Woolworths was a wonderful store that was very popular here in the US at one time. I don't know if there are any still open here. Didn't they start the "five and dime" concept??

I do TIS. My accounts receivable are WAY down...nobody can pay, and nobody can get credit. Home values here are in the tank and local vendors with whom I have dealt for more than a decade are now asking me if can pay cash instead of being on a 30 day charge cycle.

I think they did, Babe. Remember when Cross County had TWO Woolworths? The one closer to Gimbels had the lunch counter.

Woolworth closed US operations eleven years ago. They still operate overseas, but the UK stores are in big trouble.

The 5 & 10 Cent store pretty much gave way to shopping makks starting in the late 50's. Woolworth's and Kress are the two I remember, and you actuly could go in there and get stuff for a nickel or a dime. Most of them, as I recal also had lunch counters (I believe one of the first sit ins in the civil rights movement was at a Woolworth's counter in North Carolina).

Basically as Main Streets in small towns disappeared so did the five and dimes.

At least OC will survive!

Because that's a good thing?

Not to mention the other recession proof industry

And here I thought the initials stood for Orange County!

Actually, it stands for oxygen compromised, which is what they told Lompac's parents when he was born.

I was making a valid point.

I was oxygen compromised, and premature. Thanks for stating what we already knew. You've done society a real favour!

I say invest in cheese, and/or, cheese related products. Why? When's the last time you used cheese?

Exactly.

Ferro

Indeed they are TB

Still no buyer in sight either.

2 or 3 of my wife's friends work there also.

Sad times!

Former Nasdaq chair charged with fraud
Dec. 12: Bernard Madoff, a longtime fixture on Wall Street, was arrested and charged with allegedly running a $50 billion Ponzi scheme.

NBC's David Faber reports that financial funds, wealthy investors and charities are among the investors who were duped by Bernard Madoff's massive Ponzi scam.

Deborah Coltin learned yesterday morning that the $8 million foundation she has led for a decade, which supported a wide range of Jewish programs on the north shore of Massachusetts, did not actually exist.

The foundation had invested its endowment with Bernard L. Madoff, a storied name on Wall Street. Every year, Madoff paid out several hundred thousand dollars to the foundation. But on Thursday, Madoff was charged with securities fraud after confessing to his sons that his business was a Ponzi scheme, according to a complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The returns paid to investors came from money invested by other people. And there was almost nothing left.

It may be the largest fraud in the history of Wall Street, authorities said. Madoff is charged with stealing as much as $50 billion, in part to cover a pattern of massive losses, even as he cultivated a reputation as a financial mastermind and prominent philanthropist.

Two points:

This happened in America.

Its connected to the stock market.

You made two STATEMENTS. What is your point?

I had a great plan to invest in Swiss cheese. Then I realized it had too many holes in it.

(both the plan and the cheese)

My point is that I am in neither!!

Whos cutting back on the spending?

We've had our own budget crisis here in California too. Now, eveidently, our Governor is asking State employees to take two days off a month without pay.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday ordered a state hiring freeze and payroll cuts to conserve cash as California struggles to deal with a $42 billion budget deficit.

The governor issued an executive order that requires state agencies to reduce payroll by 10 percent, which could lead to massive layoffs. He also ordered the state's 235,000 employees to take two days off a month without pay, starting Feb. 1.

Schwarzenegger also issued an executive order calling lawmakers back into session to deal with the budget for the third time in two months. On Thursday he announced he would veto an $18 billion Democratic deficit-cutting package that he said didn't do enough to address the financial crisis.

In a letter to state workers, Schwarzenegger said California must take emergency steps that will require sacrifices from everyone.

"It is imperative that state government look inside itself and be part of the solution," the governor wrote. "We simply have no other choice."

Union officials said they were considering filing a lawsuit to prevent job losses.

"We definitely think we have grounds for filing an unfair labor charge," said Jim Herron Zamora, a spokesman for the Service Employees International Union, Local 1000, the largest state employee union. "Our contract doesn't allow him to do this."

Running out of money
Officials warn that the state will run out of cash in February unless Schwarzenegger and lawmakers can reach a deal to close the budget gap with spending cuts, revenue increases or a combination of both.

Schwarzenegger ordered all state employees to take two days off a month without pay or take a similar salary cut to achieve $1.3 billion in savings through the next fiscal year.

On top of that, the governor directed agencies that get their money from the state's largest budget account, the general fund, to achieve a 10 percent payroll savings. Officials said that could lead to an undetermined number of layoffs.

Department of Personnel Administration spokeswoman Lynelle Jolley said any workers who lose their jobs as a result of the order could seek employment at other state departments that use special state funds.

"We're hoping we can do this with the least number of layoffs possible but the goal is to address this imminent cash crisis," Jolley said.

Lawmakers adjourned for the holidays Thursday after Democrats pushed through a package of spending cuts and tax increases using a creative maneuver to bypass Republican opposition.

Schwarzenegger's decision to veto the package left Democratic leaders scrambling to save their plan. They argued that it met some of his demands for speeding up public works projects and selling surplus state property.

Looking for a deal
Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles, said it was "mind-boggling" that the governor would throw away a package that begins tackling the state's fiscal problems because it didn't contain exactly what he wanted.

"It's like a child telling Santa if you don't bring every single item on the list, then stay out of my chimney," Bass said. "I am hoping that the governor over these next few days will really reconsider saying he will veto the budget."

Bass and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, said they would remain at the Capitol to negotiate with the governor or his staff, but would not call the other 118 lawmakers back until a deal could be reached.

Under the governor's special session declaration, lawmakers have 45 days to send the governor bills that address the budget crisis. If they fail to do so, the Legislature may not act on other bills.

The governor had sought what he said was assistance for homeowners facing foreclosure, broad authority to relax environmental regulation on public works projects and more toll roads. Democrats allowed only partial waivers for a limited number of road projects and for certain state properties up for sale.

Additionally, Schwarzenegger requested deeper cuts than Democrats were willing to offer, such as reductions in welfare and senior assistance programs, greater flexibility to reduce school spending, and the elimination of two of 14 state employee holidays.

Environmental advocates also questioned why the governor would toss aside the only deficit-cutting legislation to reach his desk since he declared a fiscal emergency on Nov. 5. Paul Mason, deputy director of the Sierra Club in California, suggested that by demanding environmental exemptions, the governor was betraying his public image as a crusader against global warming.

TIS



California Economy

Is the whole world going down the toilet?

Mind you i was Christmas shopping today and i have never,ever seen the shops so busy. It was like they are giving the stuff away!

And guess what. When things are back to normal, the whole financial mess will start again. Buying things so cheap means that when prices stabilise no one will go to the shops because they all have what is on sale.

No, it really doesn't. You really don't think anything through and I've never heard anything so silly in my life. Think how many stores sell perishable goods, or goods where technology advances render previous 'new' stuff as outdated within months. What about businesses in the travel or fashion industry, or even entertainment industry. Providing the right economic forces (enough disposable income, healthy inflation rate - the componants of a growing economy) are in place, people will still buy. There will never be a situation where everybody has everything (because they bought it on sale) and so they wont buy anything again.

Sorry mate, but us Brits have a different attitude then the states that you live in.

You replied to a fellow Brit.

I was going to buy a sweater today for Mr. Babe for Christmas, but I gave him one six Christmases ago, so I think he's still good.

1) In no way did I raise anything to do with attitudes.

2) Economic rules may have differences between countries but the points I've made I'd apply to 99% or Western societies.

3) I'm as British as a Yorkshire Pudding and a weekend of binge drinking. I've never been to the States, though I'd like to.

It's better to keep quiet and let everyone think you're stupid, rather than to speak and let everyone know you are.

I guess it was one of those sale items.