Monthly Archives: September 2012

IKEA surges forward with store openings despite global economic turmoil

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“Swedish furniture giant Ikea has robust finances despite the economic crisis and will more than double the pace of its new store openings.  ‘Thanks to our very strong finances, we have the possibility to invest the significant sums that are needed, even when times are tough in general,’ said Goeran Grosskopf, chairman of the Ingka Holding parent company that comprises all of the Ikea businesses.  ‘By 2020 we aim to have almost doubled Ikea’s size,’ he added.  Ikea plans to build 20 to 25 new stores per year by 2020 compared to the current rate of six to 10 per year.  That is also expected to create tens of thousands of jobs worldwide.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/09/18/ikea-surges-forward-with-store-openings-despite-global-economic-turmoil/

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The Inevitable Decline of Retail

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“Retail has long been a source of both low-skill entry-level jobs and well-paid careers. Yes, people love to browse and stroll down the mall or shopping district, and this social/novelty function will continue. But can retailers make money off of people browsing? If retail contracts, what does this do to skyhigh commercial property valuations?  The same can be asked of cubicle-farm office parks. As telecommuting and contract labor expand, the need for energy-wasting office parks and long commutes will also decline.  What all this calls into question is the entire financialization (debt-based)-consumerist model of ‘growth’ and employment.”

http://charleshughsmith.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-inevitable-decline-of-retail.html

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Rats fed lifetime of GM corn grow horrifying tumors, 70% of females die early

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“Eating genetically modified corn (GM corn) and consuming trace levels of Monsanto’s Roundup chemical fertilizer caused rats to develop horrifying tumors, widespread organ damage, and premature death. That’s the conclusion of a shocking new study that looked at the long-term effects of consuming Monsanto’s genetically modified corn.  The study, led by Gilles-Eric Seralini of the University of Caen, was the first ever study to examine the long-term (lifetime) effects of eating GMOs. No such studies were ever conducted before GM corn was approved for widespread use by the USDA and FDA.”

http://www.naturalnews.com/037249_GMO_study_cancer_tumors_organ_damage.html

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Lessons From the World’s Most Ruthless Competitor

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“Think of Rocket as a sort of Kinko’s for Web start-ups—that is, if Kinko’s were staffed by hyperaggressive German bankers and flush with hundreds of millions of dollars in investment capital from Russian oligarchs, Swedish billionaires, and Arab sovereign wealth funds. If you can think of a hot American start-up, odds are Samwer and his two brothers have cloned it somewhere around the world. They sold their group buying site, CityDeal, to Groupon for a stake that is now worth $700 million; their Zappos clone, Zalando, has 3,000 employees and revenue that is thought to be well in excess of $1 billion.”

http://www.inc.com/magazine/201206/max-chafkin/oliver-samwer-european-king-of-the-company-cloners.html

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Firms Flock to Foreclosure Auctions

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“The business of buying foreclosed homes, renovating and renting them out is morphing from a largely mom-and-pop business into the next big thing on Wall Street. Investors who once chased only big-ticket deals now are buying houses one at a time.  According to investment bank Jefferies & Co., major financial firms led by Colony, Blackstone Group Och-Ziff Capital Management and Oaktree Capital Group LLC have raised more than $8 billion to buy houses, largely in markets pummeled by the housing crisis.”

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443696604577644700448760254.html

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Paypal suspends domestic transactions in Argentina

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“Since [exchange controls] were introduced in November 2011, Paypal has been used as an alternative means of obtaining the US currency close to the official exchange rate, which currently stands at about 4.7 pesos per dollar.  In September the government established a new 15% tax on all purchases made abroad, affecting credit cards and purchases made on international websites like Amazon and eBay, and transactions made on Paypal.  Following local media coverage about complaints over constraints to the Paypal service, the company acknowledged that the blockades were imposed by local banks.”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19605499

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Gold Sale Banned in Argentina

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“The Argentine government has banned the saving in foreign currency some time ago. If you are authorized to buy foreign currency because you’re traveling abroad it will only be authorized right before the flight and only minimum amounts, a couple hundred bucks or so. Once your back, the government will check how much money you spent. Remember those debates about gold being a currency or not? Well, that debate is settled for the Argentine government: Yes, it is a currency. No, you cannot buy it unless you travel to a country that uses it. You may be wondering ‘But no country uses gold as currency….’ OK, so you can’t buy it then. Genius.”

http://ferfal.blogspot.com/2012/09/gold-sale-banned-in-argentina.html

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How A Manhattan Jeweler Wound Up With Gold Bars Filled With Tungsten

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“Eleven years ago, he opened his shop.  Recently, he said, a fellow merchant on 20th street drilled into a 10-oz. bar he’d been sold to check its quality — and learned it was salted with tungsten. He warned Fadl to do the same.  Here’s what Fadl found.   Ten ounce bars are thicker, making them harder to detect if counterfeited — the standard X-rays used by dealers don’t penetrate deep enough.  Plus, the bars had been sealed and numbered. So whoever did this must be running an extremely sophisticated operation, Fadl said.”

http://www.businessinsider.com/tungsten-filled-gold-bars-found-in-new-york-2012-9

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Fed’s latest stimulus may have little impact on mortgage borrowers

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“The Federal Reserve took aim at the nation’s wobbly housing market last week with its biggest stimulus action in two years, but that firepower is doing little to lower mortgage rates or make home loans more available for Americans.  Instead, banks are set to see a windfall since the Fed’s actions will immediately lower the cost of issuing loans. It may take months or longer for benefits to trickle down to consumers, analysts say.  Mortgage bankers are recording higher gains from home loans as the gap widens between the interest rate they charge consumers and the rate they must pay investors who finance the loans by buying mortgage securities.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/qe3-may-have-little-impact-on-mortgage-borrowers/2012/09/18/f6ee68f2-0116-11e2-9367-4e1bafb958db_print.html

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Housing recovery advances as resales hit two-year high

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http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20120919&t=2&i=654553233&w=460&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=CBRE88I114U00

“Home resales rose in August to their highest rate in more than two years and groundbreaking on new homes also climbed, signs that a budding housing market recovery is gaining traction.  That was well above economists’ expectations and the fastest rate since May 2010 when activity was being supported by a home-buyer tax credit.  The U.S. economy has grown at a lackluster pace this year and has struggled to create jobs, but the housing sector is a relative bright spot for the first time since the 2007-09 recession.”

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/19/us-usa-economy-housing-idUSBRE88I0OR20120919

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