POLITICS - But they say we're not in a recession.....

[jdad]

A PARTIAL LIST ...



Ann Taylor is closing 117 stores nationwide A company spokeswoman said the
company hasn't revealed which stores will be shuttered. It will let the
stores that will close this fiscal year know over the next month

Eddie Bauer to close more stores
Eddie Bauer has already closed 27 shops in the first quarter and plans to
close up to two more outlet stores by the end of the year.

Cache closing stores
Women's retailer, Cache, announced that it is closing 20 to 23 stores this
year.

Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, Catherines is closing 150 stores nationwide The owner
of retailers Lane Bryant , Fashion Bug , Catherines Plus Sizes will close
about 150 underperforming stores this year.
The company hasn't provided a list of specific store closures and can't say
when it will offer that info, spokeswoman Brooke Perry said today.

Talbots, J. Jill is closing stores
About a month ago, Talbots announced that it will be shuttering all 78 of
its kids and men's stores. Now the company says it will close another 22
underperforming stores.
The 22 stores will be a mix of Talbots women's and J. Jill , another chain
it owns. The closures will occur this fiscal year, according to a company
press release.

Gap Inc. closing 85 stores
In addition to its namesake chain, Gap also owns Old Navy and Banana
Republic . The company said the closures - all planned for fiscal 2008 -
will be weighted toward the Gap brand.

Foot Locker to close 140 stores
In the company press release and during its conference call with analysts
today, it did not specify where the future store closures - all planned in
fiscal 2008 - will be. The company could not b e immediately reached for
comment

Wickes is going out of business
Wickes Furniture is going out of business and closing all of its stores,
Wickes, a 37-year-old retailer that targets middle-income customers, filed
for bankruptcy protection last month.

Levitz
This furniture retailer is going out of business.
Levitz first announced it was going out of business and closing all 76 of
its stores in December. The retailer dates back to 1910 when Richard Levitz
opened his first furniture store in Lebanon , PA. In the 1960s, the
warehouse/showroom concept brought Levitz to the forefront of the furniture
industry.
The local Levitz closures will follow the shutdown of Bombay .

Zales, Piercing Pagoda is closing stores
The owner of Zales and Piercing Pagoda previously said it plans to close 82
stores by July 31. Today, it announced that it is closing another 23
underperforming stores.
The company said it's not providing a list of specific store closures.

Of the 105 locations planned for closure, 50 are kiosks and 55 are stores.

Disney Store owner has the right to close 98 stores. The Walt Disney Company
announced it acquired about 220 Disney Stores from subsidiaries of The
Children's Place Retail Stores. The exact number of stores acquired will
depend on negotiations with landlords.
Those subsidiaries of Children's Place filed for bankruptcy protection in
late March. Walt Disney in the news release said it has also obtained the
right to close about 98 Disney Stores in the U.S. The press release didn't
list those stores.

Home Depot store closings
ATLANTA - Nearly 7+ months after its chief executive said there were no
plans to cut the number of its core retail stores, The Home Depot Inc.
announced Thursday that it is shuttering 15 of them amid a slumping U.S.
economy and housing market. The move will affect 1,300 employees.

It is the first time the world's largest home improvement store chain has
ever closed a flagship store for performance reasons. Its shares rose almost
5 percent.

The Atlanta-based company said the underperforming U.S. stores being closed
represent less than 1 percent of its existing stores. They will be shuttered
within the next two months.

CompUSA clarifies details on store closings Any extended warranties
purchased for products through CompUSA will be honored by a third-party
provider, Assurant Solutions. Gift cards, rain checks, and rebates purchased
prior to December 12 can be redeemed at any time during the final sale. For
those who have a gadget currently in for service with CompUSA, the repair
will be completed and the gadget will be returned to owners.

Macy's - 9 stores

Movie Gallery - 160 stores as part of reorganization plan to exit
bankruptcy. The video rental company plans to close 400 of 3,500 Movie Gallery
and Hollywood Video stores in addition to the 520 locations the video rental
chain closed last fall.

Pacific Sunwear - 153 Demo stores

Pep Boys - 33 stores

Sprint Nextel - 125 retail locations
New Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse appears to have inherited a company bleeding
subscribers by the thousands, and will now officially be dropping the ax on
4,000 employees and 125 retail locations. Amid the loss of 639,000 postpaid
customers in the fourth quarter, Sprint will be cutting a total of 6.7% of
its work force (following the 5,000 layoffs last year) and 8% of
company-owned brick-and-mortar stores, while remaining mute on other rumors
that it will consolidate its headquarters in Kansas . Sprint Nextel shares
are down $2.89, or nearly 25%, at the time of this writing.

J. C. Penney, Lowe's and Office Depot are scaling back

Ethan Allen Interiors: The company announced plans to close 12 o f 300+
stores in an effort to cut costs.

Wilsons the Leather Experts - 158 stores

Pacific Sunwear will close its 154 Demo stores after a review of strategic
alternatives for the urban-apparel brand. Seventy-four underperforming Demo
stores closed last May.

Sharper Image: The company recently filed for bankruptcy protection and
announced that 90 of its 184 stores are closing. The retailer will still
operate 94 stores to pay off debts, but 90 of these stores have performed
poorly and also may close.

Bombay Company: The company unveiled plans to close all 384 U.S.-based
Bombay Company stores. The company's online storefront has discontinued
operations.

KB Toys posted a list of 356 stores that it is closing around the United
States as part of its bankruptcy reorganization. To see the list of store
closings, go to the KB Toys Information web site, and click on Press
Information

Dillard's to Close More Stores
Dillard's Inc. said it will continue to focus on closing underperforming
stores, reducing expenses and improving its merchandise in 2008. At the
company's annual shareholder meeting, CEO William Dillard II said the
company will close another six underperforming stores this
year.





You might want to keep an eye open for good sales.

[AJMD429]

Until we eliminate the income and property taxes and go with something like the Fair Tax, we will not slow the socialism down and this will continue. Why do you think the government wants to strip the citizens of effective firearms? They know that pretty soon the masses will be past the point of what they will tolerate. Most voters are so addicted to the socialistic policies which are destroying our nation, that they will not ALLOW our government to back them down, even if it wanted to - only an utter collapse will awaken them. Very sad, but many other nations have been through the same cycle, so I guess we're not unusually stupid, at least.

[J Miller]

OUCH!



Joe

[Blaine]

Not to say things couldn't be better, but I personally think there was a bunch of OverBuilding during a bubble..... Home Depot just Grand Opened a new store here in Spanaway even though you can drive 15 min in any direction to another store just like it.

[dr walker]

I wrote out my thoughts on those businesses and then my Mother's voice from some dark recess in my mind said " if you dont have anything nice to say dont say anything at all"

That is quite a list.

[donw]

another factor that i noticed is that prices have doubled in most cases since pelosi, reid and dems took over congress.

i don't think we can look to congress for any relief in the near future...

[RIHMFIRE]

the reasons these stores are closing is because of poor managemant , over building
and high retail pricing, poor buying power for inventory....and high rent in the malls...
The only store on the list that has competitive pricing is Home Depot...
the reason they are in trouble is they were trying to keep up with Lowes...
pretty much the same thing with pep boys....

You can add Starbucks to that list also.....
a classic example of a bunch of rich libs charging rediculous prices for coffee...
there competitors are now wipping the floor with them...

[Kansas Ed]

IMO Home Depot suffers from lack of service. Every time I walk in there I walk out PO'd. A store full of people and a 15 to 20 minute wait to check out because there is only one or two checkouts working...not to mention that if you need help finding anything you pretty much have to walk back to customer service, cause there aren't any floor people about.

I like a Starbucks about once a month or so, but those folks who do it every day are crazy IMO...of course I also see people at work who spend 5 or 6 bucks a day at the soda machines...so not much different I guess.

Ed

[El Chivo]

Notice, no gun stores on the list!

I agree with Rihmfire, I think too many stores were built and rents in malls are sky-high. There are already too many malls and they still build more to try and cash in. I grew up near a pretty big shopping mall and since 1980 or so new malls grew up on the other three corners of that intersection, plus similar buildups down the road three or four miles in every direction.

When the President says it's our patriotic duty to shop, that ought to tell you. I get most of my stuff on the internet anyway because despite all the stores, I usually can't find what I need.

I'm also in a DIY phase, for example, somebody stole my bicycle light, so rather than just fork out $90 at a mall store for a new one, I ordered a replacement bulb from the company and wired it up to my helmet. Took me a while but I got exactly what I wanted.

[Levant]

Granted, we're in hard times and times may get worse before they get better, but a lot of those stores may be closing because their companies haven't kept up with a little thing called the Internet.

[FWiedner]

Even though there seems to be a Starbucks on every corner, they are planning to close over 200 stores and are cutting back on the food items being sold in the ones that remain open.

Oops, sorry, someone already mentioned it.

[PaulB]

I agree with Rihmfire, I think too many stores were built

There's a very good reason for that. The government kept interest rates too low, lower than the actual cost of money. That encouraged mal-investment and caused the printing of more money, inflating the dollar.

And guess what folks, the Chinese are in the same boat, over-invested in all sorts of factories for producing goods for America. When we stop buying (because we have no money), their economy will come down too.

As to D's and R's, there is no difference. Neither party is fiscally responsible. This certainly didn't start when Pelosi got in; it's been going on for decades. "Money grows on trees" is the mantra in Washington. Well, it doesn't. The coming depression has been predictable for a long time. The Fair Tax (30% sales tax!) certainly is not going to help either. This country has had its fling; now it's time to pay the piper.

[FWiedner]

This country has had its fling; now it's time to pay the piper.

HEY! ...I didn't have no fling.

When do I get to have a fling?

[Tycer]

The Fair Tax (30% sales tax!) certainly is not going to help either.

Nancy and I are in the 33% tax bracket now. We earn less than 3% on my "safe" investments. I think I like the Fair Tax, it has a lot of merit. Anything beats our current tax code. Our accountant made $1500 off us this year and I'm glad we paid her to do it.

[Sixgun]

This country has been "FAT" for too long. Next to my buddy's gunshop is a Goodwill Store where people donate things. I have seen people drive up and drop off expensive furniture, toys and household goods still new-in-the-box, 100 watt stereo systems, computers, boxes of very nice clothes hardly worn or still with the tags on 'em, shoes, bikes, jewelry, (yes, the real deal jewelry)the list goes on and on. This stuff is not junk. Tom and I just look at the caravan of "givers" with astonishment.

People have walked in Tom's gunshop and just handed over guns, expecting nothing or little in return.

Sure, its all well to give and the proper thing to do but this takes a different dimension.

I am a firm believer a major storm is ahead of us. The store and business closings are kept at a low profile to avoid a panic.

The money that people used to buy food with, fix their cars, buy washing machines, clothe their families, go on vacation, go out to eat, pay tuition, on and on--------is now going to gasoline and hopefully, to be able to heat their houses this winter.

Friends of mine who are owner/operators of tractor trailers tell me they are making NO MONEY. They are barely able to afford the truck payments, insurance/operatoring costs etc. This country moves by rail and truck.

How many people in this country are going to be able to afford at least a $1000 a month to fill up their oil tanks this winter??

When all of these stinkin liberals feel the "heat", they just may start to change their way of thinking and make all able bodied people pay their way.

In the meantime------Lock and Load-------------Sixgun

[BenT]

Most people got fat , dumb, and happy. (not that there is anything wrong with that )They tried to pretend the 1990's was still going and spent like it. New business CEO's tried to out do their predecessors from the ninties without the economy to support it. With the price of oil ,people aren't going to have much extra money to spend on nonessentials. I only have so much money and I wouldn't spend it at some of the stores listed( not just because they don't sell leverguns ). The economy is receding, we'll see how far it goes. The retail market is definatly going to have to scale back.

[bigbore442001]

One of the things that I have noticed about those shopping mall stores is that they are all the same and sell mostly stuff made in China. I avoid them due to that fact. They don't seem to have what I want or need. So why patronize them? I believe others are doing the same.

[Grizz]

now if we could seize the momentum of the closures and make the case that IT'S A BOYCOTT and we're protesting CONGRESS, and we won't buy anything again until they're ALL gone, we might get somewhere.....

it's the GOVERNMENT'S fault.

really, it is ...

[Old Time Hunter]

WE (the US) DONT MAKE ANYTHING ANYMORE! There isn't quantifiable value in service as the primary resource of wealth. If you can not wear it, eat it, or live in it...what is it really worth??? As a secondary supporting economy, service sector is fine, but as a primary it is doomed to fail.

As far as the US's social structure, take out the top 10% of the wealth holders and watch how the water level (income per person) levels out with the rest of the world. 'Betcha we end up in the lower third within a generation, then our manufacturing will return.

[donw]

there are many reasons why we're in the positions we're in right now. but if you think long and hard and rationally about it the single most contributing factor (notice i said SINGLE most, NOT the only) is the increase of oil price.

it's simple...we either have to get the oil prices back down or go belly up...nothing in between. to get prices back down, we gotta get our own supply...FAST!

as stated above, we are an OIL based economy...period...no if ands or buts about it. the more we pay for oil/fuel/energy the more the economy will decline...pure and simple.

many out there do not care...they say "well...duhh...look how much england pays for fuel..." SO WHAT? i don't care what enlgand pays for fuel, or switzerland, or belguim, or bosnia...i care about right here in the US of A and there's no rational, logical, legimate reason oil prices are so high except for PROFIT for a few...if oil companies can pay their managerial folks in the eight figures yearly, they're making a LOT of profit!

we seem to have a congress, namely pelosi and reid, that don't seem to grasp the reality that for every penny added to the cost of a gallon of gasoline, it shuts the door on someone in the lower income brackets to be able to even afford gas to drive to work and back. and what makes it even worse yet is the price doesn't go up once in a while, it goes up nearly daily and not a penny or two but a dime or quarter a day!

i am reluctant to bring up my own position insofaras this situation but...my wife and i live rurally, seven miles to the nearest store, fifteen miles from the nearest "town", twenty miles to the nearest drugstore. we also live on a once modest, fixed income. it was adequate when i retired. now...cost of fuel (gasoline/diesel/propane/energy) has gone up nearly five times, medical insurance premiums have increased nearly seven times...the list goes on...and yet, my income remains the same. where we once lived a quiet peaceful existance we now struggle to pay for gasoline to get to town and back and to pay our propane and electric energy bills along with the other assorted 'costs of living'.

as an example there is a station/store/'watering hole' on a hiway near here that two days ago a gallon of unleaded regular is $5.20 per gallon. why? i'd dare say PROFIT has a lot to do with it...

the old "suck it up and keep going" can NOT be afforded by many of us. we're at/beyond the breaking point...

instead they pursue things like corn based fuels...YE GADS! that's turning out to be worse than fossil based fuel!

grrrrrrrrrrrrrr...

sorry about my ranting and raving.... ... maybe i'd better go back to decaffienated...

[Ysabel Kid]

Technically, we are not in a recession yet. A recession is defined by economists as two quarters in a row of negative growth. We haven't had the first one yet. The economy has certainly slowed - and will slow more. This is due mainly to two things - the housing slump and inflationary pressures, brought on by the spike in crude oil and natural gas prices. Both, by the way, are the fault of the Democrats.

How you ask?

Housing. Jimmy the peanut passed the Democrat bill that loosened credit substantially. People who had no business buying homes - homes they clearly could not afford - did so. Bank were greedy, assuming the ever-rising prices of homes would build instant equity for such homeowners. It worked for awhile until the housing market corrected - which it always does. Banks also felt threatened - by the government - if they did not make risky loans since those are often to minority groups. Everyone should be allowed to pursue the American dream of home ownership - but one needs to be able to actually afford to do so. Typically this is starting with a small, older home in need of repair and update. Putting sweat equity into same, and selling it for a profit. Reinvest into the next house and repeat. Apparently many young people thing they should leave the nest and buy a house equally nice as the one their parents' worked for decades to own. That and they are highly offended with financial institutions tell them they simply can't afford what they want - now.

Oil - we've beat this one to death, but the Dem's (and many Republicans) have been blocking access to our own reserves for decades. This is the height of idiocy. Enough said - no need to start this one again.

But don't worry - a recession we will get pronto if Obama is elected. He has promised to let the Bush tax cuts dies - and to increase taxes. Pretty much a proven (every time it has been tried) way to kill any economic growth...

[tman]

we stopped mining, farming,manufactoring in this country. we bought into the theroy of information processing and the service industries would replace them. an economy just don't work that way. till we get back to the basics, we're gonna suffer.

[bunklocoempire]

I agree with Rihmfire, I think too many stores were built

There's a very good reason for that. The government kept interest rates too low, lower than the actual cost of money. That encouraged mal-investment and caused the printing of more money, inflating the dollar.

And guess what folks, the Chinese are in the same boat, over-invested in all sorts of factories for producing goods for America. When we stop buying (because we have no money), their economy will come down too.

As to D's and R's, there is no difference. Neither party is fiscally responsible. This certainly didn't start when Pelosi got in; it's been going on for decades. "Money grows on trees" is the mantra in Washington. Well, it doesn't. The coming depression has been predictable for a long time. The Fair Tax (30% sales tax!) certainly is not going to help either. This country has had its fling; now it's time to pay the piper.

+1

The government kept interest rates too low, lower than the actual cost of money.

(Government with the Federal Reserve)



This is the key folks, any other is second.

Here is what nobody will talk about. From way back in February. http://www.reuters.com/article/ousivMol ... dChannel=0
"Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Monday near-record Gulf Arab inflation would fall "significantly" were the oil producers to drop their dollar pegs, in contradiction to Saudi policy."

Another example. http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArti ... heuae&col=
"Since May 2007, when Kuwait dropped its dollar peg and adopted a basket of currencies, there has been constant speculation that the UAE and Qatar would follow suit or revalue their currencies."

Stem inflation over there, create inflation here. Nice to know we put the Saudis & Gulf countries interests before our own.

A bloggers take on it, more recent. http://blogs.cfr.org/setser/2008/07/08/ ... ollar-peg/
"There is also a specific problem with pegging to the dollar. Gulf currencies have actually had to depreciate against the euro in order to follow the dollar, the exact opposite of what they need, and a shift that will cause even more inflation.”



We all better be darn sure we understand what's going on, we're going to come to a crossroads real quick with the choice of more government control or changing our ways. No matter which party gets control there will be a "solution" they offer, which choice do you think government will choose?

Here's an indication of governments leanings. http://www.rgemonitor.com/financemarket ... pan_gamble
"The most notable thing about Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson's proposed plan for restructuring financial regulation is the expansion of the Federal Reserve into a sort of "Super Fed." This new Fed would have oversight of all financial markets and firms, including investment banks. It would be responsible for financial market stability and would be expected to spot and control "systemic risks."

Just like more government is a "solution" both parties offer, so to is the SuperFed which both parties adore. It aint simply Dems vs. Repubs -but it's a clever little distraction, isn't it?

Forget about what folks would tell about recessions, the GNP and inflation in general aint judged the way they used to be, look around, that should be enough of a warning.

Figure it out or face big government like none have seen in our lifetime.

Bunkloco