Crude Awakening?
Anyone who was driven down the East coast of the US from NY to FL has undoubtedly seen a plethora of CBRL locations. I am old enough to remember that this casual diner used to be thought of as a barometer of PRICES at the pump, as they reside mostly where consumers stop to eat and fill up the tank. Could its formidable PRICE action be a canary in the coal mine that energy costs may continue to fall? The stock is still 18% off most recent 52-week highs, but first, give it credit for not retesting the June-July lows in a show of strength. Last week completed a bullish three-week tight pattern with the last 3 all CLOSING tautly, all within just 1.11 of each other. It trades in an illiquid fashion and REPORTS earnings this Friday before the open (was lower for SEVEN straight reactions and 9 of the last 10) so use this as an illustration of what may occur in energy. A drop in crude can keep this nascent discretionary sector jump going.