Welcome to Seeking Alpha's Wall Street Lunch, our afternoon update on today's market action, news, and analysis.

Good afternoon. Today is Tuesday, April 21st, and I'm your host, Kim Khan. Our top story so far. Don't count out the consumer just yet.

March retail sales rose 1.7% on the month, topping the 1.4% consensus,

and accelerating from February's 0.7% gain. Core retail sales, excluding motor vehicles

and parts, climb 1.9% on the month versus 1.3% expected. Excluding gas and autos, sales

increased 0.6% above the 0.2% consensus. Gas station sales

were up 18% year-on-year.

It's a blowout retail sales figure for March, said Navy Federal Credit Union chief economist

Heather Long.

Stripping out the big surge in spending on gas due to the Middle East conflict, it's

a solid but more modest 0.6% increase. Long-noted gains across most categories,

though spending at restaurants was softer, potentially signaling early signs and consumer

pullback as higher fuel costs weigh on budgets. She also pointed to elevated spending on

electronics and appliances, which may reflect tariff-related price pressures. Meanwhile,

President Donald Trump said he is not backing away from a

Justice Department investigation tied to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, maintaining pressure on

the central bank as Fed chief nominee Kevin Warsh appears before Congress. Trump told CNBC officials need to

find out why the Fed spent heavily on renovating its headquarters, while also adding he'd be

disappointed if Warsh did not move quickly to cut rates. Among active stocks, United Health is lifting the Dow after

reporting better than expected Q1 results and raising its full-year earnings outlook. Seeking

alpha analysts Jonathan Weber said that while UNH remains below peak profitability levels from a few

years ago, it looks like the turnaround is

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