Men’s retailer Jos. A. Bank warned that sales in the quarter plunged 11%. OK, it suffered from management foul-ups, goofy marketing, obnoxious ads, and – at least at the store I looked at – dusty shirts on the shelf. But it isn’t an outlier. It’s the latest entry on a laundry list of revenue-challenged retailers whose woes are spreading relentlessly across the US.
Consumer
This is What Mucks Up Housing, Costs Homeowners Dearly
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on This is What Mucks Up Housing, Costs Homeowners Dearly
Home prices have jumped around the country, in some cities over 20% on an annual basis. “Recovery of the housing market,” is what this phenomenon is called. Everyone from President Obama on down has taken credit for it, particularly the Fed, whose handiwork this is. But there is a very ugly fly in this illusory ointment.
The Exquisite Art Of Marketing To Pauperized Consumers
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on The Exquisite Art Of Marketing To Pauperized Consumers
People in the upper income categories, those who don’t have to worry about the price of toilet paper, have seen their incomes rise over the years. The rest are in a downward spiral: median household income, adjusted for inflation, has dropped 7.8% since 2000. The lower end got hit the hardest. For these folks, tissue makers have a special strategy: desheeting.
Lobbying And GMO Giant Monsanto Buckles In Europe
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Lobbying And GMO Giant Monsanto Buckles In Europe
The “March Against Monsanto” in 52 countries, an unapproved strain of its genetically modified wheat growing on its own in Oregon, cancelled wheat export orders…. A rough week for Monsanto. Now it threw in the towel in Europe where its deep pockets and mastery of lobbying had failed: “It’s counterproductive to fight against windmills,” it explained.
US Housing Bubble II: Euphoria And Other Shenanigans
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on US Housing Bubble II: Euphoria And Other Shenanigans
Class-Action Lawsuits Come to France
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Class-Action Lawsuits Come to France
In theory, a class-action lawsuit allows the little guy to stand up to a big corporation and seek redress. Alone, the little guy wouldn’t have the means. Justice comes down to money, and class-action lawsuits add leverage. In theory. It’s a world-famous American product, infested with flaws. And it’s about to be imported by … France!
Confident In The Security Of Skype And Other Encrypted Services?
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Confident In The Security Of Skype And Other Encrypted Services?
Internet companies know practically everything about their users. And servers never forget. Advertisers, ID thieves, insurance companies, and others are trying to get this data. But “law enforcement” around the world can simply bully its way to it. Now Microsoft confessed: even your data and conversations on its encrypted services that you thought were secure aren’t because, upon request, it gives the crypto keys to governments around the world.
At The Confluence of Free Money, Pent-Up Demand, And Reality
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on At The Confluence of Free Money, Pent-Up Demand, And Reality
New vehicle sales have staged a phenomenal recovery from the financial crisis, when buyers went on strike. Sales below the replacement rate create a vacuum that wants to be filled. Pent-up demand. When it kicked in, sales jumped by over 10% annually. Exuberance took over the bludgeoned industry. But late February, something happened to that vacuum.
Self-Medicating With Watered-Down Bourbon: An Insidious Inflation
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Self-Medicating With Watered-Down Bourbon: An Insidious Inflation
We’ve had an endless series of products whose ingredients have been cheapened in order to maintain the price. Consumers won’t be able to taste the difference, the theory goes. So, as the horse-meat lasagna scandal in Europe is spiraling beautifully out of control, we’re now getting hit where it hurts: Maker’s Mark is watering down its bourbon.
The New Reality Of ‘Economic Recovery’ For American Workers
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on The New Reality Of ‘Economic Recovery’ For American Workers
Despite optimism-mongering in the media, in certain quarters of Washington, and elsewhere, we’ve had indication after indication in the economic data that American workers have not benefited from whatever lousy progress has been made in nudging up GDP. But now we know from the horse’s mouth: they’re mired in a tough new reality that is getting worse.