Dollar Store's Brutal Chart Shows How Bad Things Are Great For Business

Deep-discount retail chain Family Dollar announced quarterly earnings that missed expectations as comparable store sales fell 3.8% during the most recently completed quarter.

The stock price is falling in pre-market trading.

This might be bad news for FDO shareholders. But it could be a good indicator for the economy.

In a presentation earlier this year, management included a chart highlighting how earnings growth tended to accelerate after bad things happened in the world.

This is not news to people who follow the retail business. When economic conditions get tight, cash-strapped consumers trade down and shop more discriminately for deals.

Check out this sparsely annotated chart highlights 9/11 and the housing crisis.