Soon You Fools Will Learn...Just the Facts
April 09, 2009
– Comments (2)
During a decade of easy credit and loose spending, American businesses built too many cars, houses, stores and factories. It turns out the country built too many restaurants, too....
A few chains have boarded up already. Many others are going into survival mode, trying to renegotiate their loans, cutting staff, offering bargains to customers and closing less profitable restaurants. Analysts predict thousands more restaurants could close in the next year or two.
Since 1990, the number of restaurants and bars has grown to 537,000 from 361,000, a 49 percent increase, according to the National Restaurant Association. Population in the United States grew 23 percent in that period.
Amid the seeming prosperity of a credit-fueled era, people got in the habit of eating more and more of their meals out.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/business/04restaurant.html?_r=2&pagewanted=2
Infecting consumers and chains with toxic debt drove restaurant growth to unsustainable levels. Tens of thousands of new buildings were erected and prices went nuts because anyone and their mother could get a loan. Consumers spending money the banks never had supported the Ponzi like scheme. Now just like Madoff, the banks are telling you they can't lend money in the same gunslinger fashion they did before. Everyday fewer and fewer consumers can spend and tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of restaurants and retailers will likely close over the next couple years. We could see millions of job losses just from retailers and restaurants alone.
Nordstrom March same-store sales down 13.5%
Saks Inc. March same-store sales down 23.6%
Kohl's same-store sales down 4.3%
Target March same-store sales down 6.3%
Gap Inc. same-store sales fall 8% in March
BJ's same-store sales in March worse than seen
Abercrombie & Fitch March same-store sales down 34%
Wal-Mart same-store sales miss target
American Eagle March same-store sales down 16%
Dillard's March same-store sales down 19%
Limited Brands March same-store sales down 9%
Stage Stores March comparable sales drop 15%
Costco same-store sales fall 5%
AND NOW BoA is GOING TO RAISE INTEREST RATES ON CREDIT CARDS AS TAXPAYERS ARE FLOODING IT WITH FREE MONEY??????
That sure sounds stimulating to Alstry........just watch how many restaurants, retailers, and commercial real estate owners go bankrupt in the next year. As those business close down....you should expect millions of job losses and revenues to state and local governments to evaporate.
Moody’s Investors Service assigned a negative outlook to the creditworthiness of all local governments in the United States, the agency said Tuesday, the first time it had ever issued such a blanket report on municipalities.
The report signaled how severely the economic downturn was affecting towns, counties and school districts across the nation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/08/business/economy/08muni.html?_r=2
Consumers, Businesses, and Municipalities owe Tens of Trillions of Dollars. Now Interest Rates are skyrocketing as revenues and incomes are evaporating.....soon you too will learn that there is not enough money with consumers, businesses and municipalities to pay back the debt as the banks extort billions of free money from taxpayers.
Until we restructure debt...........be careful with your bet.
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