Here’s a bad idea. Please don’t protest high gas prices by setting fire to a Chevron station, an Arco station, and a Starbucks. Meet Diane Craig, 64, of Danville, California. She’s accused of using “fireplace logs” to try to start fires inside the restrooms of the two gas stations and a Starbucks.
recession
The Restaurant Where You Pay What You Can Afford
By 6.6.08
The Today Show featured a family restaurant in Maine that is letting their customers order what they can afford. The scallop dinner is normally $18.95, but if you’ve only got $8.00 — they’ll make you an $8.00 version.
By 6.3.08
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Today is indeed the beginning of the Starbucks Free-Wifi era. Hooray for “2008 as a year of transformation in a difficult macroeconomic environment.” Or whatever. Customers who register a Starbucks card and use it twice a month will get 2 hours of free WiFi per day. [Seattle P-I]
By 5.1.08
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“People are not willing to modify their lifestyle in order to live on what they earn – that is the real problem.” Larry Winget, author of “You’re Broke Because You Want To Be” on the root cause of the current economic crisis. [AllFinancialMatters]
Hey Gamblers, Time To Bring A Sack Lunch, The Freebies Are Dying Up.
By 4.7.08
Since the first casino opened here 30 years ago, tour buses depositing herds of senior citizens out for the afternoon at the gambling house doorstep has been a big part of Atlantic City casino culture. It’s now one the industry is trying to move away from — gently — so as not to antagonize loyal patrons as it seeks more affluent bettors.
Wrigley's To Introduce New "Slim Pack" Gum Packaging With Two Fewer Sticks, Same Price
By 3.27.08
Sometime soon Wrigley’s will start promoting its new Slim Pack packaging in select markets, and nationwide by 2009. It’s slimmer! It’s easier to carry! And it’s got 15 sticks instead of 17—for the same price! A Wrigley’s vice president told Brandweek that consumers wouldn’t care that they’re getting less product: “To them the value goes up because they’re getting a better tasting product in a better package.” Ha ha consumers sure are stupid, aren’t they, VP of Wrigley’s?
Surviving On 99-Cent-Store Food For A Week In NYC
By 3.27.08
Henry Alford of the New York Times writes that sometimes he will “plop a can of chicken broth down on the checkout counter and think, ‘$2.19? For someone to boil chicken bones? I want that job,'” so he decided to try going a week with food from 99 cent stores in New York City.
NC Applebee's Can't Afford Breadsticks Or Candles Anymore
By 3.18.08
Glenn’s family went to Applebee’s last night and discovered that the restaurant is cutting back. Really cutting back. You have to bring your own candles now for their birthday cakes, because “Applebee’s doesn’t supply birthday candles anymore.”
By 2.8.08
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Consumers are not being as big sluts with their credit cards as they slowly discover that they have no money. [WSJ]
How To Recession-Proof Your Career
By 1.31.08
With the economy on the brink of recession, many folks are concerned about their jobs. Will the company downsize or have temporary layoffs? Will employees be asked to forego raises or (gasp!) take pay cuts? The Wall Street Journal addresses this issue head-on and lists eight tips for recession-proofing your career. They offer some good suggestions, but here are two we especially like:
Walmart Says It Will Cut Prices In Order To Save The Economy
By 1.29.08
Walmart says it’s going to cut prices 10-30% in order to help “cash-strapped consumers” and keep them “excited about shopping.”
Coach CEO Says Proposed Stimulus Package Necessary So Consumers Will Buy His Purses
By 1.23.08
Whether the U.S. is technically in a recession or not, Coach’s CEO Lew Frankfort says consumers are already pretending that it’s here. That’s why he’s in favor of the President’s proposed stimulus package—it will “restore confidence in consumers that they will have some additional discretionary money that they would otherwise not expect.” That’s right: we need a nation-wide tax credit this year so that we can buy more Coach purses.
Recession Fears Bring "Mass Luxury Movement" To An End
By 1.18.08
The aspirational upper-middle-class customer who helped companies like Coach and Saks post double-digit growth in the past few years has disappeared due to the current rotten economy, writes BusinessWeek. The result: luxury goods companies that expanded their product lines to appeal to the not-quite-rich now have $150 purses and nobody to buy them. Coach went so far as to offer coupons recently “to drum up sales.”
Job Ideas For 2008
By 12.27.07
If you’re looking to increase your salary, change or start a career, or just get a new job now that your old one has dried up and blown away, MarketWatch has a list of job growth areas and trouble spots for 2008.
Report Says Property Values Could Decline By $1.2 Trillion
By 11.27.07
An especially gloomy report by the U.S. Conference of Mayors says that property values across the U.S. could decline by $1.2 trillion next year, slashing tax revenue by $6.6 billion.
By 11.19.07
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Auto industry investors are warning that automotive sales could hit a 15-year low in 2008, but that auto makers will probably cut production before they offer steep discounts. [Reuters]
