The U.S. economy seems to be improving, even though the Obama administration is pushing up energy prices by making coal fired power plants unprofitable. The huge supplies of natural gas and cheap petroleum brought about by the fracking revolution in the U.S. and OPEC’s response of pumping more crude to drive the fracking operations out of business because of oversupply seem to have mitigated the expected increases in energy costs for the moment. But that does not mean that the economy is healthy, and the indications coming from China suggest that we could be in for another world-wide disruption that could be even worse than the great recession of 2009.
The US economy has only been supported by the vast money printing, known as quantitative easing, and the suppression of interest rates. The feds raised rates last month after nearly a decade and will be forced to suppress them again. We have and enormous, completely unrepayable debt that cannot tolerate a rise in rates. We will see another crash this year of historic proportions and it will be followed by a lowering of rates, if it doesn’t happen beforehand, and another squashing of rates.
Wal-mart just announced that they will be cutting 269 stores from their roster, beginning February 1st. Add this to the 6,000 other retail stores closures. The retail apocolypse continues.
Wal-Mart reports that it will try to place those workers into stores in the surrounding areas, though that will not be feasible for all. This is the first mass closing of stores for Wal-Mart in over two decades, and analysts are trying to determine if this is simply a strategic re-positioning, or an indication of other problems.
More on Wal-Mart strategy, page 2
I would rather buy from mom& pop anyway .
Don’t care
Thats what will happen in lots of companys being forced into paying higher wages !!!!
Dollar General is putting a store in every little town and out in the middle of nowhere I think that is the best thing to happen I have one 4 blocks from my house I don’t have to drive scross town
Will they be taken over by the gap for me?
I thought Obama said our economy was never better?..did he lie?
Close em all…c**p mart sucks anyway..choke out small bussiness to bring in garbage made in china..
I’m sure Obama will bail them out.
A lot of the stores are in bad area’s. Probably too much theft and only busy around the first of the month. Building a brand new superstore down the road from me.
Walmart is trash anyway, they treat they’re employees like c**p and try everything imaginable to pay them as little as possible.