Synchrony Financial (SYF) certainly has its finger on the pulse of the American consumer. The company is the biggest U.S. issuer of private-label credit cards and has agreements with retailers including Wal-Mart (WMT) and Amazon.com (AMZN). In October, it released a note with its holiday sales forecast for this year. Synchrony is forecasting sales will grow 3.5 percent. The company’s outlook is based on a few indicators such as unemployment, gas prices and private housing construction.