must every year increase sales and reduce labor costs. But that is an oxymoron--they're lowering the prices on the backs of the people who work for them. That is why I spent four months of my life at 71 years old making the point to corporate America that we are not in industrial England anymore. We're in the 21st century and these are good workplace rules, and you've got to obey them.

The inflation story embedded in this report is really not that bad. People are coming back into the labor force and wage pressures aren't showing, so this is generally good for bonds.

They all take time. It's a labor-intensive, time-consuming process.

The greatest marketing tool there is is victories. I think [the team's merchandise sales] are going to finish strong.