Catching you up on today’s top stories with discount chain Dollar General stock jumping on its earnings report and Alaska Airlines pilots going on strike.

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Today’s Top Stories With Dollar General Stock Pop and Alaska Airlines Pilot Strike

let's get to some of our top business stories that we're following today. It was a big day for discount retail, dollar tree and Dollar general shares popped yesterday after the company's reported earnings. Both companies beat Wall Street earnings expectations. They also raised their outlook for the year. The discount retailer saw shares jumped more than 13 and 20% respectfully and said, customers have been flocking to their stores as inflation sets in and I can agree to that because let me tell you, my wife has been visiting and she's got it down packed, She can put on a Girl Scout gala gala for every occasion, all from stuff from these discount stores and it looks like it's a million dollar event. I don't know how she does it, but she has these creations and she'll put things together. She want to plan my wedding cause I'm down for dollar tree looking like a million dollars without paying a million dollar price. Listen, the reality is um, you know, dollar tree and Dollar General or two kind of companies that a lot of, you know, economists talking about this earlier with dan kern, they look at to see what she's doing inflationary periods if the consumer is starting to feel the pressure if these stores are benefiting from more consumers flocking to them as they're getting a little more picky. And even the ceo of Dollar General Todd Vassos saying that consumers, they're seeing consumers are being a bit more intentional with their purchases right now. That is not to say that the consumer is truly feeling major pain, but there is this bifurcation or this divide between those on the higher income spectrum and those on the lower income spectrum. And there is the pain is more exacerbated for those on the lower income spectrum to the point where they are turning to these alternative kind of discount retailers and not your Walmarts, not your targets anymore. We saw that in the retail earnings from last week from both of those names, they're turning instead to your Dollar tree and Dollar General. I think you've pointed out dollar tree no longer just a dollar these days, it's a dollar 25 as your wife kind of has been a savvy shopper there, even dollar treat feeling kind of inflationary pressures having to raise their prices just slightly, but people still flocking there because that's the cheapest place to go right now when you're having to kind of stretch that dollar a little bit further and these are two typical kind of indicators of recessionary periods and that's why kind of, we've even focused on them today and a lot of investors, a lot of economists even focusing on them, um even more as they're seeing higher sales and forecasting higher sales moving forward. Yeah. And I was reading a recent study that basically point out that everybody likes to save money whether people are wealthy or not so much, you know that nine out of 10 adults say that they shop at these discount retailers and all ages from the millennials to gen Z and baby boomers all are going to these discount stores even before the pandemic, even before the inflation that they were actually using these stores. But I guess there is a difference between those who are trying to go to these stores because there's a great deal and those that can only afford to go to these stores. So there is an increase in sales probably driven by more of those who just are feeling the pressure more and having to and then that that second kind of caveat of people who are just saying, hey, if I've got to spend a lot of money right now, like traveling something, maybe I'll be pickier on my consumer good side of things and turn to a dollar tree, Dollar general. You're seeing a more robust kind of picture, more people running to those stores, so to speak as opposed to your walmart and target's when they're also feeling the pinch of not being able to reduce prices as much as they would like because they are also paying for higher labor costs by chain issues, all the likes and experts say that is a great way to save money. Almost like an expense hack where there are certain things you can't get in these stores, like some cleaning supplies, Maybe some snacks that you don't have to spend $5 on. You can go to these stores and get it instead. So a great way to save some money if you're in the market to go to a discount store. Yeah. And we'll keep our iron dollar tree dollar general and see how those companies continue to do over the next couple of months. In the meantime, let's turn our attention to some other business headlines that were watching for you this morning. Alaska airline pilots appeared to be ready to strike. They have been negotiating for the carrier for three years right now and have voted overwhelmingly to strike if both sides cannot reach an agreement here, the airline pilots association announcing 99% of the union members voted to support authorizing a strike. The vote followed picketing last month by 1500 off duty pilots, pilots and supporters lined airports at every Alaska airline base. But a strike could still be months away. Alaska airline is the fifth largest in the US and like all airliners are still trying to recover from the pandemic, that recovery, a key part of that happening this summer where everyone is jumping on flights that pent up demand for travel is coming to the realization right now. And then you hear of this. And if you are flying Alaska Airlines, you're sitting there now holding your breath and saying, well this strike happen on my watch or when you know, I'm getting ready to have my kind of summer vacation that I haven't had to happen over the next two years. So it brings up the curious question, will this impact the business In terms of consumer saying, you know, maybe I'm just gonna pick a different airliner just to be safe right now. And that's what happens in a lot of times in these cases because people don't want to take that chance on ruining their vacation going to. Exactly. So they're already at a shortage because they have 2% of their flights are canceled every day. That's about 24 flights a day they're canceling. They only have about 3100 members in this union as it is, it should be a lot more than that. And they already, as you mentioned, have been doing, you know, these contract negotiations for three years. So they're fed up with it, they're tired, They want the money, they want the life work life balance and they want to schedule structure that they're asking for. I don't think it's too much to ask for for people that are responsible for keeping your company going and keeping us alive in the sky, right? 100%. And I think, listen, I'm not trying to beat up on Alaska Airlines or any other company, but the reality is I think any employer who has this expectation that we live to work and we don't work to live. It's just so unrealistic. Especially nowadays, if the pandemic has taught us anything, it is how to value our life at home and how to balance that with work and that there is this greater need for that. I don't know that, that you can be an employer right now and have any kind of resistance towards that. If you don't, this is a tight labor market, people will go elsewhere. And by the way, for pilots, it's even tighter. There is such a shortage of pilots right now, but I imagine it's not that hard to find a job with another airliner. So I don't know what leverage Alaska airline has to really hold back anymore, but we'll have to wait and see. I think if it hits the top line more significantly, if they see a more broader pull back and other airliners are seeing, then maybe that's a catalyst for finally closing this deal with, with their pilots.