Consumer spending was flat in the US in August. Adam Lass says this zero is a much more significant than the much-hyped $700 billion figure currently grabbing the headlines.

The bottom line is consumers are running scared, and that is bad news for retailers and manufacturers.

Adam says Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) and Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) are in for a particularly rough ride. Even 'safe' stocks such as Sears (NASDAQ:SHLD) or Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS) could seriously hurt your portfolio in the coming months.

Maverick CapitalMaverick Capital Management Holdings AnalysisThis post is being written as part of HedgeFundBlogger.com's Investment Securities Tool which analyzes the holdings of hedge fund managers.Lee Ainslie started Maverick Capital back in 1993 with $38 million. Nowadays, the fund is worth $10 billion. Ainslie, like many of the other fund managers I've profiled, has a background rooted in learning from legendary great Julian Robertson at Tiger Management. So, due to the fact that these proteges learned from the best and have had great success running their own hedge funds, I continually try to find a reason not to follow these funds. And, needless to say I'm never successful. Some contacts over at Maverick have explained that their hedge fund strategy is straight up stock picking, both long and short. They made ...