Monica Mehta

The National Retail Federation estimates a 10% decline in Holiday spending in 2013.  The average family is expected to spend $704 in 2013 on gifts, down from $770 in 2012.  Digging deeper within the numbers, lower income families making less than $30K per year are expected to increase spending (by 20% to $467) while middle and upper middle income families making $30K and $75K+ are expected to rachet holiday budgets by 8-10%.   Retailers are feeling the pressure and responding with aggressive (early promotions).  The holiday shopping season in 6 days shorter in 2013.  Monica discussed this and more with Neil Cavuto and Melissa Francis.

With Facebook stock surging to an all time high, excitement builds for Twitter’s IPO.  But unlike Facebook, Twitter has yet to turn a profit (-$74M past 12mo) and offers fewer channels to monetize its user base (215M) casting more doubt on its post IPO prospects.   Monica discussed this and more with Neil Cavuto and Lori Rothman.

Apple beats expectations on earnings but disappoints with unit sales.  Margins tick up after the company shrugs off a year of back to back product launches that drag down profitability.  Activist investors continue to eye the company’s $147B in free cash, seeking more distributions via dividends.  Monica discussed this and more with Fox’s Neil Cavuto.

The US creates 148,000 jobs in Sept as unemployment rate drops to 7.2%, despite missing expectations. An estimated 300,000 discouraged workers dropped out of the workforce in the same period.  Monica discussed this and more with CNN’s Carol Costello.

Lawmakers make 11th hour compromise to reopen government, averting short term crisis, but ensuring likelihood of a bigger crisis in months and years to come.  Monica chats with CNN’s Carol Costello about our politicians prioritizing partisan bickering over economic prudence. Read more about Monica’s take on warnings from the CBO on spending and debt and politicians consistently showing they lack the will to make hard choices.

Tense times in Washington sparked spirited conversations on national debt, partisanship and income inequality.  Pictured (top) with Reason Magazine’s editor in chief Matt Welch, Former Clinton Admin Labor Secy Robert Reich, Bill Maher, Actor Tim Robbins, Columbia University Professor Dr. Carl Hart.

Honored to be recognized as Small Business Influencer 2013 in both the Community Choice and Top Champion categories.  Read more

Monica discusses the latest happenings for the stocks moving markets and what investors can expect in the week to come with Neil Cavuto.

Twitter forms its own Super PAC, joining legions of lobbyists making Washington a revolving door to the underworld.  Special interest spending  has ballooned a healthy 1000% from 1980, ten million per year versus billions spent to catch the attention of our elected officials. Couple that with the fact that more than 50% of congressmen work for lobbyists post service versus 3% thirty years back.   Surely a data point worth tweeting about.