This map basically means that the lighter color, the more equally the wealth in the country is distributed. You can tell where the most people suffer due to the darker shades of green seen throughout the  map.

The countries with the biggest gap between poverty and wealth are the South American nations and some central to southern African nations.

Canada, Australia, much of Europe, and even some African countries all have fairly good wealth distribution throughout.

The United States falls into the same category as Russia, India, Italy, England, Portugal, and Uzbekistan to name a few.

Source

There are advertisements that are meant to warm your heart, to inform you, deceive you, and most of all get you to buy something you may not have otherwise bought. However, there are also shock advertisements that are meant to get people to talk.

Across the social sites this morning, everyone is talking about this new World Wildlife Foundation ad that compares the 9/11 attacks on the United States to the Tsunami in 2005. The consensus on the ad is that it was done in poor taste and it’s also a scam ad.

Scam ads have been around for awhile due to the fact that they are typically put on by advertisers and marketing firms that want to win awards. To win an award, the ad has to be published somewhere. In the case of the World Wildlife Foundation ad, it was published in a small Brazilian newspaper. It was also a print version of the ad seen above.

As long as awards for creativity are given out to ad agencies, ads like this one will be seen across the world and it will continue to shock the public when it leaks out to those who were really never supposed to see them.

Does the average cost of a house worry you at all?

Question:

The average price for a home in the United States dropped once again. Does this worry you at all?

Answer:

As a homeowner, yes. I used to not be worried because I could still see the prices in my neighborhood increasing, but not anymore. I think that once the prices in my area level out some, I’ll be less worried. No one wants to lose money in their house. That would go against the point of owning a home, I thought.

I’m sure I’m not as worried as people in other parts of the country though.

There are millions out of work right now and there are fewer and fewer jobs available for those who are looking or work. Data that was released by the government on Friday showed that the recession is worse than it has been since the beginning of the recession right now.

It’s only expected to get worse because companies are still not hiring and most have no plans on creating jobs to start hiring.

It is so difficult to be unemployed right now because there are about 6.3 people applying for every one job opening. In comparison, when the recession officially began in 2007, there were only 1.7 workers competing for every one job opening in the united States.

Since the beginning of the decade, the largest amount of people who were competing for one job opening was in July 2003, when 2.8 people were looking for every one job opening.

From the beginning of the recession, employers have cut over 7 million jobs. Even though there are fewer and fewer job cuts with each job and unemployment report, there aren’t any jobs being created. Job creation is essential for the health of the economy.

So, people with jobs are feeling a bit more safe when it comes to their jobs. Job security can be priceless, but for those that were laid off or have found themselves unemployed, it is still quite difficult to find work.

It is, of course, more difficult to find work in some areas than others. Jobs are being created in some areas of the country, but there are other parts of the country that barely have any jobs available and are losing them much faster than they’re making them. The more industrial a town is, particularly in this recession, the more that town or county hurts it seems.

Hopefully, the job market will get a bit better sometime soon.

Source

Earlier this week there were reports coming out that Arab oil sheiks, the Russians, and the Chinese were all conspiring to stop using the United States dollar to set the value of a barrel of oil. Of course, if this were to really happen it would really hurt the value of a dollar across the globe.

Remember last week when I talked about what happens when someone give a false story to the press? That’s what is going on this week and it’s causing a serious decline in the value of a dollar and a serious increase in the cost of gold.

Even though someone as high up as the Saudi central bank head and U.S. officials have tried to bunk the rumors, the dollar has definitely taken a hit this week.

The website drudgereport.com quickly amplified the impact of the story with a headline atop the site: ARAB STATES LAUNCH SECRET MOVES WITH CHINA, RUSSIA, FRANCE TO STOP USING DOLLAR FOR OIL TRADING …

“You read that story, and you do two things: You sell the hell out of dollars and you buy gold,” said Les Alperstein, president of the financial research firm Washington Analysis. “The story has a lot of credibility, with some caveats.”

So, the fall of the dollar could be the key as to why the price of gold is now at record highs. At $1,050 a try ounce, investors are selling the dollar and buying gold just as Les Alperstein said.

No one knows who exactly leaked the fake information to the press. Many are thinking it had something to do with gold traders. Of course, your suspicions typically turn to the source who stands to make the most from the information, however false it may be.

Prior to the recession, the value of the dollar would not be as damaged by an article such as this one. However, with how poor our economy is doing and also how watered down the value of our dollar has become, it is quite the hit to the value of the greenback.

Robert Fisk wrote the original article and he listed very vague sources in his article. No one has been able to locate the exact sources and even people and administration from the banks he claimed gave him the information in the article have said that the story is completely false.

So, who’s got their hand in Robert Fisk’s pocket?

Source

Being anywhere in the world outside the United States does not mean that you have to go without comparison shopping. There are sites for those in Australia that not only can you, as a shopper, compare prices on things like laptops and shoes, but as an advertiser, you can use pay per click advertising as a way to get more sales through the site.

MyShopping.Com.AU is a site where you can do any of these things. Comparison shopping will always be important to the thrifty consumer. I’m sure that there are plenty of people in Australia who would like to know where to get the best deals on items in their own country. Websites like the one linked provides the right kind of opportunities for shoppers to not only save time, but money to find items that they are looking for when they go shopping.

In the United States a comparable site would likely be something like MySimon. You know, I don’t even know if my simon is still around, but if it is, that is the site that would compare. I enjoy using a single website to find all the information I’m looking for in one place. The worst parts of sites like Shop.com is the spam and just junk that I usually find. I wish there were a way to avoid that.

A report from Bloomberg said that defaults of credit cards in the United States rose by 11.49% in August. The number is up from the 10.52% it increased from the month of July. The percentage reflects complete write offs and not delinquencies that are still being sought by the banks and lenders.

Because of the rising unemployment, there is a problem with many people being able to pay down their debts or be able to pay their debts at all. With unemployment currently hovering just under 10%, 1 in 6 Americans are out of work.

The biggest lenders in the United States, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, as well as Citigroup all reported an increase in defaults for the month of August.

It is now predicted that unemployment may reach 10.5% sometime in mid-2010 and at the same time there will be an increase in write offs between 12 and 13%.

As an American, I am well aware of many people of the country having a dependency on credit. For the longest time, everything that was purchased was paid for with plastic (an no, I don’t mean debit cards). Delinquencies were bound to rise at some point in time and they were going to rise by a lot. After all, with all the people defaulting on their mortgages and going into foreclosure, why would they hold on to their credit cards and try to pay them off?

Credit card companies know that this is what is happening, which is the reason for why they all want to hike their interest rates. If they didn’t hike interest rates then how would they make up their money from all of the people who are defaulting on their loans? The government won’t be bailing out these companies anymore.

AIG “borrowed” $182 billion from the United States government from the bailout program. On Monday September 21st, a watchdog group sent out a warning to the American public that AIG would likely never be able to pay back the loan.

The Government Accountability Office said that AIG will likely not be able to restructure the company in a way to repay the government and subsequently the taxpayers that funded the bailout. Part of the problem cited by the watchdog group is that the government relies too heavily on the government’s aid as its source for liquidity as well as capital.

The report said, “The sustainability of any positive trends of AIG’s operations and repayment efforts is not yet clear. The government’s ability to recoup the federal assistance money depends on the long-term health of AIG, its sales of certain businesses, and the maturation or sale of assets in the Maiden Lanes among other factors.”

At the beginning of September 2009, AIG still owed the government $120 billion.

A year ago this month, AIG took the first handout from the government TARP fund. The money did help stabilize the company according to the Government Accountability Office. It helped the company stabilize so much that it actually posted a $1.8 billion profit in the second quarter. The profit is the company’s first since 2007.

AIG has continued to prove itself to be a burden on the American taxpayer. Of course everyone had a problem when the company took out a huge loan from the government for $182 billion. If the government were to give that money to the citizens of the country (with 305 million people in the country) they could give every man, woman, and child $596.

I never realized how big AIG really was until the government started spending billions of dollars to bail the company out. This company should be split up so that part of the company can be actually held accountable for its actions per department or division. Parts of this company should be allowed to fail.

Source

The chairman of Wells Fargo agreed last year to help the company through the financial crisis, now Dick Kovacevich will be stepping down from the job as he sees that the financial crisis is over, I suppose. After 23 years of being with the company, he was chosen to lead it through the worst crisis that had happened to the financial markets since he had been there.

The position was only meant to be temporary and he knew that he wanted to retire eventually. He wanted to help the company get back on its feet as well as lead it through the acquisition of Wachovia.

On January 1, 2010 John Stumpf, current CEO of the company, will replace him as the chairman. Stumpf has been with Wells Fargo for 27 years and has been the CEO since June 27, 2007. His career started when he joined Norwest Corporation in 1982. Since that time Wells Fargo has swallowed many smaller banks including Stumpf’s Norwest bank. He is also currently on the board of directors for Visa international and is the Chairman of the Board of Directors for Visa in the United States. Like our eBay CEO friend Meg Whitman, he is also an outspoken supporter of the Republican party.

Wells Fargo is one of the banks that accepted TARP money from the government. It got $25 billion. It is also one of the banks that, when put under the government stress tests against bailed out banks, it was told that it would have to raise more capital before it could begin to pay back the loans. It sold stock to raise nearly $9 billion but the additional $5 billion will come from earnings according to the company.

For the sixth month in a row, foreclosures in the United States topped the 300,000 mark. Last month a total of 358,471 homes were put into foreclosure by either getting a default notice or by being put on the auction block. The figure is up 18% from August 2008, but it is actually down half a percent from July 2009.

This number totals to 1 in about 350 homes getting a foreclosure notice of some kind.

Morris A. Davis, an assistant real-estate professor at the Wisconsin School of Business had this to say about the foreclosure rate, “The foreclosure numbers are largely unemployment related. As long as 15 million Americans are unemployed, record foreclosures will continue.”

Out of all 50 states, Nevada has been hit the worst. With one in every 62 households in the state getting a foreclosure notice of some kind, Nevada had 17,902 foreclosure notices issued in August. That figure is up 8% from July; contrast that against the half a percent decrease for the country overall and you’ll see that Nevada is hurting.

Following Nevada for the worst foreclosure rates in August was Florida.  In Florida, one in every 140 homes received a notice. In California it was one in every 144.

In the second quarter 2009, one in 25 homes were in foreclosure according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. That is just over 4% of the homes in the United States.

It is easy to tell when a city or state has been particularly hit hard by the recession, falling home prices, unemployment, and foreclosures; all of which are  tied together right now. If you look at the average home price in California and how far the prices have fallen since the beginning of the recession, it is easy to see why most of the homes would end up in foreclosure.

Another problem is the fact that when you take falling home prices and put it together with increasing unemployment. That is a recipe for foreclosure.

Source

Would you start your own business if you couldn’t find work?

Question:

If you are one of the millions of unemployed people in the United States (or anywhere else in the world) would you try to start your own business in order to make work for yourself?

Answer:

While this website didn’t exactly start out that way, since I finished college and had a hard time finding a job this has become my full time job. I even realized that I was worth more writing for the site than I was working full time at the department store. That basically means it would cost more for us to hire someone to write as much as I do a week than I was making working there.

I really enjoy working on this site and really hope it can go on for awhile.

Do you think that President Obama’s speech in the Muslim world will help or hurt the United States and its relations with that part of the world?

Question:

President Obama gave a speech while traveling abroad at Cairo University. The speech was meant to help fight some misconceptions about the United States and its views on Islam. Do you think this speech and visit help or hurt the U.S. relations and how people in that part of the world view Americans?

Answer:

From what I see on the news, I don’t really think anything can help when it comes to extremists, just as no matter what anyone says or does, there will still (sadly) be people in the United States who fear and hate Muslims because of 9/11 even though it was a very small group of people who participated in the events.

However, when it comes to the everyday people in the Middle East who aren’t religious extremists, I think that the trip helped to fix some misconceptions that they may have had.

This is, of course, just the first step in a line of many that will help the United States’ image to the people of the Muslim world.

The 33 year old woman lived near a popular border crossing town in Texas and had chronic health problems. On top of that, she also had given birth to a healthy baby while sick with the flu at the hospital.

This is, still, much more mild than even seasonal flu outbreaks. Thousands succumb to the seasonal flu every year and it doesn’t ever get as much attention as the swine flu. I am only talking about it because it is popular news and directly affects trade with other countries and the United States. At this point, I think that it is mainly hype. Of course, this is no consolation to the families of people who have the swine flu or who have died as a result of contracting it, but typically the people who have very serious cases of this are the same people who would have very serious cases of the seasonal (regular) flu.

The list of closings announced today can be seen in this pdf:

Starbucks store closings PDF

Even though it will be closing these 200 stores, Starbucks announced that it would be opening its first store in Poland. The opening is part of Starbuck’s strategy to expand further internationally. However, an extra 100 stores will be closing abroad according to the January report from the coffee giant.

In February Toyota reported a 40% drop in car sales in the United States alone. This has led the company to seek $2 billion in loans from the Japanese government to help with the slump in sales.

So this just proves how flat the market is right now, as one article said “When Toyota starts begging, you know it’s bad” ‘

I wonder who will be next or which car companies can survive this serious downturn. I guess it’s just a matter of time before we’ll be able to see who’s made it out ok and who didn’t make it out at all.

August 31, 2010.

Although he plans on leaving 30,000-50,000 residual troops in the area until 2011, he has gained a lot of support in Congress (even though some democratic leaders are hesitant). Even John McCain backs the new plan to pull troops out by 8-31-10.

So, does this really mean the end of the war in Iraq? Well, I (personally) hope so!

Problems have been following Yahoo since the failed buyout from Microsoft, which made investors angry.

The reorganization is expected to include a structure where executives like chief operating officer, chief technology officer and a new, more powerful chief marketing officer all report to Bartz, the blog said.

In addition, several sources suggested Bartz may abandon a recent restructuring that split the world into four operating regions, the blog said. Instead, one executive could head the United States and a second head up all international efforts.

Source

An article from the AP lists everything from playing guitar and enjoying time with kids to stressing out over bills and money. However, the consensus is that, given the opportunity, they would go back to work in a heartbeat.

I don’t have to sit here and talk about how awful it is to sit around and wonder when the next interview is going to happen. But, I can’t help but wonder what the millions of fired and laid off workers in the United States are doing.

Source

Cutting back on delivery days doesn’t exactly mean that it will be cutting Saturday delivery, but instead a lighter day.

“If current trends continue, we could experience a net loss of $6 billion or more this fiscal year,” Potter said in testimony for a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee.

Cutting out a Tuesday or Wednesday wouldn’t be too bad. I think Mondays would work ok too since most government holidays fall on Mondays.

Source

Here is the text of the speech:

“My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we the people have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land — a nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America — they will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sanh.

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act — not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. All this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions — who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them — that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. Those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account — to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day — because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control — and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart — not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers … our found fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake. And so to all the other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort — even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West — know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment — a moment that will define a generation — it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter’s courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent’s willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence — the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed — why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent Mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America’s birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

“Let it be told to the future world … that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive…that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet (it).”

America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.”

Source

Now it means that the liquidator can mark up the price to discount it to what it would have been at retail…or in some cases, still above retail.

Here’s an example of 5 different HDTV models priced at a Circuit City store from HDGuru:

Model/Store Price/10% Off Price/ “True” Current Circuit City Web Price

Samsung/PN50A550 $1999.99   $1799.99    $1699.99
Samsung/LN46A550 $1699.99    $1529.99    $1449.99
Samsung/LN52A750 $2999.99   $2699.99    $2699.99
Sony/KDL40V4100    $1399.99   $1259.99   $1199.99
Sony/KDL52XBR6      $3499.99    $3149.99   $3299.99

Now CircuitCity.com is closed for business.

Circuit City Liquidation Sale Price Switch – Can you beat it or will it beat you?

Fiat’s goal in taking over Chrysler is to have Chrysler produce one or more of its cars to be sold in the United States. Fiat would give Chrysler the parts to produce smaller and more fuel efficient cars.

I am guessing since Fiat wants to bring some of its smaller cars to the U.S., maybe they are also thinking about selling Chrysler’s cars in Italy and Europe? Seems like Europe loses in this scenario.

“I want to thank all the speakers and performers for reminding us, through song and through words, just what it is that we love about America. And I want to thank all of you for braving the cold and the crowds and traveling in some cases thousands of miles to join us here today. Welcome to Washington, and welcome to this celebration of American renewal.

In the course of our history, only a handful of generations have been asked to confront challenges as serious as the ones we face right now. Our nation is at war. Our economy is in crisis. Millions of Americans are losing their jobs and their homes; they’re worried about how they’ll afford college for their kids or pay the stack of bills on their kitchen table. And most of all, they are anxious and uncertain about the future — about whether this generation of Americans will be able to pass on what’s best about this country to our children and their children.

I won’t pretend that meeting any one of these challenges will be easy. It will take more than a month or a year, and it will likely take many. Along the way there will be setbacks and false starts and days that test our resolve as a nation.

But despite all of this — despite the enormity of the task that lies ahead — I stand here today as hopeful as ever that the United States of America will endure — that the dream of our founders will live on in our time.
What gives me that hope is what I see when I look out across this mall. For in these monuments are chiseled those unlikely stories that affirm our unyielding faith — a faith that anything is possible in America. Rising before us stands a memorial to a man who led a small band of farmers and shopkeepers in revolution against the army of an Empire, all for the sake of an idea. On the ground below is a tribute to a generation that withstood war and depression — men and women like my grandparents who toiled on bomber assembly lines and marched across Europe to free the world from tyranny’s grasp. Directly in front of us is a pool that still reflects the dream of a King, and the glory of a people who marched and bled so that their children might be judged by their character’s content. And behind me, watching over the union he saved, sits the man who in so many ways made this day possible.

And yet, as I stand here today, what gives me the greatest hope of all is not the stone and marble that surrounds us today, but what fills the spaces in between. It is you — Americans of every race and region and station who came here because you believe in what this country can be and because you want to help us get there.

It is the same thing that gave me hope from the day we began this campaign for the presidency nearly two years ago; a belief that if we could just recognize ourselves in one another and bring everybody together — Democrats, Republicans and Independents; Latino, Asian and Native American; black and white, gay and straight, disabled and not — then not only would we restore hope and opportunity in places that yearned for both, but maybe, just maybe, we might perfect our union in the process.

This is what I believed, but you made this belief real. You proved once more that people who love this country can change it. And as I prepare to assume the presidency, yours are the voices I will take with me every day I walk into that Oval Office — the voices of men and women who have different stories but hold common hopes; who ask only for what was promised us as Americans — that we might make of our lives what we will and see our children climb higher than we did.

It is this thread that binds us together in common effort; that runs through every memorial on this mall; that connects us to all those who struggled and sacrificed and stood here before.

It is how this nation has overcome the greatest differences and the longest odds — because there is no obstacle that can stand in the way of millions of voices calling for change.

That is the belief with which we began this campaign, and that is how we will overcome what ails us now.

There is no doubt that our road will be long. That our climb will be steep. But never forget that the true character of our nation is revealed not during times of comfort and ease, but by the right we do when the moment is hard. I ask you to help reveal that character once more, and together, we can carry forward as one nation, and one people, the legacy of our forefathers that we celebrate today.

Thank you, America. God bless you.

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From the AP:

Nationwide, more than 860,000 properties were actually repossessed by lenders, more than double the 2007 level, according to RealtyTrac, a foreclosure listing firm based in Irvine, Calif., which compiled the figures.

Moody’s Economy.com, a research firm, predicts the number of homes lost to foreclosure is likely to rise by another 18 percent this year before tapering off slightly through 2011.

I suppose the good news in the article is that it will be tapering off in the future, and decreasing this year from last year.
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From the AP:

Gov. Rod Blagojevich was impeached Friday by Illinois lawmakers furious that he turned state government into a “freak show,” setting the stage for an unprecedented trial in the state Senate that could get him thrown out of office. The 114-1 vote in the Illinois House came exactly a month after Blagojevich’s arrest on charges that included trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat. The debate took less than 90 minutes, and not a single legislator rose in defense of the governor, who was jogging in the snow in Chicago. -AP

Perhaps this guy has nothing else to lose, but I think that this is just ridiculous. What is he thinking, that he’ll get re-elected after a debacle like this?

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However, now there are too many homes on the market, and new home and commercial building has come to a crawl. Many undocumented workers are in construction so they are currently losing out.

I can’t find any recent numbers (since after the markets crashed in August) that distinguish between illegal and legal immigrants, but the numbers from April-June show that the unemployment rate for Latinos (both legal and non) was higher than it was for non-Latinos:

…the Hispanic jobless rate — immigrant and native-born alike — climbed to 6.5% in the first quarter of ’08 (non-Hispanics are at 4.7%). Compare that to late 2006, when Hispanic unemployment rates got closer than ever before to non-Hispanic rates, at 4.9% to 4.4%. Latinos have lost a lot of ground, particularly the immigrants among them. Their immigrant unemployment rate is 7.5% now; for those who have arrived since 2000, it’s 9.3%.The report doesn’t distinguish between illegal and legal immigrants, but it’s known that illegal workers are overrepresented in construction, the industry that has taken the the biggest lumps. Over 220,000 Hispanic immigrants lost construction jobs in the last year. -TIME; Jun 4, 2008

So, what does this mean for immigration? Well, it isn’t exactly headline news anymore and reports are showing that apprehension of illegals is decreasing; this may mean that there just aren’t as many to catch?

The retail chain has been in business for 99 years. Yesterday 200 of its stores closed and the remaining 600 are expected to close in the coming weeks.

In 1997, all the Woolworths stores in the United States closed its doors and the company is now only located in the United Kingdom.

Today I went to the local Wal-Mart to see how after Christmas sales were going and the store was packed. Not extremely crowded, but definitely more crowded than it should be with no (or few) students in town.

Will this jump in sales increase retail profits for the quarter? Probably. In some countries today is celebrated as “Boxing Day,” like our Black Friday in the United States. This will still be a very bleak shopping season compared to holidays in the (recent) past, but we will have to wait to see the damage.

“The Canadian plan will provide General Motors Canada with loans of up to 3 billion Canadian dollars ($2.47 billion) and Chrysler Canada will receive up to 1 billion Canadian dollars ($823 million). The companies will get the money in three installments, with the first portion coming Dec. 29.” – AP

Canada’s automotive industry makes up about 14% of its overall manufacturing output, so if either GM or Chrysler fall, the country would be very negatively affected, just like the U.S.

Ford, however, did not ask the Canadian government for money, just a line of credit in the future. It also didn’t take any of the current $17 billion loan offered by the United States government. They did say that they would be in trouble if either of the other two companies went under.

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I personally don’t think that the President should pass the bailout plan, if he could tell…the majority of Americans do not think that bailing out the automakers is the best way to spend $15 billion.

The $15 billion that is supposed to go to the auto companies is out of the funds we have allocated to the financial sector to keep their heads above water…not auto makers that are bound by their union workers and crappy automobiles.

Mr. Bush, if you pass this bailout for the United States auto makers, please make sure that they use the money wisely, not just to build F-150′s…