WSJ pretty depressing today

[disneysteve]

I don't normally read the Wall Street Journal but we stopped at Starbucks earlier to kill some time and I was browsing through it. It was just one bad news story after another. This economy is really in the toilet and flushing fast. There was one article saying to expect a wave of retail bankruptcy filings now that the holidays are over. They listed numerous chains that are teetering on the edge and are likely to fail in the near future. Then there was an article about troubles at Chrysler explaining how dealerships around the country aren't ordering any new vehicles because their lots are already crammed full of cars that they can't sell. Chrysler keeps pressuring them to order more but the dealers aren't budging. The same article said that Toyota has shut down 11 plants for an extended period. Ford extended their shut down by another week and other companies are doing the same. Yet another article warned of 4th quarter earnings reports being dismal. I don't think there was one bit of good financial news in the whole paper.

[FrugalIII]

I noticed the same thing. I read the WSJ every day and each day seems to get worse. No good news at all. Makes me very happy to still have a job and that I am able to make ends meet. Although I have weathered a number of devastating financial times in my life so I consider myself to be a survivor. So far anyway....

[GREENBACK]

Although there's plenty of bad news to go around, I think the media starts to feed on things and makes it sound as bad as possible. Stores, plants, and banks sometimes have troubles in the best of times but unless it's someone really big you hardly hear about it. Now anyone not showing a quarterly profit is fair game. When this all begins to turn around they'll find something else on the bottom to feed on.

[disneysteve]

GREENBACK, I think that's true of the more sensationalistic media outlets. I don't think the WSJ falls into that category. They just report what is going on in the business world, good or bad, and currently it happens to be nearly all bad.

[sweeps]

Good things happen when pessimism is at a maximum.

[snafu]

Japan is considering reducing the value of the Yen because of dismal sales at Toyota. It is hoped by making the car less expensive more people will buy.

As long as the banks aren't lending for cars or mortgages or cash flow for business I can't imagine how the economy can take halting steps towards recovery. Does anyone know what they did with the bail-out $$$?

[PRICEPLUS]

If you keep your head while all those around you are losing theirs then there is the good possibility you can do well money wise!!!

[srblanco7]

I'm still believe that it will get worse before it gets better. We're in a bit of self-perpetuation mode at the moment (people pulling back on spending causes layoffs, which causes people to pull back more, which causes more layoff).

Though I did read an article that said that properties in some of the worst hit locations (Vegas for example) were starting to move because they were priced so low. Perhaps a first small step towards things stabilizing.

[disneysteve]

Good things happen when pessimism is at a maximum.

If you keep your head while all those around you are losing theirs then there is the good possibility you can do well money wise!!!

I agree. I've said before, the famous quote is that the time to make money in the market is when there is blood in the streets. (I think Warren Buffet said that but I'm not positive.)

I'm continuing to invest. Years from now, we'll look back on this as the greatest buying opportunity of our lifetimes.

[Goldy1]

My mom told me last night her condo she bought in Florida for a second home would fetch 90 grand and she paid 150 in 2006.
The newspapers constantly headline "so and so cutting x thousand employees".
It seems there are not enough jobs for the population.
Everyone wants to go into nusring or healthcare. Nursing programs turn down about 45 K people a year who are qualified b/c of lack of nursing teachers and clincial rotation spots.(an dI assume more now b/c this stat is old) So you can't go into nursing to get out of a different field unless you are lucky.

[Goldy1]

Maybe we are spoiled as a nation, but having a job to pay your bills and save for some extra fun doesn't seem so entitled to me!

[GREENBACK]

GREENBACK, I think that's true of the more sensationalistic media outlets. I don't think the WSJ falls into that category. They just report what is going on in the business world, good or bad, and currently it happens to be nearly all bad.

I agree wsj is better than others but the bandwagon effect seems to get all media outlets in a frenzy to spot any downturn first. Guess that's just how the buisness works. I know that not every single buisness is doing horrible but that's not what sells so it's usually told with the least emphasis.

[pearlieq]

They just report what is going on in the business world, good or bad, and currently it happens to be nearly all bad.

Eh--I don't know about all that. Since News Corp took over WSJ in 2007, I can't drum up a whole lot of trust and confidence in their journalistic ethics and integrity. This is the same classy company that gives us FOX News and the New York Post. Do you really trust Rupert Murdoch to give you news without an agenda?

Their job is to sell newspapers, and, as the old journalistic adage goes, "If it bleeds, it leads". They sell more papers fear-mongering.

[EEinNJ]

It does seem like there's very little good financial news. Even Buffett was quoted as saying America is facing an economic Pearl Harbor. But he says a lot of things- "Be Fearful when others are Greedy, and Greedy when others are Fearful", and one of my favorites, "When the tide goes out you find out who's been swimming naked".

[tripods68]

It does seems all the bad news are now coming out. Retail was abysmal during the holiday even though many thought shopping centers were busy. At it turned out, they weren't spending the same amount compared to previous year. This is going to be the "norm" for a while. I won't be surprise if lack of spending stretch to a few years and more big chain retails calls it quits.