Friday, February 6, 2009

Freddie's Funny

You have to read through the whole post to get the "joke."

"US jobs disappear at alarming rate" by Associated Press | February 4, 2009

WASHINGTON - Layoffs are spiking as the recession rips through the country, with retailers, banks, factories, and others cutting costs ever deeper this week. It's inflicting a painful toll on workers, and there's little relief in sight.

The latest round of pink slips and cost-cutting measures came yesterday on the heels of tens of thousands of layoffs ordered by a slew of companies last week alone. PNC Financial Services Group said it plans to cut 5,800 jobs. Airplane maker Hawker Beechcraft Corp. said 2,300 employees will lose their jobs before the end of the year and warned more layoffs may be coming. Liz Claiborne Inc. will eliminate 725 jobs, or 8 percent of its workforce. King Pharmaceuticals Inc., will get rid of 520 jobs.

Military contractor and aerospace company Rockwell Collins Inc. is cutting 600 jobs and freezing salaries at last year's level for all executives and managers. UPS Inc. is freezing management pay and is suspending its matching contributions to employees' 401(k) plans. And General Motors Corp. said it will offer buyouts to all of its hourly workers.

With jobs vanishing at a breakneck pace, it's becoming increasingly difficult for the unemployed to find new jobs.

TELL ME ABOUT IT!

And some of those who still have jobs are rapidly losing ground in other ways. Employers are freezing or cutting pay, trimming hours, suspending matching contributions to 401(k)s, and doing away with healthcare, bonuses, or perks....

But SOMEHOW they are still MAKING PROFITS!!!

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Well, THANK GOD there is the SERVICE SECTOR!

WASHINGTON - US service industries shrank at a slower pace than forecast in January, a positive trend threatened by soaring joblessness that will likely cause further cutbacks in consumer spending.... nonmanufacturing businesses makes up almost 90 percent of the economy....

Time Warner Inc., the world's largest media company; Walt Disney Co.; and United Parcel Service Inc. all reported weaker revenue and profits this week than forecast, underscoring the hit to services from the deepest slide in consumer spending in the postwar era. Purchases may keep falling after a report yesterday indicated employers cut more than half a million jobs in January....

Pffft!!! MSM is a "service?" One we can ALL DO WITHOUT!!!

Only two service industries in the ISM survey reported growth in January - healthcare and social assistance, and finance and insurance - despite recent troubles in the banking industry....

Are you EFFIN S***TING ME?

The BANKS ADDED JOBS after WHACKING AWAY at Americans?

UPS, the world's largest package delivery company, said it is freezing management salaries and suspending retirement contributions after US volume plunged the most in nine years.

That was the contentious issue that led to their strike in the 1990s!

So what can BROWN do for you?

--more--"

So if SERVICES are DOWN and MANUFACTURING is DOWN....

"Retailers see chilly sales in January; Wary consumers focus on 'survival'" by Associated Press | February 6, 2009

NEW YORK - Shoppers passed by the jewelry counter in January, delayed buying their favorite perfume, and even skimped on buying clothes for their growing kids. If they looked at status handbags, they put them back on the shelf and walked away.

The dismal January sales that retailers reported yesterday foreshadow a cold spring as consumers worry about massive layoffs and their dwindling retirement funds. Bigger-than-expected declines crossed the spectrum from Gap Inc. to luxury retailer Saks and the Children's Place. Others, like Macy's and Limited Brands Inc., did better than forecast but still saw sales drops.

Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, was among the outliers, reporting sales gains that beat Wall Street's forecast. The discounter has benefited from consumers' focus on necessities like groceries and on finding cheaper options for other items.

Cheap Chinese shit looks pretty good right now, doesn't it, 'murka?

"Consumers have only one focus today and that is survival," said C. Britt Beemer, the chairman of America's Research Group. "They only want to buy the things they have to have."

YUP! You think I'm going to help out some corporations bottom line while I'm suffering?

What's clear, he says, is that nothing these days is recession proof - even makeup. Estee Lauder Cos. reported a 30 percent drop in fiscal second-quarter profits as shoppers cut their spending on makeup, skincare, and perfume. Chief operating officer Fabrizio Freda said he has noticed consumers are delaying purchases, especially in fragrances.

Of course, LAUDER is JEWISH!!!! Yup, getting our women all whored up!

How come at the BOTTOM of EVERY DIVISIVE, IMMORAL, AGENDA-PUSHING ISSUE you find JEWS?!!!

January sales at established stores fell 1.6 percent, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers-Goldman Sachs tally - not as bad as expected but still the fourth consecutive monthly decline....

Merchants couldn't even count on the usual postholiday lift from shoppers redeeming holiday gift cards. Sales of gift cards were down because shoppers were focusing on deals, or just not buying. And with the economy deteriorating, the shopping center group's chief economist Michael P. Niemira expects sales to keep falling through at least spring.

What? They ain't using my gift?

The harsh environment is sending a number of stores into liquidation, with Circuit City and discount clothing chain Goody's Family Clothing among the biggest names. Fortunoff, a chain of housewares and jewelry stores in the Northeast, said yesterday it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and is seeking a buyer.

Those retailers who are surviving are slashing prices to try to pull in shoppers. Already many chains are discounting spring merchandise. They're also looking for ways to cut costs. Macy's Inc., Bon-Ton Stores Inc., and apparel maker Liz Claiborne Inc. have all disclosed layoffs in recent days.

Stores are also expected to report dismal earnings over the next few weeks, with fourth-quarter profits likely to fall more than 24 percent, according to Ken Perkins, the president of research firm RetailMetrics. Excluding Wal-Mart, that drop is expected to reach almost 31 percent.

But they still MADE PROFIT!


--more--"

How was YOUR YEAR, Amurkn
?

"Weekly jobless claims at 26-year high" by Bloomberg News | February 6, 2009

Not too good I see.


WASHINGTON - The number of Americans filing first-time jobless claims reached a 26-year high and companies squeezed more productivity out of their remaining staff, underscoring the deepening deterioration in the labor market.

Translation: STOO-PID S*** Amurkns DUG DEEPER and SOVED THEIR NOSES RIGHT UP the CORPORATE ASS!!! Way to BOOST PROFITS and BONUSES for EXECUTIVES, assholes!!!!!

What a bunch of STOO-PID F***S we have in this nation!!!


Initial applications for unemployment benefits climbed more than forecast to 626,000 last week, a Labor Department report showed yesterday in Washington. Productivity, a measure of employee output per hour, rose at a 3.2 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter as employers cut 1.5 million from payrolls and slashed working hours by the most since 1975, the department said.

And AMURKNS HUSTLED for their ANAL-RAPING MASTERS!!!!!!!


"It's astonishing how quickly American businesses are laying people off," Roger Kubarych, chief US economist at UniCredit Global Research in New York, said in an interview with Bloomberg Radio.

Not to all of us, dink-hole!!!

The jobless claims figures may foreshadow a steeper slide in payrolls in today's January employment report. The losses threaten to exacerbate the slump in consumer spending and risk further personal bankruptcies and loan defaults....

Estee Lauder Cos., the maker of Clinique and Bobbi Brown cosmetics, said yesterday it plans to eliminate 2,000 jobs after declines in makeup and perfume sales reduced second-quarter profit. The job cuts, which represent 6 percent of its workforce, will occur over the next two years, the New York company said....

GOOD!!!

The last thing our lascivious society needs is more whoring of our women by Jews!

--more--"

And yet, DESPITE ALL THIS, Freddie Mac actually says....

"30-year fixed mortgage rates higher" by Associated Press | February 6, 2009

McLEAN, Va. - Rates on 30-year fixed mortgages climbed this week after recent economic reports were better than expected, Freddie Mac said yesterday....

WTF are they SMOKING DOWN THERE, Americans?

Whatever it is, they ought to SHARE!!!!

--more--"

Yup, things are better than expected:

Like many other retailers in this harsh economic environment, the British American House clothing store in New York displays a ''going out of business'' sign.