Economy Getting Better?

[CurlyDave]

More good news:

I was in Home Depot today, and one of the cashier's who recognizes me and even knows my phone number, told me that management had announced to employees that January sales were an all-time record.

 

[300UGUY]

One of the major problems with the welfare system is health insurance. I have worked with many that are fearful of getting off of the system, because they lose health care.

As a person with very high entrepreneur skills, it is beyond me why anybody doesn't just go out and make a job for themselves. If our country would create more education and incentives for beginning a business, I believe that our welfare system would change.
In spite of stated goals that we encourage people to start a business, the reality is far different. I have watched it get worse and worse over the years for the small business.

I used to own retail businesses back in the 90's but got out, because here is one problem- the mall rent has increased so dramatically that most of the profits end up in the mall hands, and if you look at the survivors of businesses in malls( look at the middle- this used to be small businesses) they are mostly filled with the large telephone companies.

Get rid of the barriers for small businesses, and you will make a dent in the welfare system.

One new strip mall here was asking $30 per sq ft on a triple net lease. Pretty darn hard to sell enough, at a high enough margin, to cover that. Our shop is at the edge of town in an old strip mall, but the rent is reasonable, and we can make a profit. We run a service biz, I don't know of any retail biz I'd take on. Retail for the big boys only now.

 

[simonds]

I hope the economy is getting better. It dosen't show much yet in my area. I have been in the new housing building business for 42 years and when it went dead a few years ago I switched over to all types of repair work. I'm having a tough time because the people in the area don't know me for this type of work. We didn't build to many homes in my local area. They were all off in a distance.
It also disturbs me very much that so many people have to go out of their way just to buy at H.D. We have a local hardware and lumber store right here. It has been a family owned business for many years. They are great people to deal with and if you need credit they are happy to work with you with no intrest charges. Actually I get a 5% discount even if i'm late paying my monthly bill. If you compare quality, "apples for apples", the local store's costs are the same or lower than the big box HD. I just don't understand why people will drive 20 miles past this store and 20 miles back when they could do better right here. Am I the only one who likes to give my money to a local family who is going to turn right around and spend it locally. Where does the money that you spend at HD. go?
If we would all spend money local, when possible, we all benifit.

 

[Transit]

They are brain washed into thinking they are getting a better deal.
Come to think of it, Newark is an Economic Zone and the sales tax is 3% as opposed to 5% in the state. So what has HD done with prices? Yep, they are higher in Newark.

 

[schoolsout]

The economy is not getting better...any appearance of it doing so is directly due to the Fed/.gov complex injecting money into the economy.

The stock market going up is a direct consequence. Things like POMO and QE (to infinity) are creating money (for ease, printed up money) and that is chasing anything other than % in a bank account/treasurys. The money is sloshing around and finding homes in hard assets such as commodities.

Also, the volume, on average, of the equities markets has been abysmal. Computers are trading with each other...

The FASB has caved to the banks allowing so-called "assets" to be marked to fantasy, meaning they can value them at whatever they want, not current values. The banks are broke, no matter the spin they feed you. That is the reason the gov keeps shoveling money into them (although they are doing this in an indirect manner to keep Joe6Pack from noticing).

If you really want the truth on economic matters, tune in to
zero hedge | on a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero
Welcome To Jim Sinclair's MineSet
https://market-ticker.org
Jesse's Café Américain

 

[newbury]

Different sectors are improving. I would expect hardware stores would be prime. You can put off fixing things only so long.

However the overbuilt real estate market, foreclosure rate, and mindset for "new" construction are still impacting the housing market greatly.

I'm in the hunt for a retirement home in NE Mississippi and prices are all over the place. Virtually identical houses on the same road with the same lot size etc. may be $50,000 apart. Some fine houses, appropriately priced have been sitting there for over a year.

It reminds me of that old debit card commercial where people are buying stuff and checking out at a rapid pace with debit cards and all of a sudden someone wants to pay CASH and the process almost stops.

I've another "personal data point". I've been teaching Army and National Guard troops all over the world for the last 20 some years. Two years ago and last year were the first years I taught troops that were either:
Mostly joined the Army JUST to get a job.
Mostly joined the Guard JUST to get deployed, and did not have a full time job.

Thankfully this year there are fewer of either.

Remember -
Smile, things could get worse.
I smiled, they did.

 

[tlbuser]

Some additional news on this front.

Home Depot said Tuesday that it will hire more than 60,000 seasonal workers in anticipation of a springtime rush for home improvement supplies.

Home Depot to hire 60,000 seasonal workers - Feb. 15, 2011

HD has just shy of 2,000 stores in the US and PR, so this works out to be an average of 30+ new workers per store.

I rarely visit HD, but my local store has been next to dead the last few times I have stopped by.

Steve

Unfortunately, there are fewer and fewer people that shop the mom and pop stores. They are overwhelmed with TV and magazine ads to go to the BIG box store where everything is available. Personally, I don't see the attraction. Self service everything, even when they take your money.

Seasonal workers/part time = zero committment on corp. end of the stick. Lower wages and no benefits = more profit. The big grocers in our area are employing the same tactics. Will the next common acronym be Quad income? two people with two part time jobs......Hmmm, maybe that's why I need universal healthcare.

 

[300UGUY]

I hope the economy is getting better. It dosen't show much yet in my area. I have been in the new housing building business for 42 years and when it went dead a few years ago I switched over to all types of repair work. I'm having a tough time because the people in the area don't know me for this type of work. We didn't build to many homes in my local area. They were all off in a distance.
It also disturbs me very much that so many people have to go out of their way just to buy at H.D. We have a local hardware and lumber store right here. It has been a family owned business for many years. They are great people to deal with and if you need credit they are happy to work with you with no intrest charges. Actually I get a 5% discount even if i'm late paying my monthly bill. If you compare quality, "apples for apples", the local store's costs are the same or lower than the big box HD. I just don't understand why people will drive 20 miles past this store and 20 miles back when they could do better right here. Am I the only one who likes to give my money to a local family who is going to turn right around and spend it locally. Where does the money that you spend at HD. go?
If we would all spend money local, when possible, we all benifit.[/QUOTE

I know in this area, the lumberyards and hardware stores were never competitive with the big box stores. When Lowes came into town in the 90's, they hired the staff away from the last lumberyard in town. In a county with 180,000 residents, there is not one lumberyard. 2 HD's and 1 Lowes. A Menards is coming this year. The hardware stores, most are selling cheap stuff, none appear to be doing too well. One problem has been that the small stores never paid much in wages and nothing in bennies. The big box stores at least offer some jobs above minimum wage, and some bennies.

 

[tcartwri]

If you want a solid inidicator that things are starting to improve in the US, this is it;

Canada reports $3 billion trade surplus

Since you guys are our number one customer, it follows that there is a definite need for raw materials and goods.

 

[BeeferMan]

It also disturbs me very much that so many people have to go out of their way just to buy at H.D. We have a local hardware and lumber store right here.

I agree, but at the same time I have to say that HD offers one large benefit that mom and pop have a hard time competing with - hours of operation. Example - my heating system sprung a nice leak a few weeks ago, by the time I got home, found the problem and identified the part I needed, it was 7:00 pm. Mom and pop, god bless 'em, were long since closed up and gone home. So my choice was, spend the night with no heat, take time off from work the next day to get the part and install it, or go to HD and be done with it that night. No brainer...

We got a local lumber yard here. For any planned project, they get my business. They are no more expensive than HD, and the difference in the quality of the lumber is amazing - HD stuff is junk. We got a local hardware store, I know the guys there, got a charge account there, my daughter worked there when she was in high school. I'm in there all the time when they're open. But neither of them can compete with the hours of operation of the big guys, so when I need something off hours - which is often - it's off to HD (or Pep Boys, or TSC, etc.) I go. That's modern day life for me...