Tech & Biz

Consumer Demand For Nearly Everything Plunging

by mtippett | December 23, 2008 at 03:12 pm

258 views | 14 Recommendations | 5 comments

Retail stores and exporters alike are in deep trouble as consumer demand for nearly everything is plunging.

Mike Shedlock shows how broad and deep the fall is. His lists of symptoms includes stories with the following ominous headlines:

Idle Cranes From Long Beach To Singapore

Unsold Autos Pile Up on Lots

Retailers Face Darwinian Fight as Losses Mount

Weakening in Demand For Temporary Help

Demand For Oil Drops

Chips Are Down At Fujitsu

Its a grim list. The question for us as we ponder the New Year is: what is the upside of the downturn? The list I'm compiling includes:

Less polution
Less environmental decay
More time off
New ideas

more to come...

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Uwe Paschen

at 15:33 on December 23rd, 2008

More to come in deed. Where there is life there is also Hope.

djermano

at 16:12 on December 23rd, 2008

The only way to restore confidence is when they nail Bush and Cheney for War Crimes, Bring the Troops Home, and reverse the 700 billion Bank Bailout. Right now Obama is looked as a coConspirator to the Bush regime. He even wants to add another 700 billion more of debt to American taxpayers. Facts are facts. http://wcco.com/national/treasury.financial.bailout.2.892306.html....

Rev.

dunkelberg

at 16:40 on December 23rd, 2008

I'm not too sure about environmental benefits.

I see more and more corners being cut and fewer and fewer people out there enforcing rules, law and general niceness. If it's a choice between being green and being solvent, many would not hesitate to chose whatever it takes to remain solvent. Am I condemning them? I have no idea what I would do in that case.

Plus, there will be less funds available to perform proper cleanups. Those who have polluted will simply walk away, and much of the changes of the past eight years may allow them to do so.