PAGE ONE treatment, folks!
"Putting a lid on holiday spending proves very hard to do" by Michael Levenson, Globe Staff | December 20, 2008
NATICK - .... Such is the quandary being faced by husbands and wives, lovers and loved ones of all kinds this year. Shocked by the fallout in the financial markets, many are trying to scrimp on the holidays by vowing to limit gift-giving. More than a few, however, are finding the bargain tough to uphold. The powerful holiday expectation of something - or many things - under the tree is forcing some of the would-be budget-cutters into store aisles, credit cards in hand....
Christmas draws near, and even the best of intentions can crumble. No one, of course, wants to appear to be shortchanging a loved one....
--more--"So, GET OUT THERE and SHOP or you are a BAD PERSON -- according to the Boston Globe!!
"Frightful weather, sales; Retailers fret that snowstorms will put a dent in their all-important holiday shopping season final numbers" by Nicole C. Wong, Globe Staff | December 20, 2008
The onslaught of snow across the country this week could wreck retailers' last hope to salvage the crucial holiday shopping season, even as they slash prices as much as 65 percent.
Forecasts call for snowstorms to sweep cross-country, with Boston and Connecticut expecting a foot or more of snow. Retailers worry that could throw a wrench in the final weekend of what was predicted to be the worst holiday shopping season in decades even before the first snowflake fell yesterday. Local retailers, who saw crowds of shoppers in the morning before the storm hit, fear customers will stay home this weekend....
I DID!! I was TOO BUSY SHOVELING SNOW!!!
Indeed, the holiday shopping season between Thanksgiving and Christmas is typically when retailers ring up as much as one-third of annual profits. But this year, the NPD Group Inc., a retail market research firm, is forecasting the retail industry's holiday revenues will slip 2 to 3 percent below last year's amid the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression - and that was before this weekend's bleak weather forecast.
I'm really sick of hearing about corporate Amerika's problems from this business agent here. The American people are on their backs thanks to scumbag agenda-pushing scitte rags and their harmful and damnable lies! Start caring for them, huh?
Still, analysts say that today may be the busiest holiday shopping day as last-minute gift-givers head out to stores. The average American has finished almost two-thirds of his or her holiday shopping, according to a National Retail Federation survey conducted Dec. 16-18 by BIG research and released yesterday.
I'm ALL DONE because I'm not buying anything.
So, while Black Friday - the day after Thanksgiving and the unofficial start to the holiday shopping season - has been the biggest shopping day in terms of sales over the last few years, with so many people waiting until the last minute this year, today is "incredibly important," National Retail Federation spokeswoman Ellen Davis wrote in an e-mail.
So GET OUT THERE and SHOP, consumers!!Screw the troubles and the looting you have received and SUPPORT CORPORATE AmeriKa!!!
--more--"
I guess this won't help, though:
"Employers still trimming jobs even as holidays near" by Associated Press | December 18, 2008
A growing number of companies are sending workers a grim holiday message: Head for the unemployment line.
Aetna Inc., Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., and Western Digital Corp. said yesterday they would cut a combined 4,900 jobs. And Eastman Chemical Co. said it would cut an unspecified number as it tries to slash costs by $100 million.
The announcements came a day before the government is expected to report that jobless claims remain near their highest point in 26 years. The downturn has spread far beyond the housing and banking businesses where it began.
"Things are changing so rapidly, and deteriorating so rapidly, that firms don't have a choice," said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist of IHS Global Insight.
Falling sales are squeezing companies' cash just as tighter credit makes it harder for them to borrow to fund operations, Behravesh said. The combination means some companies can't afford to wait until after the holidays to cut jobs.
Where did all that liquidity money go (check bankers' pockets)?
Many people with jobs are so fearful about their employment security that families are reducing spending, giving retailers one of the worst holiday shopping seasons in decades....
--more--"Yeah, Merry Xmas (as they kick you in the ass and out the door)!
