Does this mean the economy is better?

[Disaster_Area]

I remember last year at Xmas when the economy sucked and everyone was out of... or afraid they'd soon be out of work the B&S board was ridiculous... new things posted every 15min and crazy crazy deals... of course I didn't have the cash to take advantage... and neither did a lot of people... hense all the stuff being got rid of at bargain basement prices.

The posting this christmas have been far slower and not as ridiculously priced... does this bode well for the state of things in the world of money?

 

[BillBingham2]

Perhaps up north, but down here (US) it still sucks. I can only speak for myself but I sold through the extra stuff and now am down to bear bones. Still no job so I start up again this weekend, great stuff at very good prices.

Finding jobs is harder than ever. Everyone is looking for very specific qualification and eventually they find them. One job that I'm really hoping to get interview for over in Iowa (one state away from Illinois in the middle of Iowa) has only 250 people applying for! Most others have triple that and more.

While the market is rebounding and the banks are doing well, the have screwed down credit so tight it's almost impossible for anyone to get any. On the positive side the government realizes that it needs to help companies create jobs and it looks like they will be doing some of that with repaid TARP money.

The real estate market for other than fire-sale properties is dead down here. We are hoping that it will open up after the new year as most companies are on a calender year budget cycle and few will lay off at the beginning of a new year, but who knows.

Hope things are better up North for you, friends and family.

B2 (;->

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Here in the midwestern USA it has been very bad for many years, long before the talking heads on TV proclaimed a 'recession'. I remember a few years ago a steel mill opened up in northeast Indiana close to the city I live in. They were going to hire 100 people at $25 an hour. They stopped talking applications after 30,000 people applied!

 

[35mmdelux]

Times are bad for alot of people here in the USA. I expected the economy would tank but did not expect the high unemployment levels. We'll get back on our feet, but will take another few years:-(

This whole disaster started with the banks and the hedge funds 4-5 years ago and snowballed from there.

 

[Frontman]

I feel fortunate that I am in Japan, where unemployment is still under 5%. Even so, last year was a difficult one, with much down-sizing occurring. Down-sizing in Japan doesn't necessarily mean being laid-off, it usually means a reduction in hours and pay.

Things seemed to reach the bottom at the end of the summer, but since then, things are starting to look up a little.

The company I work for had a little difficulty last year, and there was a lot of restructuring made to increase efficiency. Since October things have begun to improve, and we are now trying to fill new positions.

My GF works for a large American investment bank in Tokyo, and in January of last year, the CEO of her company stated in plain terms that 2009 would be a "lost" year, and would be difficult to endure. His outlook for 2010 is better, but only marginally. He has a reputation of usually being correct in his business forecasts, and I hope this continues to be true.

I don't agree with the current American strategy for growth and job creation. It is too contradictory and bizarre to actually work. The American government seems to think that it can somehow borrow it's way to prosperity, trying to increase the quality of life of those in the present by borrowing against future generations. It's selfish, and simply dangerous.

A large amount of bail-out money was allocated earlier in the year for job creation, but little has been spent. I believe the current administration is waiting until 2010 (when the mid-term elections will be held) before it begins doling out the money.

I don't blame capitalism for the current economic crisis, I blame policy makers. It is government micro-management of the economy which has led to the problems we currently face. The Federal Reserve has tried to steer the economy in a direction of constant growth at a steady, un-sustainable rate, rather than letting it follow a more natural, market-controlled rate.

I think 2010 should be the year of greatest change, particularly with the holding of the mid-term elections. My advice to those in America is not to vote for any incumbent in office, regardless of their party. The current crop of politicians should all be sent packing. It will be a good lesson to them, and those who replace them. They must learn that there are consequences for their actions, or lack thereof.

For those of you who are facing credit problems in the current economy, you should visit creditboards.com. There is no better source of help or advice for dealing with credit problems, or for improving what credit one has.

 

[Disaster_Area]

In retrospect I guess I was extremely lucky... I work in the software entertainment industry and while my company went through some very tough times... voluntary pay reductions/delays... lay offs... cost cutting measures we made it through and are doing much better.. but for about for the better part of last year we were all looking for the day we'd come to work and see locked doors and an eviction notice.

We've rebounded since then and are doing fairly well... well... by well I mean we've been able to get rid of the cost cutting measures and are making more than we cost to keep running. Things seem to be in a kind of holding pattern here in Ottawa.... no jobs being lost anymore but none really being created.

I'm sorry to hear things aren't going so well down in the states, although it's not going so well in parts of Canada either, my brother works in the steel industry and has been on unemployment for almost a year.

 

[TWoK]

Thinking that leftover TARP money is the solution is nuts. One, that money had a very specific allocated purpose, it shouldn't have been done in the first place and it certainly shouldn't be used to 'create jobs'. We need a moratorium on taxes around the board. That would overnight stimulate the **** out of the economy. Instead business is worried about cap and trade, redistribution of wealth, being scolded by the US President and the inevitable tax increases coming down the road.

 

[larmarv916]

In California.."tax" proceeds from actual sales to consumers are down so bad that many cities have seen a reduction in cash flow back from the state of Ca. to the point that some cities are getting ZERO. "OC Register" newpaper story Unemployment in counties like Riverside, San Bernadino, Imperial and many others are over 30%. While the state of california is well ahead of the national average of voer 10%. Today suprise jump in new unemployment claims caught Wall Street by surprise! BMW sales down year over year 22% and Mini Cooper down 45% in USA! 1.5-1.7 million new home "repo's" are backlog to be processed in early 2010. Commerical real estate is wose.

Federal government stimilus has been a bust. Banks are not lending to anyone. Washington can not seem to stop finding new ways waste money on phony programs. Companies are as lean as possible. Consumers are just not spending, because they have either lost a job or do not want to risk not having some cash in an emergency.

This what I call the jobless, pennyless, homeless recovery...it is only going to get worse. Unless the focus on saving the taxpayer and not throwing billions at Bank of America...given 138 billion..paid back 24 billion and now they think their even?? Trilions in debt..interest rates will go high no matter what the Federal Reserve does. As US Bonds decline in value the rates just keep going up!! Trade defecit is falling as no one has money to spend on new BMW's Leica's, or other luxury brands. Christmas sales numbers for black friday were nationally down 8-10% but many chains now admit they were well over 15-20% in many stores...Yes, It's christmas...just not a merry one.

Best Regards to all Laurance

 

[maddoc]

Is there another country called "Japan" ? 😕 Do you actually know what is going on in Japan ?

Graduate students not able to find any job, some of them submitting over 100 applications ? Thousands of employees lost their jobs and they were former employees of the big companies. Additionally, the new government just has drastically cut the expenditures for science and education in Japan, many projects meaning new jobs, investments into new equipment have been canceled.

I feel fortunate that I am in Japan, where unemployment is still under 5%. Even so, last year was a difficult one, with much down-sizing occurring. Down-sizing in Japan doesn't necessarily mean being laid-off, it usually means a reduction in hours and pay.

 

[BillBingham2]

The world is in a depression no one wants to say it. Unemployment numbers here are much worse than they report. Once your unemployment runs out they stop counting you. I've seen dozens of folks who are severely under employed. The rate companies are paying for consultants is about 1/3 of what it was a year and a half ago. Middle class jobs have dried up and shrunk in pay scale the ones that are still there.

I have to agree that the policy makers are much to blame. It goes way back many many years. They forgot about what started the last great depression. Problem is now that the world and most economies are very highly intertwined and I'm afraid that it will be longer than just a year and a half.

It will get better but I think it's going to be long time.

B2 (;->

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Thinking that leftover TARP money is the solution is nuts. One, that money had a very specific allocated purpose, it shouldn't have been done in the first place and it certainly shouldn't be used to 'create jobs'. We need a moratorium on taxes around the board. That would overnight stimulate the **** out of the economy. Instead business is worried about cap and trade, redistribution of wealth, being scolded by the US President and the inevitable tax increases coming down the road.

LOw taxes have never stimulated economic growth. They're higher in Europe and they're doing better than the USA. Will some of the conservatards please explain that one? Given that you don't live in the USA, its not really your concern anyway....if you are an American you've chosen to live elsewhere.

 

[dave lackey]

Sigh...16 months unemployed. At my age, education and experience, no one will hire me.

Worse than that, no one gives a s**t...so, I volunteer for Art Shows, babysitting, helping others, and whatever else to fill the time in between sending out resumes and inquiries. Can't remember the last time we went to the grocery to buy a week's worth...just a day at a time. Thanks, Mr. Obama, for nothing.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Obama broke every promise he made, but really I expected that. The media was too eagerly behind him, which meant that he was owned by big business before he was elected. This country's leaders won't be happy until we become a bigger Mexico. Popular belief in the USA is that Mexico is a third world ****hole, a poor country. Its not. Mexico is a wealthy country. Problem is, all of Mexico's wealth is in the hands of a tiny Criollo (white, from Spain) elite, as it has been since the Conquest. 98% of the wealth there is controlled by 2% of the population, leaving everyone else dirt poor. Then the leaders tell the common people, the brown skinned Mestizos that the elite there spits on as an 'inferior' race, to go to the USA so that the parasite class in Mexico can stay rich without fear of social revolution. How much longer before ordinary Americans become Canada's wetbacks?

 

[Pickett Wilson]

You know, I haven't a clue what would save the US financially. I don't think either the Republicans or the Democrats have a clue, either. Perhaps there is no solution and the financial system will have to completely collapse, along with the government, before there is real change in picking up the pieces.

But I'm pretty sure that continuing to create money out of thin air as a solution to the problems is no solution at all. The government needs to stop trying to fix the problem and just let the chips fall wherever they fall.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

You know, I haven't a clue what would save the US financially. I don't think either the Republicans or the Democrats have a clue, either. Perhaps there is no solution and the financial system will have to completely collapse, along with the government, before there is real change in picking up the pieces.

But I'm pretty sure that continuing to create money out of thin air as a solution to the problems is no solution at all. The government needs to stop trying to fix the problem and just let the chips fall wherever they fall.

I have to confess to being confused whenever I hear people complaining about the government 'printing money'. You do realize, don't you, that the US is NOT on the gold standard and that no other basis exists for our money? It is ALL printed out of thin air. Every red cent, every dollar. Fake. Funny Money. Not real.

People accept it as worth something however, and the only reason is that the government requires them to. It is a federal offense to refuse to accept US currency as payment for goods, services, and debts in the United States.

Because our money is basically made up by the government and not based on something that exists in limited amount (like Gold), there truly is no excuse for poverty in this country. Monetary policy can be directed toward ensuring a decent life for everyone, or it can, as it does now, encourage the growth of an ultrarich aristocracy while leaving the mass of the people licking up the crumbs they let fall to the ground (how sweet of them!).

 

[amateriat]

It's funny...my freelance work has been on something of an upswing over the past few months, at precisely the same time Galfriend has been pressuring me to re-enter the 9-to-5 pool, at a moment when the workaday world is looking grimmer than before I lost my last wage-slave gig (November 2001...which was a hard act to follow, and from which I don't believe the economy at large has truly recovered). I don' t believe this will last forever, but not too much looks particularly stable right now. (And I've long ignored the Dow as any kind of broad indicator.)


- Barrett

 

[kknox]

It has not at all, unemployment is more like 18.5% with all the people who have had pay cuts & lost hours, that I call the working poor. Also the people who have had there unemployment run out & have given up looking for work. They don't want you to know that. How many of you have sold off your camera gear just to pay bills. I have, isn't this great & who's going to pay for my heath care. I want the same as Obama, but wait if I cant pay for it they will fine me that's a great concept, This will get worse.

 

[35mmdelux]

The United States is the richest country in the world. The recession is not so much about money as it is about bankrupt leadership.

The United States' budget is ~ 1 TRILLION dollars (USD) annually. This is more than almost every other country in the world COMBINED.

The banks MUST be put on a shorter leash and the incompetent leaders MUSt be kicked out of office and replaced until we get leaders that know what they're doing.

 

[dfoo]

Why would anyone who knows what they are doing want to have any involvement in politics? Seriously! Talk about a thankless job. It truly is one of the major problems with democracy.

 

[pakeha]

quote
Given that you don't live in the USA, its not really your concern ??????

Okay then, hey it is a just great here, so lets not really have an opinion or give ..... about whats on in the US.
Actually as your country likes to export a certain kind of democracy and monetary policy ALL over the world it is others concern. So yes we will have an opinion - and try to be fairly polite about it😉