Now aren't you glad the Congress rushed it right through, America?
Also see: Bush Administration Created Credit Crunch Crisis
"Buyers' confidence hit hard as the holiday season nears" by Jenn Abelson, Globe Staff | October 5, 2008
The $700 billion government bailout passed last week aims to fix the balance sheets of troubled companies, but economists say it will do little to help the finances, and restore the confidence, of consumers anytime soon.
American households, whose spending accounts for two-thirds of the economy, will still have a difficult time borrowing money for a home or a car. Families will continue to rein in spending because of higher energy and food costs, and lower home values and stock market returns.
People are expected to cut back further after the tumultuous events of the past month, economists say. Consumer confidence has been shattered by the upheaval of all things Americans thought of as financially secure: their banks, insurance companies, money market funds, and retirement savings.
The daily reminders that the US financial system may be on the verge of devastation - much of it delivered by the nation's top leaders in extraordinarily blunt and grim language - has rattled Main Street to the core.
And CUI BONO, 'eh?
Seventy-nine percent of people surveyed at the end of September "expected bad times in the economy during the year ahead," up from 57 percent earlier in the month, according to Reuters/University Of Michigan Surveys of Consumers.
So talking down the economy and pushing propaganda WORKS!
Faced with nervous consumers, merchants are girding for one of the worst holiday seasons in decades. For retailers, the last two months of the year are their most critical period, when they can take in 25 to 40 percent of total sales for the year.
I'll do my part -- by not purchasing much, if anything this holiday season (only for the bankers)!
Shops, whacked by a weak back-to-school season, are canceling Christmas orders, hiring fewer part-timers, and launching early and aggressive value promotions, according to retail analysts. Last week Wal-Mart Stores Inc. unveiled plans to sell 10 toys, including some Barbie dolls and Tonka trucks, for $10 each, and to rev up holiday sales by opening Christmas-theme sections in stores next week.
Yeah, as if the DESTRUCTION of the AMERICAN ECONOMY was not being done ON PURPOSE for GLOBALIST REASONS!! FUCK YOU, Boston Globe!!!!!!!!!!!
Frank Badillo, an economist at market research firm TNS Retail Forward, said the Wall Street turmoil has punched new holes in consumer confidence that would probably result in an even stingier holiday season, particularly among shoppers from higher income brackets who have watched their investments in the stock market shrivel.
FUCK the RICH!! Drag them out of their homes and EAT THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As a result, even the luxury sector, the beacon of retail strength in recent years, is expected to take a hit.
Translation: The RICH did GREAT while the REST OF US ATE SHIT!!!!!
Also see: The Economic Untouchables
The Boston Globe Worships the Wealthy Elite
Only U.S. Elite Need Apply
The Comfortable Class Above It All
McCormack and her wife recently decided not to buy gifts for each other in an effort to save money, and will slash their holiday budget to $500 from $1,500 last year. They are planning to scrimp on presents for other family members and offer free baby-sitting, car-washing, dog-sitting, and other household chores rather than buying gifts.
The Boston Globe can't find any regular people to talk to, huh?
First a Jew on the income tax repeal, and now a LESBIAN on the holiday shopping season. But they AIN'T PUSHING an AGENDA or nuthin'!!!!
PFFFFFTTT!! As for their ideas of "gifts," FUCK THAT! I'd be FURIOUS if they tried to "give" me those "presents" at Xmas!
One looming factor is job security. On Friday, the Labor Department reported that employers eliminated 159,000 jobs in September, more than double the job losses in August, making it the biggest monthly decline since 2003. Deeper losses could follow this month as the effects of the financial crisis spread through the broader economy. Since the beginning of the year, the United States has lost jobs in each of past nine months, losing more than 750,000 positions.
Yeah, but STUFF this information WAY in the BACK of the piece!!!
(Do I even have to say it, readers?)
Moreover, consumers who piled up debt in recent years to fuel shopping sprees they otherwise couldn't afford are feeling the squeeze as banks slash home equity lines and even credit card limits. --more--"
Yeah, and we ALL KNOW WHY! To BLACKMAIL the CONGRESS to PASS their LOOTING LAW!!!
