billddrummer

Stalling Out in July? Clear Signs of a Pullback in Consumer Spending

I agree with conceptwizard. Consumers are paying down debt and rebuilding their savings, which will take years.

After all, it took years to get overleveraged.

Technology Retailing: Best Buy and... Radio Shack?

The new BBY operating model may have produced your frustration with the sales staff. All stores are undergoing a transformation in staffing, with senior level sales staff and department management positions severely curtailed. Along with that, many sales staff people have been reassigned to departments they are unfamiliar with.

In the short run, the implementation will probably retard sales and earnings for the next 2 quarters. In the long run, I believe the disruptions will even out.

But I do agree with you that the lack of a viable national competitor may induce BBY to rest on its laurels--the absolute worst thing you can do in retail.

Competition is welcome. Where it comes from is anyone's guess.

Disclosure: Long BBY.

Top Online Customer Experience: Booksellers Take the Lead

What's unfortunate is that the only way to access the list is to pay $749 for the report.

I'm not going to do that.

Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday: Gen X and Y vs. the Baby Boomers

On Dec 01 10:17 AM Just a Hick wrote:

> Who is the silent generation?

The Silent Generation is generally considered the parents of generation x and baby boomers, born between 1925 and 1942. They were a small generation because of economic scarcity arising from the Great Depression, but fought in WW II. Contemporaries include Martin Luther King, all the presidents through Ronald Reagan, and the Beat poets, among others.

Transformation in Retail Shopping Gains Momentum

I agree with sun seeker. I think people reallocated spending in response to higher food and energy costs. They didn't spend less overall, just less on things other than food and energy.

Foreclosure Stimulus to Boost Tech's Four Horsemen

I like the way you put this. And you correctly pointed out that the foreclosure process frees up monies that would ordinarily be spent on mortgage payments for at least 6 months, if not more.

I'm personally familar with a case where the foreclosed homeowner was able to remain in the house through the 4 month default period, and an additional 9 months while the foreclosure process took place. Altogether, this homeowner lived rent-free for over a year. Multiply that by the number of borrowers, and you get a significant amount of revenue. Now, many people will continue to make payments on their installment obligations while letting the house go, figuring they'll rent at some point in the future. And those people could save enough for security and rent deposits relatively easily, since no mortgage payments are coming out of the monthly budget.

I've heard anectdotal evidence that former homeowners have trouble qualifying for rental properties if a foreclosure appears on their credit reports. But if I were a lessor, I'd consider the (typically) lower rent vs. homeowner expenses (not only the mortgage, but taxes, insurance, maintenance and fees) and could make a reasonable case for allowing foreclosed homeowners to rent from me. The monthly outlay for renters is far lower than for homeowners, all things being equal.

With a glut of properties for rent in this area, some landlords seem more willing to base a rental decision on a person's income rather than their credit.