Comments (9)

• William Rader

• I think that this holiday season will sound the death knell for some of the big-name, long-standing department-store retailers. I would rather see them fade into history than face the ignominy of turning into a Wal-Mart or Target, like Sears has done.

• Published: November 20, 2008 11:17 AM

• Michael

• There's nothing unacceptable about living a frugal lifestyle. It used to carry a social stigma, but perhaps, no longer.

• Published: November 20, 2008 11:25 AM

• Pat

• I have this crazy thought: what if the governments were to pass a law that says you have to consume at a certain level...oh wait, don't we have something vaguely similar?

• Published: November 20, 2008 1:55 PM

• chris

• Abercrombie & Fitch are struggling, so maybee we shall get something good from this after all. heres hoping they go out of business.
  and no surprise wal mart got increase in sales, if you provide low prices and good service, people will come, especially during hard times, to your store, proving once again consumers know whats best, ie dumping a&f for wal-mart.

• Published: November 20, 2008 7:54 PM

• Bruce Koerber

• They don't call counterfeiting ungodly for nothing!

  November 20, 2008
  How Sane is Ben Bernanke?
  
  What a poor creature Bernanke is. If he has any remnants of a conscience left he is swelling with anxiety and is sleepless mostly. That indeed appears to be the case when you look at his depleted look and hear his mental disarray.

  His ambition to become the Fed Chairman has put him in a position where he knows that he needs to shut off his conscience to stay sane. But it is apparent that his dissociation with ethics has sprung a leak and anxieties are seeping into his psyche.

  He will either become more rigid and unethical or he will go mad!
  

• Published: November 20, 2008 9:43 PM

• Gian

• I am heartened that Von Mises is the only site that is not panicing though the coverage of the current crisis is rather lean--almost as if there were no crisis.

• Published: November 21, 2008 2:44 AM

• College Parasite

• Oh noez, consumer spending is declining! That hurts the economy! How long will it take for people to go on credit card rampages again?!

  This trend brings hope to a hopeless situation. If people save, in spite of what our experts in Wackonomics say, then it means that the advocates of having the economy pull itself off the ground aren't having it their way.

  Of course, there's also the very real possibility (in this case, probability) that the government will push us down the slope. But it's good to see that "normal" people haven't lost all of their common sense!

• Published: November 21, 2008 3:56 AM

• Brian Macker

• Gian,

  That's because they already covered the crisis before it began. Go back an look at all the criticism of Alan Greenspan. The crisis is an anti-climax to good economists.

  "I stuck my finger in my eye. I hurts." Yeah, that's big news.

• Published: November 21, 2008 7:25 AM

• Ron

• I received an email the other day that contained a list of companies that are (supposedly) selling gift cards that may not be honored after the holidays due to closings. Though many people will consider this a "crisis", bemoaning the fate of "all those jobs", I found it very encouraging that in some areas the correction is being allowed to occur.

  Here's the list, though it may be far from comprehensive:

  Circuit City (filed Chapter 11)
  Ann Taylor 117 stores nationwide closing
  Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug ,and Catherine's to close 150 stores nationwide
  Eddie Bauer to close stores 27 stores and more after January
  Cache will close all stores
  Talbots closing down specialty stores
  J. Jill closing all stores (owned by Talbots) Pacific Sunwear (also owned by Talbots)
  GAP closing 85 stores
  Footlocker closing 140 stores more to close after January
  Wickes Furniture closing down
  Levitz closing down remaining stores
  Bombay closing remaining stores
  Zales closing down 82 stores and 105 after January
  Whitehall closing all stores
  Piercing Pagoda closing all stores
  Disney closing 98 stores and will close more after January.
  Home Depot closing 15 stores 1 in NJ ( New Brunswick )
  Macys to close 9 stores after January
  Linens and Things closing all stores
  Movie Galley Closing all stores
  Pep Boys Closing 33 stores
  Sprint/Nextel closing 133 stores
  JC Penney closing a number of stores after January
  Ethan Allen closing down 12 stores.
  Wilson Leather closing down all stores
  Sharper Image closing down all stores
  K B Toys closing 356 stores
  Loews to close down some stores
  Dillard's to close some stores
  

• Published: November 21, 2008 8:43 AM