Recession? I didn't see it this weekend. What's your take? (page 3)

Hortensia

well, you ought to visit here - really! We could use the money. The major industry here is tourism, and business is way down. Restaurants are closing. Stores are closing. The housing industry took a hit and has not yet recovered. Foreclosures are very common. We were also very hard hit by the writer's strike, things haven't really recovered from that yet, and now it looks as though there will be an actor's strike.

hillbilly

I think you are seeing money saved all fall being spent frugally for the X mas season. Those malls may be full but folks are not spending willy nilly this year.

We are in a state of mild deflation... too many goods and not enough cash... and by all accounts this will get way worse before it gets better.

Hill

LouBelle

The whole word is in recession. You can see it not just with the banks - that's just one financial aspect of it. Look at the general buying power of various nations.

You'll find the motor industry is down by - I think it's 25% or something like.

Estate agents (selling property) are down 33%

People are paying cash upfront for more things than before - this is a good thing.

Food is up x%

There has been a loss of thousands of jobs across the planet.

Most countries economic growth has slowed dramatically - here it's gone from 6/7% to 1 %

Jim_TX

I think it may have to do with the 'sales' that the department stores are having - and the season.

This time of the year - and on until the first of January - the malls will be packed - and it is usually a good time to avoid going there - at least for me.

Here locally, we have a Toyota automobile factory that is slowing production, as truck sales have fallen off.

The company that I work at, has had to take measures to try to account for our clients' pulling their orders (our company assembles and ships electronics-related devices), until next year - or beyond. My wife, and others who work locally for the company, were cut back on their hours.

So - yes. I am seeing a bit of a slow down.

I also think that people are getting mixed messages. A few months ago - the price of fuel had sky-rocketed. It is now at a low - that we haven't seen in over several years. This may be confusing folks - who relate good fuel prices to a 'booming' economy.

I also think that the folks who do statistics are confusing the people. One study I heard said that if you don't take into account the cost of food or fuel, there was an actual increase in the economic picture. Huh? I always thought that food and fuel were always figured into the cost of living.

Regards,

Jim TX

OnTheWayOut

I'm just wondering if everyone has been holding back until the shopping season for Christmas.

The stores are offering their best deals early so you will shop here and not there.
People will take advantage of the deals when they can, but the season will
fizzle out quickly and will overall be a disappointment.

I was at Marshalls today and the line was a 15 minute wait with 5 check out stations....carts were full.

Wasn't Marshall's offering some great sale? Wasn't the sale worth the wait?
That's what I am talking about. Plus, a store like Marshall's will do better than
Nordstrom's or other high-end clothing stores.

At the mall the day before, I had to wait 20 minutes to get someone to show me watches at the jewlery counter, the parking lot was full, and I parked at the end of the lot.

There are lots of lookers. They are looking for the deals. That doesn't necessarily
equate to buying. You say "to show me watches." Did you buy? Were others buying
or just looking?

Is America in general really in recession or just the big banks and car companies. Are consumers just getting smarter, and these big companies are griping that they are not earning their usual excessive profits.

The high cost of fuel finally just broke, but otherwise everyone is afraid for their personal
budgets- gasoline, heating their home, taxes going up. But to be fair, some retailers that
traditionally do well in the Christmas season are saying that revenues will be down 5%.
That's pretty small, no big deal. I have some of your confusion- are they really hurting that
much or are they saying they will hurt so you come out and see what great sales they have?

With a JW wife, I still am cautious about openly exchanging gifts, but I am starting to do so.
I plan to hunt for deals with the rest of them, but to mostly just get low-priced gifts for the
non-JW's in my life.

jws

I was out at a mall on Saturday. Sure, there were people shopping, but it looked more like mid-summer crowds. It was relatively dead. Which kind of scares me since I work for a retailer.

At work, there were several people laid off a couple of weeks ago. My brother-in-law just got laid off and as a result, my wife's side of the family decided on no x-mas gifts so that nobody will feel obligated to do something they can't afford. So there's a bunch of money not being spent at businesses.

sammielee24

You'll find the motor industry is down by - I think it's 25% or something like.

The news in California this morning, showed acres of brand new cars - foreign cars - that were shipped in and are now sitting on some leased land down there because the dealers are refusing to take them. Noplace for them to go - so there they sit...and will sit for a long time. That means that the overseas orders will plummet incredibly fast spinning those factories into cut backs..15 acres of leased land holding a whole whack of new cars..wonder what the outcome will be..sammieswife.

hillbilly

showed acres of brand new cars - foreign cars - that were shipped in and are now sitting on some leased land down there because the dealers are refusing to take them. Noplace for them to go - so there they sit...and will sit for a long time~SL

If you see a nice one ton Dually with a crew cab sitting in one of those lots let me know.....Figure they will miss it for a couple of years?

Hill

LongHairGal

I saw activity in Walmart. A store like this is doing very well. I see a cross section of all types of people who shop there. People still need things whether there is a recession or not. They still need clothing for growing kids and household items. I think for the most part they are buying stuff they really need not necessarily luxuries.

LHG

sammielee24

If you see a nice one ton Dually with a crew cab sitting in one of those lots let me know.....Figure they will miss it for a couple of years?
Hill

Hey..that was my thought.lol! I have to wonder what all the dealers are going to do - they can't move the 3 million new cars sitting in their lots and the next batch is now sitting in limbo..sooner or later, they will have to either reload the cars back on a ship and send them back or have a huge give away....I wonder how low they can go...??? sammieswife.

Recession? I didn't see it this weekend. What's your take?

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