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After last year’s strong holiday season, U.S. financial markets were concerned that this year’s first-quarter retailer earnings might reveal a lull in consumer spending. Yet the results surprised mostly to the upside as consumption proved resilient. How will the U.S. consumer fare for the remainder of this year and into 2025? Which retailing categories are seeing stronger or weaker spending?
Join Citi’s Rob Rowe, U.S. Regional Director of Research and Head of the Global Strategy and Macro Group, and Paul Lejuez, Head of Consumer Discretionary for Citi Research, as they delve into these questions against the current economic backdrop, and discuss how Paul and his team measure and forecast discretionary spending power.
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Rob Rowe, Head of Global Strategy and Macro Research and U.S. Regional Director of Citi Research
Rob Rowe is Head of the Global Strategy and Macro Group (GSMG) as well as the U.S. Regional Director of Research. GSMG unites all of Citi's economists with fixed income, FX, equity and commodities strategists to create a common team providing research on the world's major economies and asset classes. Rob has been with Citi for 30 years serving in various capacities. He originally joined Smith Barney Harris Upham & Company in 1989, working in investment banking, fixed income sales and research. In addition to his managerial responsibilities, he continues to provide portfolio strategy for select clients as part of his previous role overseeing the Global Bond Portfolio Analysis team. He has written numerous articles and publications on fixed income and portfolio strategy.
Paul Lejuez, Head of Consumer Discretionary, Citi Research
Paul Lejuez is a Managing Director at Citi Research covering Department Stores & Specialty Softlines, Broadlines and Food Retailing sectors. Prior to joining Citi in 2015, Paul worked at Wells Fargo for 2+ years, Nomura Securities for ~3 years and Credit Suisse for 10+ years, always covering the retail sector. He began his career at Ernst & Young LLC. Paul has a BS/MS degree in Accountancy from Wake Forest University. He is a CFA Charterholder, Certified Public Accountant and Certified Financial Planner.
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