The Inquisitr » economy

Salvation Army In Canada Reports 75 Percent Rise In Food Bank Demand The Past Year

AHN — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 22:00:50 +0000

The recession has spurred a higher demand for food amid a decline in donations received by relief and charitable organizations. According to the Salvation Army in Canada, demand for food service has jumped by almost 75 percent the past year.

As a result, the organization has served more than 25,000 people and more than 65,000 meals the past 12 months in 275 locations across the country. The 72.6 percent rise in food request, was however accompanied by a 40.4 percent dip in donations.

Hardest hit by the slower pace of donations were Salvation Army units in Ontario and British Columbia. The report, released Wednesday, observed that despite Canada slowly recovering from the global financial crisis, more Canadians are seeking the assistance of social service institutions.

Salvation Army territorial secretary for public relations and development Graham Moore said in a statement, “As a national trend, it appears that our food services and programs are taking a hit from the prolonged effects of the recession. We’ll continue to do more with less, hopeful that the generosity of donors and volunteers will answer the needs of those shaken by economic hardship”

With Thanksgiving fast approaching, Moore said the Salvation Army will improve its efforts to boost stock and supply, as it called on Canadians for more food and other kinds of donations.

He added, “Thanksgiving is one of our busiest periods for food service and distribution. We remain committed to serving Canadians in need with warm meals and groceries, but we also need the public’s commitment to help meet this year’s heightened demand.”

Hopes Rise As New Jobless Claims Drop

AHN — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:11:27 +0000

New jobless claims dropped by 33,000 in the week ended Oct. 3, according to data released Thursday by the Labor Department.

The seasonally adjusted 521,000 filing initial claims for state unemployment benefits is the smallest level since the first week of January. The four-week rolling average of new claims also fell, down 9,000, the lowest since the first of the year. For the week of Sept. 26, 6.04 million were continuing to claim jobless benefits, a drop of 72,000.

The numbers raised hope that hiring might be increasing. Economists had predicted first-time claims would be about 540,000, nearly 20,000 higher. It’s difficult to understand what the numbers truly mean, however. Employers could be hiring more, or jobless workers could have exhausted their initial 26 weeks of payments.

Initial claims are up 13 percent from a year ago, and continuing claims are up 70 percent. Last month, the jobless rate reached a 26-year high of 9.8 percent.

Gold Futures Hit Record High At $1,035, Up 19% From Past Year

AHN — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 19:30:10 +0000

Gold futures headed for new highs on Tuesday.

Gold for December delivery rose 2.13 percent to end trading for the day at the record price of $1,035.50 an ounce at the New York Mercantile Exchange. For the day, it had been as high as $1,045.

The metal has risen 19 percent in the past year.

All metal futures were up. December silver rose $71.50 to $1,725 on the Comex. January platinum was up $23.20 to $1,325, while palladium rose $5.70 to $309.

High-grade copper settled at $277.55, an increase of $4.85.

U.S. Unemployment Hits 26-Year High

AHN — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 21:00:58 +0000

American unemployment has hit a 26-year high as the U.S. economy continued to shed jobs in September. Last month marked the 21st consecutive month of American job losses.

Americans should be ready for sticker shock as the unemployment rate hit 9.8 percent in September, climbing to dreaded double digits.

According to U.S. Labor Department statistics released on Friday, 263,000 Americans lost their job in September – extending the losing streak to 7.2 million jobs in almost two years.

So why aren’t those silly looking light bulbs selling like hotcakes?

Steven Hodson — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 21:35:43 +0000

One of the cornerstones of the whole “Save the earth from ourselves” movement has been the idea of “individual involvement”. While we wait for government and big business to get off of their collective asses and get serious about dealing with the climate change problem it is up to the individual to start doing what they can within their own sphere of influence to make changes in the products we use and to try and lessen our abuse of the planet.

One of the ways we hear the most of about how individuals can make a difference is through simple things like using those new fangled light bulbs that look like a corkscrew. Commonly referred to as CFLs they are meant to replace our current love affair with incandescent bulbs by promising to save you money because they last longer and use less energy. Sure they might cost more than their counterparts but hey you’ll save that money in the long run right?

Treehugger had a post the other day lamenting the decline in sales of the CFLs and how the manufacturers are whining about the fact that without increased subsidies and incentive programs they could end up losing what market share they have carved out for themselves. In the post Brian Merchant writes

This is all pretty incredible to me–even if people don’t care that they’re using less electricity from an environmental standpoint, don’t people care that they could be saving money? Sales have fallen harder as the recession deepened–exactly a time when people should be expected to look for ways to save money. I guess it’s just a testament to the short-sightedness of the American consumer–we’ve developed a severely bad habit of placing instant gratification and short term savings over practical investment (just look at our rate of savings compared to consumer spending over the last 20 years).

When I read that I just shook my head. I mean seriously folks – don’t people like Brian get it?

It’s not about instant gratification you smuck – it’s called being able to survive on a decreasing amount of money. Sure your electric bill might be a few dollars more next month because you are using the wrong bulbs but that’s next month; and right now that extra five bucks or so for some fancy light bulb can make the difference of having enough food to feed your family for one night – even if it is only Mac & Cheese.

You are asking why people the majority of whom are probably one paycheck away from being homeless don’t buy something now that “might” save them some money down the road? Come on let’s not be idiots here. Most of these people are lucky if they are planning anything past the end of the week at best so saving $10 on their next electric bill means squat. Hell they are probably just happy to have any bulb to light their apartments or in foreclosure homes with.

Sorry but on a poverty level income I’ll gladly take a full belly and a roof over my head lit by light bulbs that cost me $1.99 for a four pack instead of having to tell my kid that what is on their plate is all there is for tonight because daddy wanted to be all cool and spend $8.00 for a three pack of fancy light bulbs.

That the real world life buddy so keep your condescension to yourself.

Michael Moore asking for donations for bailout companies?

Steven Hodson — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 03:47:17 +0000

You mention the name Michael Moore in any mixed company and you will probably get equally mixed comments. More than once he has proven to be a lightening rod over the issues he has made documentaries about. It seems that lightening will be striking again with his upcoming, and yet to be named, documentary about our current economic situation if a recent stunt he has pulled is any indication.

According to Alex Billington over at FirstShowing.net some of the theaters showing the new Taking of Pelham 123 were to be treated to a trailer of Moore’s documentary. Other theaters though were treated to Michael Moore appearing on the screen asking them to donate money to “needy banks and corporations” at which point the ushers would enter the theater with buckets to collect the money.

This apparently is no joke as Alex has the exact text of what Michael said

"Hi, I’m Michael Moore. Instead of using this time to tell you about my new movie I’d like to take a moment and ask you to join me in helping our fellow Americans. The downturn in the economy has hurt many people, people who have had no choice but to go on government assistance. Yet our welfare agencies can only do so much. That’s why I’m asking you to reach into your pockets right now and lend a hand. Ushers will be coming down the aisles to collect your donations for Citibank, Bank of America, AIG, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and a host of other needy banks and corporations. Won’t you please give generously? Now, I know what you’re thinking – I already gave at the bailout. And I know you did, but even if you’ve given in the past, give some more. It will make you feel… good."

You can hear the full audio portion of his “appeal” over at Slashfilm. This isn’t something that will be happening at all the showings of the Pelham but rather in selected theaters in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington D.C.

Trust Michael to pull a stunt like this.

Virgin Megastores Closing All U.S. Locations

JR — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:26:49 +0000

Virgin Megastores will close all of its U.S. locations this summer. The music chain will remain in business in other parts of the world as well as online.

Virgin Megastores Closing

There are currently six Virgin Megastores locations still open across America, including the store in New York City’s Times Square. That store, according to published reports, was set to make $56 million last year — but when the nationwide economic trouble began, the trends suddenly dropped and the store did not meet its projection. Overall, the stores are said to ring in $170 million a year, compared to $230 million a year back in 2002 (at which point Virgin had 23 U.S. locations).

The 52,000-square-foot Times Square Virgin store will close first, with a final day scheduled for April. The other five stores will shut down in June. About a thousand jobs will be lost in all.

Virgin Megastores first opened in 1992 with a store on Hollywood’s Sunset Boulevard. The U.S. branch of the company was bought by Related and Vornado Realty Trust in 2007.

About 150 Virgin Megastores will remain open in parts of Asia, the Middle East, and France. Those locations, unlike the closing U.S. ones, are all still owned by the Virgin Group.

Did you really think these jerks would sit still for caps?

Steven Hodson — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 22:05:14 +0000

Most of us have probably read about the outrageous money that executives of government bailed out companies were paying themselves as bonuses. Just as a lot of people have read about President Obama’s move to cap executive salaries at $500,000.00 if their companies took any government bailout money. Well it appears that like most things when you want something bad enough you’ll find a way to get and these government funded executives are no different.

According to Sam Stein in a post at Huffington Post the executives of the soon to be merged Morgan Stanley and Smith Barney have figured out just a way. It called retention awards and are in no way to be confused with bonuses (ya okay) nor is anyone to use the word bonuses when talking about these nice fat additions to their bank accounts. The payments are also to be based on performance in 2008 rather than 2009 which means even more bonuses err retention awards money.

While 2008 was challenging for the firms — Morgan Stanley’s client assets in fee-based accounts dropped 25 percent in the fourth quarter, and a round of lay-offs is expected — 2009 is expected to be substantially weaker.

“I think I can hear you clapping from here in New York,” Gorman joked during the call, after announcing that the payments would be linked to ‘08 performance. “You should be clapping because frankly that is a very generous and thoughtful decision that we have made. We spent a lot of time kicking this around. We could easily have done it from the point of closing, which is obviously going to be somewhere in the latter half of this year or around the middle of the year. But we just decided… that it was right thing to do, to give you that certainty that it would be based off ‘08. ‘09 is a very difficult year… So that degree of anxiety, which many, many of you have emailed me about… is now off the table.”

Source: Huffington Post

You can listen to an audio of the conference call talking about this new style of getting money for nothing over on Huffington Post

Yup .. business as usual – like anyone thought things would really change.

Sk8’ers find heaven in foreclosure

Steven Hodson — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 22:52:04 +0000

They say that in every cloud there is a silver lining and for skateboarders in California their silver lining are the pools at homes that are being foreclosed on. As more homes head into foreclosure and builders abandon have built projects people like 27 year-old skateboarder who goes by the name of Josh Peacock seek out these abandoned pools and turn them into a ‘boarder’s skate park.

New York Time’s reporter Jesse McKinley tells of how Mr. Peacock turns these potential cess pools into something that while illegal is still better than breeding grounds for insects and disease

In these boom times for skaters, Mr. Peacock travels with a gas-powered pump, five-gallon buckets, shovels and a push broom, risking trespassing charges in the pursuit of emptying forlorn pools and turning them into de facto skate parks.

“We can just hit them back to back,” said Mr. Peacock, who preferred to give his skateboarding name because of the illegality of his activities.

Skaters are coming to places like Fresno from as far as Germany and Australia. Mr. Peacock said his floor and couch were covered by sleeping bags of visiting skateboarders each weekend.

Source: New York Times

The availability of these backyard skate parks are so abundant that Mr. Peacock can’t keep up with them. It has reached the point that skaters are using real estate tracking site like realquest.com and realtor.com to find all the foreclosed homes with pools. This isn’t only happening in California either as the same activity is being reported in Florida, Arizona among other southern states.

[photo courtesy of Jim Wilson for The New York Times]

Shoplifting ranks swell as economy flounders

Steven Hodson — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 22:08:22 +0000

You might think twice about helping yourself to those goods on the shelves but a growing number of people aren’t. People who wouldn’t normally even think of shoplifting are finding themselves on the wrong side of the law as our economic worries get worse.

According to Ian Urbina in a New York times post says that police departments around the country are seeing a 10 to 20 percent increase in shoplifting arrests this year over last. As Ian points out this figure is probably on the low side since most stores just ban the shoplifters from the premises instead of having them arrested.

This isn’t a case of serial shoplifters either as much of the increase appears to be coming form first time offenders like Richard Johnson

Recently laid off from a job building trailers in Elkhart, Ind., Mr. Johnson came up a dollar short at Martin’s Supermarket last month when he went to buy a $4.99 bottle of sleep medication. So, “for some stupid reason,” he tried to shoplift it and was immediately arrested.

“I was desperate, I guess,” said Mr. Johnson, 25, who said he had never been arrested before. As the economy has weakened, shoplifting has increased, and retail security experts say the problem has grown worse this holiday season. Shoplifters are taking everything from compact discs and baby formula to gift cards and designer clothing.

Source: New York Time

[picture courtesy of Joe Raymond for The New York Times]

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FixYa Offers Free Crowdsourced Tech Support

JR — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:57:25 +0000

As the stock market continues to tank and the word “recession” re-enters our vocabulary, a Silicon Valley startup is working to create a community of free service. FixYa aims to bring a crowdsourcing-style forum to the world of tech support, with fee-free help on anything ranging from washing machine woes to crashing computers and crappy cars.

The site, claiming 9 million volunteer members, lets anyone sign up and post a problem. Users — who are ranked in expertise and helpfulness by other members — then offer solutions. You can also search existing queries submitted by others to see if the answer you need has already been posted.

During our visit, the solutions featured on the front page included things such as a Motorola phone that wouldn’t charge, a pen drive that wouldn’t accept new files, and a BMW with a flashing engine warning light.

FixYa does also offer a pay-based option in which you can chat directly and immediately with a high-ranking expert via IM or phone. The expert keeps a portion of the fee. Unless you need instant assistance, though, you could just as easily post into the free forum system.

FixYa has been around since 2005. It’s now grown to about 30 employees and claims 10 million unique visitors a month, a rate its founder says continues to increase by about 12 percent every month.

Fixya

Washingtonpost.com launches Economy Watch

Dominic Rivera — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 14:57:18 +0000

Washingtonpost.com is now watching the economy as they launch Economy Watch, a page that brings together the top news and resources to help readers better understand the impact of the unfolding financial crisis on the U.S. and global economies.

Economy Watch also gives readers the inside scoop on government decision-making and answers personal finance questions from readers.

It’s just a little sad monitoring all what’s happening in the economy… and then I see the politician buying an ad space in this page. Not only sad. Annoying, as well.