UBS Warns America's Restaurants Locked In "Difficult Cycle" As Tax-Refund Sugar-High Fades

UBS Warns America's Restaurants Locked In "Difficult Cycle" As Tax-Refund Sugar-High Fades There is certainly a growing consensus on Wall Street that the tax-refund sugar high is fading just as consumers' financial profiles deteriorate. The latest read-through comes from UBS analyst Dennis Geiger, the bank's U.S. restaurants equity research analyst, who warns that a toxic cocktail of macro pressures is likely to crimp restaurant spending in the second half of the year. Geiger warned in a note that elevated gas prices at the pump appear to be offsetting tax-rebate benefits, while...