Tag Archives: ows

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Global Economic War: U.K. prepares for collapse of the Euro, believes Britain will be flooded with economic refugees, Swizterland taking action

Several days ago there were reports that banks around the world were preparing for the demise of the Euro.  Banks are getting ready to go back to older European currencies.

On December 28 the British government discussed contingency plans for such a Euro collapse. Her Majesty’s Treasury (that’s the official title, and proof the Queen of England is no figure head) has announced plans to prevent a flood of currency refugees from overwhelming British banks.

The United Kingdom is part of the European Union, but does not use the Euro.  The British pound has been gaining in value as the Euro, and the U.S. dollar, looses value. The collapse of the Euro could see the value of the British pound skyrocket, which is bad for British exports (making them too expensive to buy, thus breaking Britain’s fragile economy).

It’s not just “The Treasury” that’s making plans, the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office (aka The Foreign Office) announced plans to stop people fleeing the expected chaos of mainland Europe, from flooding into Britain.

The Foreign Office said it would even attempt to rescue British tourists on holiday, and even British expatriates who need help returning to the U.K. 

The British media is also reporting that the rich 10% of Greece, and other EU countries that are in economic trouble, are already transferring large amounts of  wealth to British banks.

This happened to Switzerland a few months ago.  The result was that the value of the Swiss France skyrocketed.  But the Swiss dealt with it in an unusual way; they “attached” the value of their Swiss Franc to the value of the Euro (even though they are not a member of the European Union).

A few days ago there were reports that EU members were going to ground all flights out of their countries, and block all border crossings, to prevent mass exodus of people and cash.  British officials at Whitehall (the part of the British government directly controlled by the Queen of England, and which controls their military, named after a royal palace that once stood there) said they would do the same, but only to prevent foreign people, and their foreign cash, from coming into the United Kingdom.  Whitehall officials said they believe the collapse of the Euro would result in widespread civil unrest in Europe.

 

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? No big Xmas sales for Sears & Kmart, up to 120 stores will be closed, look out Pocatello & Chubbuck

“While our past practice has been to keep marginally performing stores open while we worked to improve their performance, we no longer believe that to be the appropriate action in this environment.”-Lou D’Ambrosio, CEO of Sears Holdings

Sears Holdings, which owns Sears and Kmart stores, said this year’s holiday sales sucked big time!  They’re claiming a big drop in business compared to last year (as much as 5.2%), and they just can’t afford to keep their “marginally performing” stores open.

The cities of Chubbuck and Pocatello, Idaho, are home to such marginally performing stores.

sears chubbuck

Sears at the Pine Ridge Mall in Chubbuck

The Sears is located in the Chubbuck Pine Ridge Mall, and has never done well (I used to work for the mall before it was sold to a company out of Chicago, Illinois).  Two other ‘anchor’ stores, that were doing better than Sears left the mall a few years ago, and many people around here have been wondering why the Sears is still open.  Well, it might finally be curtains.

pocatello fred meyer

Fred Meyer at the former Pocatello Mall location

The Sears in Chubbuck used to be located in the old Pocatello Mall, but that mall went down the toilet in the late 1990s, and has since been torn down and replaced with a Fred Meyer dominated strip mall. Even the new Fred Meyer strip mall suffered the demise of the Gottshalks store a few years ago.

gottschalks pocatello

The vacant Gottschalks, in Pocatello, Idaho

In Pocatello, the Kmart has been struggling for years, the customer foot traffic has never come close to what the Chubbuck WalMart, or the Pocatello Fred Meyer gets.  After Sears and Kmart merged to form Sears Holdings (and the Kmart bankruptcy), the Pocatello Kmart was spared from the many closings of Kmarts around the country.  But this might be the writing on the wall for the Pocatello Kmart.

Kmart Pocatello

Big Kmart, with small sales, in Pocatello

Even though business for Sears and Kmart continues to crash, a recent customer satisfaction survey, by Strategic Resource Group, showed that dedicated Sears/Kmart shoppers were happy with the service.  SRG also thinks most Kmart closings will take place outside the North East/Great Lakes region, and that means Idaho is a target.

Speaking of Target, Target and WalMart are the main reasons why Sears and Kmart are going down; they just can’t compete.  (do the economic analysts ever consider the fact that we “consumers” no longer have the cash or credit to support so many retail businesses?)

For Sears and Kmart stores that will remain open, big time cuts are planned.  Sears Holdings wants to cut $300 million, just in inventory.  They hope to cut another $200 million in ‘fixed’ costs (that’s industry code which includes employees and employee benefits).

Happy New Year!

 

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Global Economic War: Brazil beats out United Kingdom, now 6th largest world economy, soon to become 5th largest

According to the British Centre for Economics and Business Research, Brazil’s GDP will end 2011 at U.S.$2.4 trillion!  That makes Brazil the sixth largest economy in the world.

The United States is still number one (of course most of that money goes to the top 10% in the U.S., no trickle down here), followed by China, Japan, Germany, France, and now Brazil.

On December 27 the Brazilian Finance Minister commented on a new IMF report, saying his country will soon be the fifth largest economy in the world: “The International Monetary Fund expects Brazil to be the fifth economy in 2015, but I think that will happen earlier…it’s inexorable that we surpass France and, in future, who knows, Germany…”-Guido Mantega

Business/Economics, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Christmas Capital of Texas family killed on Xmas day, blame the economy

A Texas family that had lost their home to foreclosure, were shot and killed by Santa Claus on Christmas morning.

The distraught father dressed as Santa and decided to end it all after the family  opened their presents. The Wall Street Journal called it the single largest mass shooting in the history of Grapevine, Texas (Grapevine is known as the Christmas Capital of Texas)!

Seven people, ranging in ages 18 to 60, were found dead. Police say it looks like the family was just starting to clean up after opening their presents. Police responded to a 911 call, in which the caller said nothing.

Police will not comment on a motive, at this point: “We have a pretty good idea who these folks were, and we’re trying to work through contacting other family members so we can better piece together what took place and why it took place.”-Robert Eberling, Grapevine Police

Local media interviewed neighbors, in Colleyville, Texas, and learned that the family had lost their home to foreclosure, and that the father might have been a work-a-holic who was having financial problems.  Neighbors said even after he lost his home, back in 2010, he continued to take care of the yard: “I actually saw him out doing yard work just last weekend!”-Thomas Ehrlich

The mother failed to show up for work on Monday: “For somebody who’s always early to work and who never misses a day of work, we expected the worst.”-Leah Langford, employer

Apparently, according to Colleyville neighbors, the family actually stayed in the home for a while after it was foreclosed.  The family recently moved into the Grapevine apartment.

Business/Economics, Idaho, International, U.S.

Global Food Crisis & What Economic Recovery? Beef production crashing in Idaho

No thanks to the closing of a beef processing plant in Nampa, Idaho’s beef production is down 80% from the year prior!  That’s according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.

According to the State stats, and contrary to the stereotype, potatoes are not the number one agriculture product of Idaho!  Dairy products are number one, followed by cattle/beef production, so you can see why it’s so important to Idaho’s economy.

Not only is Idaho’s beef production down from last year, it’s been dropping like a rock, 52%, from January 2011 to November 2011.

The USDA pointed out that overall beef production in the entire United States was down 2% from last year.

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Full time employment down In Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Maine and Vermont

A report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that while part time employment is going up, it’s being offset by a drop in full time employment!

The top five states for increased part time work are Montana, Oregon, Maine, Vermont and Idaho.  Montana leads the country with a 39% increase in part time work.

In Idaho there was an average of about 515,000 people with full time jobs in 2007. In 2010 that number dropped to 445,000.  At the same time, in 2010 the number of part time jobs increased 35%. 

As far as full time wages go, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says the average full time pay in Idaho, in 2010, was $666 per week.  That’s a piddly 4.6% increase from 2007, and it’s one of the smallest increases in the entire United States!

Business/Economics, Idaho, International, Technology, U.S.

Global Economic War & Corporate Incompetence: Idaho polysilcon producer, Hoku, quietly starts operations, loses CFO, loses millions of dollars again

Pocatello, Idaho’s, polysilcon factory, run by Hoku Materials (which is a subsidary of Chinese owned Hoku Corporation), officially and quietly started operations on December 1st.  That’s according to Chinese media citing Tianwei New Energy Holdings Company Limited, the Chinese company that controls 60% of Hoku Corporation.

Interestingly no mention of the start of operations has come directly from Hoku.  Hoku Corporation did announce the resignation of their CFO, treasurer, and secretary, Darryl Nakamoto.  His resignation will be effective March, 2012.

Another loss, this one missed by local Idaho media, is the fact that Hoku Corporation continues to bleed out money.  Its latest report, ending September 30, 2011, showed Hoku with a net loss of $7.9 million (computed in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles)!

I’ve posted before about the conundrum Hoku is now in, since it is 60% owned by the Chinese: “…Hoku is set up in a bad position; action by the U.S. government could hurt their new plans to sell Chinese PV products, and retaliation by the Chinese government could hurt their pending polysilicon orders.”

I wonder why Hoku is keeping so quiet about their operations start up in Idaho, while it’s making front page news in China?

GLOBAL ECONOMIC WAR: IDAHO’S HOKU SILICON FACTORY MAY BE ENDED BEFORE IT STARTS. CITY OF POCATELLO GUILTY

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Western Xmas holiday, the new scourge of China. Chinese know the true meaning of Christmas, what happened to the United States?

“I was supposed to relax on holidays, but this feels more stressful than working at the office.”-Zhao Xiaojuan, works for investment company

Since U.S. companies have been moving into China, they’ve brought U.S. style holidays with them, and the Chinese are regretting it.

Many company managers spend their holidays, and their money, entertaining foreign (U.S.?) business guests, out of fear of insulting them if they didn’t do so, and competition!

“I have to give gifts to show respect and gratitude to my clients, because all my colleagues do so.”-Gao Ping, newly graduated from college

For many young adults the Western gift giving tradition is hitting them where it hurts; in their wallets!

“I’ll have to eat instant noodles for the whole month to save money….I could have saved 10,000 yuan (U.S.$1,580) if we didn’t have to celebrate foreign holidays!”-Zhou, employee of foreign owned company

More than 40,000 Chinese bloggers have voiced their opposition to the U.S. imposed holidays, and one of the most numerous complaints is that the U.S. holidays confuse affection for family and friends with money: “I know they want to show their affection for me, but words speak louder than money.”-Gao Ping, newly graduated from college

How dare he say “words speak louder than money”! Thurston Howell III, the Wolf of Wall Street, is rolling in his grave!

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Chinese families told to prepare to tighten their belts, blame hyper inflation & Global Food Crisis

“Inflation may be a long term problem in the country because food prices may surge again and the price of manufacturing resources is likely to grow fast in the coming year.”-Zhang Shuguang, Unirule Institute of Economics

In one of the few countries where the economy is good, people are being told to prepare for the worst.

What should a family do? Those making enough money to save should start investing in physical assets, including precious metals, real estate and antiques.  (That advise is probably too late for those of us 99%ers in the United States.)

To give you an idea of how good the Chinese economy has been doing, read this: “Among urban families with average annual personal income between 50,000 yuan and 100,000 yuan, 63.7% have family wealth management plans this year, compared with 27.5% last year.“-Zhang Jinbao, Tsinghua University and Citi Foundation

Current savings trends for Chinese workers include health care, education for their children and retirement (so much for China being a communist/socialist country).  But now even bank officials are prompting families to put as much as 70% of their earnings into property, to try an avoid the coming hyper inflation!

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

Corporate Incompetence: Dairy company continues to produce products with toxins, despite repeated fines

“A stained history means the company has problems in its professional ethics, so we shouldn’t trust it anymore.”-Fang Zhouzi, blogger

Milk products containing aflatoxin continue to be found on store shelves, despite the company’s claim that they destroyed all their tainted dairy products.

Aflatoxin builds up in your body and causes liver cancer, it can not be eliminated by pasteurizing!  It can be the result of cattle feed that’s been stored for too long.

The company involved is Mengniu Group, in China. It has a history of producing contaminated dairy products. In 2009 the company was involved with the melamine contamination incident (melamine is used mainly in construction, but it turns out that dairy companies have been using it to artificially increase their products’ protein levels. It was discovered that in the U.S. the FDA had no standards for melamine used in food).

“If the company carried out checks and didn’t find a problem, then their case is suspect.”-Wang Dingmian, Guangzhou Dairy Association

Over the past weekend, several Chinese customers were suspicious of the milk they bought and had it tested. It all turned out to be contaminated with aflatoxin.  This happened after the Mengniu Group said they destroyed all tainted dairy products.