I better get moving!
"Snowstorm may bury holiday shopping; Retailers say they wouldn’t be able to recoup losses" by Mae Anderson, Associated Press | December 19, 2009
NEW YORK - Lots of snow may have storybook holiday charm, but storm predictions in the Northeast are not raising the spirits of retailers counting on shoppers to give them a brisk finish to the season.
A wet storm that arrived in the Southeast late Thursday could bring snow to much of the Eastern Seaboard beginning today. Washington, D.C., could get 10 to 16 inches of snow, and the New York region five to 10 inches, the National Weather Service warned. Forecasters expect six to eight inches of snow in Boston and as much as 20 inches on some areas of Cape Cod.
Related: Global Warming on the Ground
For retailers already struggling to draw restrained holiday shoppers, stormy weather on the last Saturday before Christmas, sometimes the busiest shopping day of the year, could mean the loss of sales that aren’t replaced, experts said....
And yet
"Sales last week were up 18 percent from the week before, and a little more than 1 percent higher than a year earlier, according to figures released yesterday by the research firm ShopperTrak."
Whatever, MSM!....
Even if major storms don’t materialize, forecasts could keep shoppers home....
They did this one.
--more--"
"Storm hit East Coast retailers; Saturday sales were not so super" by Anne D’Innocenzio, Associated Press | December 23, 2009
NEW YORK - Super Saturday - the last Saturday before Christmas and usually the biggest or second-biggest sales day of the year - got walloped by a big East Coast snowstorm that kept many shoppers at home.
Merchants in the Northeast are now left to hope for an even bigger-than-usual last-minute spending surge from shoppers who, according to several surveys, are well behind on their holiday purchases compared with previous years.
So WHAT is with the MIXED MESSAGES then, MSM?!! WTF?!!
Several stores, including Target and Toys R Us, announced earlier this week they will extend their hours to accommodate shoppers in the final days before Christmas....
Not going to help.
Research firm ShopperTrak reported yesterday that Super Saturday sales dropped 12.6 percent from a year ago, while foot traffic fell 12.4 percent, as a winter storm lashed the East Coast. That’s on top of a 12.4 percent sales decline and a 17 percent drop in foot traffic on Super Saturday in 2008 compared with the prior year....
A 25% DROP in TWO YEARS?!
Can you say ECONOMY on FREE FALL, Americans?
And yet the MSM has been SHOVELING S*** for MONTHS!!!
ShopperTrak reported that Saturday’s sales totaled $6.9 billion, compared with $7.9 billion last year and $8.7 billion in 2007.
Yup, SALES are DOWN $2 BILLION dollars!
This is NOT a RECOVERY, readers!!!
For the full weekend, sales slipped 2.1 percent to $18.8 billion compared with a year ago.
“Mother Nature was very unkind to retailers on Saturday,’’ Bill Martin, cofounder of ShopperTrak, said in a statement. He added that the sales decline was the steepest for the Saturday before Christmas since it started reporting holiday sales figures in 2002.
But the economy is chugging right ahead!
For the week that ended Saturday, sales slipped 1.2 percent compared with the year-ago period, but showed a 20 percent increase compared with the previous week.
Look at them grasping for anything.
The International Council of Shopping Centers-Goldman Sachs index reported yesterday that for the week ended Saturday, sales rose just 0.6 percent compared with the previous week.
If Goldman Sachs says it I take it to be a lie.
Related: Breaking News: The Biggest Bonuses of All Time
Goldman's Gets Tax Credit For Sticking It In America's Fannie
Compared with the same week last year, the index rose 0.4 percent. A week earlier, that figure was up 2.4 percent. The measurement is based on sales at stores open at least a year, considered a key indicator of retailer’s health.
Yeah, pass that salt shaker over. I need a grain.
--more--"
Maybe I better take two:
"Economy shows growth in 3d quarter; GDP lower than expected but still indicates recovery" by Jeannine Aversa, Associated Press | December 23, 2009
WASHINGTON - All signs suggest the economic recovery will end the year on firmer footing despite a report yesterday that the economy grew at a 2.2 percent pace in the third quarter, less than previously thought.
The Commerce Department’s new reading....
Translation: You can NOT BELIEVE this government in anything that it says!
The main factors behind the downgrade were that consumers didn’t spend as much, commercial construction was weaker, business investment in equipment and software was softer, and companies cut back more on their stockpiles of goods.
Well, THAT ABOUT COVERS EVERYTHING!!!
Even so, the economy managed to return to growth during the quarter, after a record four straight quarters of decline.
Because the government plunked down tax dollars to make it so. That's all that borrowing and stimulus bought, America. One quarter of growth so government could say no more recession. Then it is RIGHT BACK INTO IT; otherwise, the SALES FIGURES would be MUCH BETTER!
That signaled that the deepest and longest recession since the 1930s had ended and the economy had entered a new fragile phase of recovery.
If we are STILL LOSING JOBS then it is NO RECOVERY!
And many analysts still think the economy is on track for a better finish in the current quarter. The economy is probably growing at nearly 4 percent in the October-to-December quarter, analysts say. A few peg it closer to 5 percent. If they’re right, that would mark the strongest showing since 5.4 percent growth in the first quarter of 2006....
A picture says it better than I can.
Doesn't work, does it, America?
Growth in the final quarter is expected to be driven mainly by companies restocking depleted inventories. Stocks of goods were slashed at a record pace during the recession. So even the smallest pickup in customer demand will force factories to step up production and boost overall economic activity in the final quarter. Stronger sales of exports to foreign customers, as well as spending by US consumers and businesses, also will help underpin fourth-quarter growth.
You MSM types ever get a sore back from shoveling so much s***?
“We expect a better performance in the fourth quarter, but....
Much of the third quarter’s growth was supported by government stimulus spending....
Yeah, so they could claim the recession was over.
None of this seems to have helped you, America; you are still losing jobs and foreclosures are at record levels with no end in sight.
It’s unclear how much the recovery might weaken once the government withdraws stimulus programs put in place to combat the financial crisis and the recession. If consumers pull back on spending, the economy could tip back into recession.
Oh so it will ALL BE YOUR FAULT, unemployed and foreclosed-upon Amurkn!
What GALL!!!
What STINKING GALL from the ELITIST MEDIA!!
Related: Consumers Cutting Debt Killed Recovery
Out-of-Work Americans Killed Economic Recovery
Slow Saturday Special: U.S. Consumers Killed Economic Recovery
Yeah, after the lying looters set the whole thing up for you, YOU BLEW IT, impoverished American consumer!
Un-flipping-real!!!
--more--"
And WHY NOT add INSULT to INJURY with MORE LIES, huh, MSM?
"Spending, personal incomes rise; Economy remains in fitful recovery, reports show" by Timothy R. Homan and Bob Willis, Bloomberg News | December 24, 2009
WASHINGTON - American consumers’ spending and incomes climbed in November, indicating the biggest part of the economy is poised to strengthen as the labor market recovers.....
PFFFFT!
That is what the MSM is getting in its stocking: a stinky, smelly shit!
Coal is too good (and valuable) for them.
figures from the Commerce Department showed.
Oooooooh, it is ANOTHER GOVERNMENT LIE!!!!
Yeah, I'll WAIT for the DOWNWARD REVISION later!
Related: Here Comes Santa Claus' Sleigh
Oh, THAT is why the numbers look good, huh?
The RICH are doing SPLENDIDLY!!!!
The gain was smaller than anticipated as unseasonably warm weather depressed utility use.
Readers, WhereTF are these people reporting from?
Haven't they been WATCHING the WEATHER?!!!
Another report showed new-home sales fell....
Related: Unexpectedly, new-home sales fall
But things are getting better, pffft.
The biggest income gain in six months helped maintain savings even as purchases improved, showing growing wages are giving consumers the wherewithal to shop at retailers such as Best Buy Co.... Best Buy, the largest US electronics retailer, is promoting discounted notebook computers and $299 flat-screen televisions to lure consumers....
What is with the PIMPING for BEST BUY, anyway?!!!
“The consumer isn’t really leading the recovery, the consumer is going along for the ride,’’ said Nigel Gault, chief US economist at IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Mass. “As incomes improve, so will spending.’’
I thought the 70% of the economy consumer was vital, blah, blah, blah.
Yeah, I've had it with MSM liars.
And I haven't bought anything yet, either!
Fewer job losses and discounts may be brightening consumers’ moods....
Yeah, COULD BE, IF, MAY BE, YET, STILL, BUT, and ALL the BAD WORDS I was told NEVER to put into a REPORT!
--more--"
And I was INSIDE the MALL earlier and they said I would be DISAPPOINTED because there were NOT GOING TO BE ANY DISCOUNTS, etc!
Okay, readers, one more stop and I'm outta here!
BRAINTREE - Across the region, anxious merchants battered by last weekend’s wicked northeaster are offering holdouts like Gadon a cornucopia of promotions and extended hours during the final countdown to Christmas....
The last Saturday before Christmas is traditionally the second-biggest spending day of the holiday season and a day when last-minute shoppers are out in force. Now, store owners are frantically trying to make up what was lost this weekend, when sales dropped 17.3 percent in the Northeast on Saturday compared with the same period last year, according to research firm ShopperTrak.
It AIN'T HAPPENING, readers!
The hit could not have come at a worse time for retailers already facing a gloomy climate. So this year procrastinators are key to whether merchants will have a profitable holiday.
Oh, THAT is NOT GOOD!!!
Don't worry, I'm sure they will get to you TOMORROW, merchants.
Even before the snowstorm, a record number of shoppers were holding out for better deals and trying to save up cash to pay for gifts....
But BANKERS are getting BILLIONS in BONUSES!!!
Some consumers are finding that the waiting game isn’t paying off this year.
But the Bloomberg bullshit above said it was brightening our moods.
Store owners are more willing to run low, or even out of stock, rather than face being left with millions of dollars in unwanted merchandise at the season’s end.
Yeah, I NOTICED! There is NOTHING NEW on the shelves!
Last year, that resulted in discounts of up to 70 percent that drowned profits.
I'm sure no sales also do wonders.
At the Best Buy in Dorchester, Peter Suchicki yesterday stared at the shelves in bewilderment after learning the electronics chain had run out of the classic DVD “Dumb & Dumber.’’
Again with the Best Buy!
This is what Globe reporters are "investigating?"
Hanging out at the mall talking to shoppers?
Pfffffftt!
He had only finished about one-third of his shopping, well behind his pace of last year. But Suchicki felt a little better about the bargain gifts he landed with “Dances with Wolves’’ and “Rudy’’ DVDs for only $5 each, half the usual price.
Yeah, well, they didn't have a copy of what I was looking for!
Related: Going Xmas Shopping: Outside the Mall
“I’ve noticed more out of stock,’’ Suchicki, 23, said. “It’s frustrating, but I’ll just have to go to a few more stores to track it down.’’
F*** that!
At 11:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Marie Cherisme finally took a break at the food court in South Shore Plaza, where more than a dozen people lined up for late-night snacks at Sarku Japan.
Related: Going Xmas Shopping: Food Court
But Cherisme was not too happy. There were slim pickings in the stores - and everything left was too expensive. She settled on a handful of $25 gift cards.
Thanks for the thought.
Her daughter, Crystal Eloisy, 15, , clutched a plastic jar full of $20 in rolled coins that was meant to pay for her holiday presents.
Not going to buy much, kiddo.
But after buying some candy and small stuffed animals at the Disney Store, Eloisy couldn’t find anything else she could afford and made plans to shorten her gift list this year.
Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
But the RETAILERS NEED YOU!!!
“I thought I’d use them,’’ she said, resting her head on the jar. “But maybe we’ll come back after Christmas and find better deals.’’
That's a LITTLE LATE, isn't it?
Christmas is TOMORROW!
All right, I bought a couple of pieces of crap so I won't be hassled tomorrow.
The only question is how to pay for them.
"Taking a swipe at card processing fees; Irked merchants offer discounts to cash customers" by Megan Woolhouse, Globe Staff | December 12, 2009
As always; I do not have plastic.
Business owners complain that even in a down economy, card issuers are unwilling to negotiate the rates, and in some cases have raised them.
Snip, snip, snip.
That's how you kill a debt-sucking vampire.
Not only that, they say, the system is so complex that fee statements are virtually indecipherable. For example, charges can vary widely depending on the card or type of purchase. Some merchants have fought back, risking the loss of card-addicted customers by refusing to accept credit....
Oh, I LOVE the IDEA!!!!
Opposition comes from banks, consumer credit unions, and credit card companies, including the two largest - MasterCard and Visa. They accuse retailers of trying to make an easy buck.
Oh, what POT-HOLLERING-KETTLE SCUM!!!!
Industry advocates say credit card companies help boost revenue for retailers and other businesses, citing studies that show customers spend more when they use charge cards.
And you ALREADY CAN'T AFFORD IT, American!
They also say credit cards offer protections, like “zero liability’’ for merchants saddled with a fraudulent purchase.
Ken Clayton, a senior vice president for card policy for the American Bankers Association, said he doubts merchants would lower the prices on goods if interchange fees were decreased.
“They want to have Congress come in and regulate a business-to-business contract under the guise that they’re doing it for customers, when, in fact, they’re trying to line their own pockets,’’ he said of retailers.
Oh, the CREDIT COMPANIES are FINE ONES to HURLS STONES!!
Besides, I DO NOT BELIEVE THEM!!
No matter how troublesome for merchants, interchange fees are invisible to consumers, who expect to be able to use credit cards virtually everywhere and benefit from the perks many of them offer.
Oh, this agenda-pushing propaganda is disgusting!
So the Globe works for the banks, too, huh?
Cash-only policies, or even discounts, might not go over well with some. “Cash? No. I want the [travel] miles,’’ said Carole Brewitt of Exeter, N.H., as she walked into Nieman Marcus at Copley Place in Boston on a recent afternoon.
PFFFFFFFFFTTT!!!
Visa and MasterCard dominate the US market, with a combined market share of more than 70 percent. Between them, American Express, and Discover, there were about 694 million card accounts in 2007, according to a study by the federal Government Accountability Office. Trish Wexler, a spokeswoman for the Electronic Payments Coalition, a lobbying group sponsored by banks and credit card providers, said merchants pay an average of 1.7 percent in fees to a credit card issuer, a number she said has remained stable in the industry for about 10 years.
And WHO is trying to LINE their POCKETS?
Visa spokeswoman Denise Dunckel pegged that company’s average interchange rate at 1.62 percent, and said it has “remained generally steady for a decade.’’ Additional fees charged by banks to merchants usually bring the average cost per transaction to 2 percent. But a study released last month by the Government Accountability Office contradicted credit card companies and trade groups....
Translation: The BLOODSUCKING CREDIT COMPANIES LIED!!!
When asked about the discrepancy, Wexler said average fees would have been lower if the federal report had included some types of debit card usage. Merchant fees for most debit transactions are not as high as those for credit cards.
Always an EXCUSE at the READY, huh?
The dense fee structure infuriates merchants like Casey Sewall, owner of three Kahians ApplianceOne & HDTV stores in Massachusetts. More than two-thirds of his customers pay with a credit card, he said, costing him about $75,000 a year on $4 million in purchases made with cards. The monthly statements he receives from credit companies are mind-boggling, Sewall said.
I thought we were ALL IN THIS ECONOMY together!!!
Instead we have BANDS of THIEVES calling the shots and stuffing their pockets!
Sewall said he has been unable to reach Visa or MasterCard to voice complaints. His bank representative sat down with him to review a bill, but the session turned into an unsatisfying lesson in the finer points of MasterCard and Visa contracts, Sewall said....
WTF kind of ECONOMY is this, readers?
The TRUST NO ONE ECONOMY!!?
No one has researched how many Massachusetts businesses offer cash discounts or have dumped plastic for paper, said Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts. But the fees are “out of sight,’’ Hurst said. “The banks and the credit card companies want it to be totally invisible.’’
You are better off going to a loan shark, America.
Subprime credit card firm’s 79.9% interest rate
Lucky for you guys it's Christmas Eve.
--more--"
Time to head home, readers.
I'm done.
