Direct selling continues to perform strongly in Europe, despite the global economic crisis. Statistics compiled by Seldia and the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations (WFDSA) show a growth in sales in the European Union of 8.1 percent in 2010. Read more.
It has been a good quarter to be invested in stocks. The S&P 500 rose 12 percent during the first quarter and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 18 percent.
The stock market has begun 2012 with some gusto as the S&P 500 has risen 7 percent through mid-February.
Last year was eventful for many direct sellers, including some management shake-ups, continued economic uncertainty and a strengthening U.S. dollar that shed international sales for many. As 2012 begins, more big news certainly lies ahead.
As 2011 comes to a close and corporate boardrooms reflect upon the past year, there are some wildly varied perceptions of how Wall Street treated the direct selling sector over the past year.
September was just another version of August for direct selling stocks ... more volatility.
The fundamental trends of sales and earnings for direct selling companies were not among investors’ top interests during August as broader economic concerns such as shaky European sovereign debt, political turmoil in the United States and an unprecedented downgrade of U.S. debt led the stock markets into a free fall, followed by a rally, followed by a free fall, followed by a … well, you get the picture.
The direct selling sector has officially corrected on Wall Street (a correction is defined as a 10% decline in the share prices of the publically traded companies measured), but so has the broader market, so we see no reason to fret about the sector overall.