Millennium Travel News

Now is the time to buy cruise shares, says a cruise industry review released by Lazard Frères & Co., which notes that although shares have been up and down in the past few weeks with only a 1 percent increase in the last month, the relatively defensive performance of the cruise/leisure segment is encouraging. The report states cruise shares are sensitive to any data showing a slowdown in consumer spending in 2000. In September, a decrease in the Consumer Confidence Index was enough to cause a 7-8 percent drop in Carnival and Royal Caribbean shares. However, a closer look showed a tendency of the CCI to soften in autumn months. At 134.2, the CCI is 6 percent higher than a year ago, actually suggesting stronger confidence among consumers.

Now is the time to buy cruise shares, says a cruise industry review released by Lazard Frères & Co., which notes that although shares have been up and down in the past few weeks with only a 1% increase in the last month, the relatively defensive performance of the cruise/leisure segment is encouraging. The report states cruise shares are sensitive to any data showing a slowdown in consumer spending in 2000. In September, a decrease in the Consumer Confidence Index was enough to cause a 7-8% drop in Carnival and Royal Caribbean shares. However, a closer look showed a tendency of the CCI to soften in autumn months. At 134.2, the CCI is 6% higher than a year ago, actually suggesting stronger confidence among consumers.