Shhhhhh!!!!!! We are shutting down quietly
January 25, 2009
– Comments (3)
IBM has been quietly laying off workers in its North American offices since Wednesday, according to numerous reports online.
IBM has not made any formal announcements yet, but IBM Director of Corporate Media Relations Doug Shelton confirmed to CNET News on Saturday that some employees were notified on January 21 that their jobs were being cut. The company would not say how many people had been laid off or in what facilities or departments those cuts were made.
....
The layoffs come despite the fact that IBM gave Wall Street something to smile about, with a strong earnings report earlier this week. The company said Tuesday that it beat analysts' expectations with a 12 percent increase in fourth-quarter earnings, and gave a positive outlook for 2009.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10149661-92.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
Alstrynomics has notified you on numerous occasions that retail vacancies are now reaching epidemic contagion. It is my projection that at least half the enclosed shopping malls around the nation will be bankrupt in the next few years. We should be reading about many more like the following in the upcoming weeks and months:
Oklahoma City mall is at a crossroads
In foreclosure, anchorless shopping hub may go up for bids as soon as spring
Crossroads Mall is in foreclosure, and could be put up for bid as early as this spring.
The mall at Interstate 240 and Interstate 35, which lost its remaining two anchor stores this month, is being managed by Price Edwards & Co. while the bank forecloses on the property. Foreclosure will be complete in about 60 days and then the property can be put up for sale, said Jim Parrack, senior vice president for Price Edwards.
Economic conditions, which have forced many retailers into bankruptcy, may make it difficult to sell Crossroads Mall.
"With the economy the way it is, it will be more difficult to market than normal,” Parrack said. Ideally, the buyer would be someone who wants to keep the property as a mall and rejuvenate it, he said.
A new owner could change the purpose of the property after honoring the leases of remaining tenants. Louis Almaraz, a retail specialist with Grubb & Ellis-Levy Beffort, said it is unlikely the property will remain a retail mall.
"I think the future as a traditional mall — it’s going to be very challenging for them,” he said.
A government agency, a school or a medical organization all could potentially utilize the property, he said.
Rick Lahodny, owner of Bonnie’s Popcorn in the mall, said many of the mall’s current tenants have opted not to renew their leases, and instead are leasing month-to-month as they wait to see what happens.
http://www.newsok.com/oklahoma-city-mall-is-at-a-crossroads/article/3340103
Note: Please don't confuse my earlier post about the strength of the US Dollar versus the Alstrynomics perspective about the weakness of general economic conditions for US private businesses, individuals, and municipal governments.
RSS Headlines
Fool UK