Anecdotal economic field reports (Now Stickied)

[BrewTech]

A tremendous Going-Out-of-Business sale is underway at all 37 Dollar Store locations in Washington and Oregon.

Link to Article

Massive discounts at a "Dollar Store" chain....

Nothing says FKDUP like that.



EDIT: Changed long link to named link to prevent horizontal scrolling. -Gaillo

[Johnny Ringo]

A bunch of homes seemed to come up for sale at the same time. Funny thing, they're all moving - even ones that had been on the market for a long time. Why? Military. They're standing up a bunch of new units on the several bases in the area. A guy that works with my wife says one anomoly with the market here is the military officers. He claims to know several who don't even negotiate home prices when they buy - the just shrug and pay asking price.

Further evidence that any "green shoots" in my area are a result of having most people work for the only boss that can legally create his own money out of thin air: The dude across the street (mid-grade enlisted) had a party today. You didn't see any Kias or Hyundais up and down the street. Nothing but Tahoes, Suburbans, 4 x 4 crew cabs, BMWs - with nearly every American vehicle sporting a big V8 emblem. Looks like lots of discretionary income there - with job security to boot.

[JohnQPublic]

Walked into our Albertsons. They have a nice slesction of wine and liquor. Lot of Napa reds, etc. Almost all the good stuff 30% off. Maker's Mark 30% off. All the premium Bourbons, etc. 30% off. Even a lot of the cheaper stuff discounted 20%+. They are obviously not selling the stuff at this point.

[etc]

see a lot of cars on 'fire-sale'.

[Rebel Yarr]

Random observations..........

I went to a block party a few weekends ago. Working class neighborhood - a good chunk of the men were unemployed. Everyone seemed broke as f*ck. I even heard some doom and gloomers talking - they seemed new to the idea - so I didn't get all conversational on the topic. I heard a few conversations about mortgages and defaults and other housing related drama. Heard a convo about Peter Schiff, about buying guns and some attack upcoming on the 4th. The only folks who seemed devoid of some stress were a couple of "tax dollar funded" folks.

Lots and lots of out of state folks up here in WA. More out of state license plates than ever. I get the feeling that a lot of folks are worried for their job and you can see the stress all over.

I even saw a hooker under a bridge - in the suburbs. I saw a pretty fine ass chick holding a "we lost our house" cardboard sign - " damn she could stay at my place" kinda hot.

I'm trying to get rid of a couch - "brand new" leather couch - very nice. Not getting any bites at $450. wtf

I added some camping gear this week. I am going to check out some spots soon.

Crazy times out there - feeling like the edge.

[Gaillo]

I don't know how "economic" this field report is, but I'll post it anyway.

In my area, I've suddenly seen about twice the usual police presence in the last few weeks. Seems like every time I go to the nearest town to me, I see 2 or 3 police cruisers on the highway either pulling someone over, or speed-trapping on the way. I've seen a LOT of police in the parking lots of area stores in the evening, just sitting in their cars - my guess is they're waiting for DUI arrests when people leave the stores with beer. I saw a cruizer pull someone over near a gas station/mini mart - the main cop was giving the DUI test then the other cop got back in the cruizer and pulled over ANOTHER guy who was just pulling into the parking lot, while the other cop stayed at the first pullover site on foot!

My guess is that city budgets in my area are in trouble, and they're coming down on the police to generate more revenue. I don't EVER remember this much police presence in this area!

[GoldenPoet]

My next door neighbor popped over for a visit yesterday, and when we told him that we wondered if he had any baby chickens for sale, he said the whole neighborhood and beyond has been asking him if he has any chickens for sale... he said, "about 100 families have asked me."

It's thrilling that the people around me are wanting to produce some of their own food - eggs.
However,
can you imagine the sound...
100 roosters crowing at 5 am. OMG OMG
I hope they all by female chicks.
(Of course we have a male lol)

[chad]

my biggest client notified me on monday that they are done as of july 15th. been in business since 1952. 30 people. ceo told me "we have had literally almost zero orders since november."

[k-os]

My brother-in-law's business is going under. He is a good guy, a hard worker, and has lots of energy. It breaks my heart.

[BrewTech]

A bunch of homes seemed to come up for sale at the same time. Funny thing, they're all moving - even ones that had been on the market for a long time. Why? Military. They're standing up a bunch of new units on the several bases in the area. A guy that works with my wife says one anomoly with the market here is the military officers. He claims to know several who don't even negotiate home prices when they buy - the just shrug and pay asking price.

Further evidence that any "green shoots" in my area are a result of having most people work for the only boss that can legally create his own money out of thin air: The dude across the street (mid-grade enlisted) had a party today. You didn't see any Kias or Hyundais up and down the street. Nothing but Tahoes, Suburbans, 4 x 4 crew cabs, BMWs - with nearly every American vehicle sporting a big V8 emblem. Looks like lots of discretionary income there - with job security to boot.

Hmmm... do you live on my street? I think I have the same neighbor...