Over at Slate they’ve realized that the Tom Hanks movie from the 80s “The Money Pit” is actually just a documentary about our current financial crisis and the bailout of AIG. Specifically, the scene in which the kitchen catches fire and the bathtub falls through the floor. (Video, inside…)
economy
Best Buy To Employees: Survive The Meltdown By Making Customer Service A Priority
By 11.12.08
Today Best Buy announced that it was officially freaking out about the current financial meltdown: “In 42 years of retailing, we’ve never seen such difficult times for the consumer,” Brian Dunn, president and chief operating officer of Best Buy, said in a statement. “People are making dramatic changes in how much they spend, and we’re not immune from those forces.” A Best Buy employee forwarded us an email that went out to all associates this morning — stressing that a renewed commitment to customer service was the way forward during these troubled times.
Next Victim Of The Economic Meltdown? Santa.
By 11.11.08
Christmas Creep may be more out of control than ever this year (Were Veterans Day sales always Christmas-themed?), but that doesn’t mean that these are happy holidays for professional Santas. Yes, according to the Amalgamated Order of Real Bearded Santas, an organization that actually exists according to the Wall Street Journal, Santa bookings are down. Way down.
DHL Cuts 9,500 Jobs, No More Shipping Inside US
By 11.10.08
No more DHL for you, America. They’re cutting 9,500 jobs and suspending domestic mailing operations. This leaves the shipping field back to UPS, FedEX and the USPS. However, you can still ship with DHL internationally from the US, so no need to fret that you can’t keep sending those care packages to Cuba and North Korea.
Circuit City Files For Bankruptcy
By 11.10.08
Circuit City has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. According to their press release, this will allow them to undergo corporate restructuring, cut costs, get out of leases and figure out a way to still make a go of it. The stores will continue to operate, and they will seek to still allow for returns, exchanges, and gift cards.
Gas Prices Have Fallen For 51 Straight Days
By 11.7.08
AAA says that gas prices have fallen for 51 straight days — and that the current average price is $2.31 per gallon. The current price is the lowest the nation has seen since February of 2007, and is 43.8% lower than the record high of $4.11 set during July of this year.
GM Almost Out Of Cash, Looks To Washington For Bailout
By 11.7.08
GM is running out of money and may not have enough cash to continue running its business. They’ve burned through $6.8 billion in the last quarter and will exhaust their reserves by the end of 2008 without government intervention or a significant increase in auto sales. Which sounds more likely to you?
"High-End" Supermarket Wegmans Slashes Prices To Stay Competitive
By 11.7.08
Wegmans, an “upscale” grocery chain with stores in 5 Mid-Atlantic states, is cutting prices to stay competitive during the post-Wall-Street apocalypse.
By 11.5.08
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Dell is offering employees a week of unpaid leave in order to cut costs. “Dell informed employees of its cost-cutting measures in an e-mail from chief executive Michael Dell.
Black Friday Is Getting Silly: Best Buy To Hold Essay Contest
By 11.4.08
Retailers are scared this year, what with the whole economy coming crashing down around their ears and all, and the Black Friday marketing frenzy should be crazier than ever this year. Best Buy is even holding an essay contest. The topic? Why Black Friday shopping is an “important family ritual.” Yes, seriously.
Complete List Of Closing Circuit City Stores
By 11.3.08
Inside, as supplied by Circuit City, a complete list of their 155 stores that will be closing, a story we broke yesterday.
What's Worse Than Inflation? Deflation.
By 11.1.08
The New York Times has an interesting article today about the rising specter of deflation — in which a lack of demand causes prices to fall. Falling prices sounds like a good thing for consumers who have been battered with rising costs over the past year — but experts agree — deflation is nothing but bad news.
Economy: "Consumers Have Thrown In The Towel"
By 10.31.08
Consumer spending is down and credit card defaults are up!
This Is Going To Be A Bad Recession
By 10.31.08
GDP fell .3% in the 3rd quarter of 2008, compared to 2.8% gain in the second quarter. While a recession is technically defined as two consecutive quarters of negative GDP, everyone can see the party is cashed. Marketwatch wrote, “Economists expect the economy to contract in the final three months of this year and the first three months of 2009, with the nation’s unemployment rate pegged to rise near the 8% mark.” Housing bust + oil shock + financial crisis + rising unemployment + high levels of personal debt and low saving rates = sad America. This can mean only one thing. Now is the time to enact my plan for WPA-style moon-farming programs.
By 10.28.08
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The Case-Shiller home prices index, which tracks US home prices, fell a record-breaking 16.6% from last year in 20 metropolitan areas. [Forbes]
World Goverments Act To Try To Stem Financial Crisis
By 10.28.08
Governments around the world intervened early this week in their economies to try to hold back the financial slide. Here’s the latest of who’s doing what:
At Least I Have A F****** Dollar
By 10.28.08
Spotted woodendesigner’s “My “At Least I Have A Fucking Dollar” Dollar” photo in The Consumerist Flickr pool. Here’s the backstory: “I got this dollar as change but did not notice until a few days later. I laughed because it really just sums up everything that has been going on with the stock market and in a way everything that I have been going through lately. I have been very hesitant to spend it and now after shooting it for you people to enjoy I have decided that I am going to save it….. Even though they also dated it on the back ( 9-20-07) so it was actually written a year ago.”
Save Money by Bartering
By 10.24.08
barter for goods and services instead of buying them. Yep, bartering, the age-old method of economic exchange, is making a big comeback — though now it’s a high-tech operation that doesn’t limit you to your own set of acquaintances. We wrote about this back in July, but an economic practice that has survived from the beginning of our society deserves more than one post. Smart Money has 5 new tips it says will help you save by trading goods and skills you already have:
