Smith and Hawken Closing

Smith and Hawken closing is imminient. The company has said that they will close all of their 56 stores. The reason was explained by CEO Jim Hagedorn:

“The combination of a weak economy and the lack of scale proved too great to overcome,”

He added that this was the best option, given the current situation. It has been found out that the store has underperformed for the past five years, ultimately leading into this.

According to bizjournals:

Smith & Hawken parent, Scotts (NYSE:SMG), says storewide sales across the chain will begin immediately and be managed by a third-party firm.

Those were the news on Smith and Hawken closing.

Matt Taibbi Goldman Sachs Article

Rolling Stone magazine has published an article by Matt Taibbi called “The Great American Bubble Machine“.  This article talks in great detail about the role of Goldman Sachs in the current economic crisis we live in.

If you are being hat by the financial crisis, this is a MST read article, that will open your eyes to how the market really works, and how common folks like you and I, don’t count nothing in the big players’ games.

READ THE ARTICLE HERE

By the way, Goldman Sachs, has reacted to the article and released a statement saying that:

“We reject the assertion that we are inflators of bubbles and profiteers in busts, and we are painfully conscious of the importance in being a force for good.”

Matt Taibbi replied:

“Goldman has its alumni pushing its views from the pulpit of the U.S. Treasury, the NYSE, the World Bank, and numerous other important posts; it also has former players fronting major TV shows. They have the ear of the president if they want it.”

A big company reacting to simple article? This surely means something, and also keep in mind that just coincidentally, Sarah Palin surprisingly resigns, quickly diverting attention from the article that has quickly become popular on the Net.

Cash for Clunkers Details | Cash for Clunkers Rulers

Cash for Clunkers Details - Yesterday, the US Senate passed the cash for Clunkers Program aimed to stabilize the Us car market. Now people are getting more interested in the Cash for clunkers rules and details, as it has been found out that there are incentives of up to $4500 for the purchase of a new car.

Here are more details:

H.R. 2751 would establish a new $4 billion program for the Secretary of Transportation to provide vouchers to offset the purchase or lease of a new vehicle upon the trade-in of a less fuel-efficient used vehicle.  The program, known as the “Cash for Clunkers Temporary Vehicle Trade-in Program,” would be established within the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Voucher Program:  The bill would establish a program to issue electronic vouchers between $3,500 and $4,500 to offset the purchase of a new vehicle upon the trade-in of a vehicle with less fuel efficiency.  H.R. 2751 would require the Secretary to register dealers into the program and require all registered dealers to accept vouchers as a partial payment or down payment for the purchase of a qualifying automobile.  The dealer would also be required to transfer each eligible trade-in to an entity for disposal.  The Secretary would then make an electronic payment to the dealers.

Voucher Qualifications:  Under the legislation, vouchers would be issued at a value of $3,500 or $4,500, based on the fuel-efficiency of the new automobile as compared to the trade-in.

You can read the whole Cash for Clunkers details at GOP.gov.

Billionaire Meeting in New York

Billionaire meeting - Today we found some news that a secret billionaire meeting was held in New York earlier on this month.  According to the report, the purpose of this meeting was “to coordinate strategies for giving their vast fortunes to charity in the midst of the financial crisis”.

Among the attendees were many known names such as Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Michael Bloomberg, Ted Turner, David Rockefeller and George Soros.

All of them have donated a lot to charity, it is calculated that it could be a total of $70 billion!

Do you think this is the only issue they discussed?

Those were the news about the billionaire meeting.

GM Dealer Closing List

GM Dealer Closing List - Yesterday, we had news about Chrysler Dealerships closing.  Well, now it seems it is the turn of GM, a company that today announced they will be closing  1,100 dealers all across America!

The amount of GM dealerships closing accounts for 18% of the company’s American network. The reason for closing is that these dealerships are not performing as they should according to GM.  Of course, dealers are having tough times this week.

One dealer was quoted saying:

“The not knowing is what makes everybody nervous. You just don’t know where you stand,”

GM has also said that they plan on reducing the dealer count to 42% next year.  The full GM Dealer closing list is expected to be released to the press today.  We’ll keep you updated as we have more news.

Sickles High School Yearbook Photo

Sickles High School Yearbook Photo - Scandal over at Sickles High School! What it was supposed to be just another yearbook turned out to be the greatest shame f her life for a 16 year old girl, who appeared on one photo showing her private parts accidentally.

High school authorities wanted her to play down the incident and laugh it off, but the girl was too angry to just let this pass and decided to expose the incident on the press. The girl had to admit in front of cameras that she didn’t wear underwear that day.

Her mother wants Sickles High School to recall the yearbooks to have them reprinted.

But, who was the editor in charge of reviewing the photos? Shouldn’t this have been spotted by the designers at least who were working on the photos?  I’ve worked as a designer and know that you can tell those details.

Those were the news about the Sickles High School Yearbook photo.

Chrysler Dealerships Closing

Chrysler Dealerships Closing - After battling to make it through these hard times, Chrysler is making the news today as they have announced they will close a quarter of their American dealerships. Today they have released a full list of all the closings across the country.

According to FOX:

Dealers will be able to appeal the decisions that are likely to cause devastating affects in communities across the country as thousands of jobs are lost.

You can check out the full list of Chrysler dealerships closing here.

In actual numbers, this will translate in eliminating 789 of the 3,200 current U.S. dealerships.  According to Chrysler they will eliminate the dealerships with lowest sales because there too much of them competing with each other.

Those were the latest updates on the Chrysler Dealerships Closing.

Freddie Mac CFO Suicide

Freddie Mac chief financial officer has been found dead today’s morning after an apparent act of suicide. His name was David Kellermann and was just 41 years old.

According to police spokesman Eddy Azcarate, they were called at approximately 5 a.m. from someone inside his house on Fairfax County. Police found the body of Freddie Mac officer on the basement, but details of the scene haven’t been made public.

David Kellermann had been chief financial officer (CFO) since last September. The mortgage giant had been in trouble since the economy crash in the USA.

General Growth Properties Bankruptcy

General Growth Properties, a big name in the field of mall operators has filed for bankruptcy today. This is one of the biggest real estate falls in USA.

General growth properties bankruptcy comes after having over $25 billion in debt, and the final blown was given due to the economic recession USA is facing. It caused that many of retailers started leaving the business and shutting down

According to the NY Times:

General Growth’s bankruptcy filing also marks a humbling of the Bucksbaum family, which grew the company from a family grocery business in Marshalltown, Iowa, into a powerhouse of retail shopping in the Midwest. The family still holds about a 25 percent stake in the company, and John Bucksbaum, an avid cyclist, remains its chairman after having served as its chief executive.

Red Plum Coupons and Smart Source Coupons

Red Plum Coupons and Smart Source Coupons - Today two free coupon companies, Red Plum and Smart Source appeared on television.  These companies are becoming quickly popular adding to them other ones such as Valpak.com or Coupons.com.

These companies offer different kind of coupons.  The traditional ones are the ones that are physical - either sent to you or printed by you.  Other type of coupons are codes that you enter when you want to check out on an online purchase. Amazon for example also offer these codes as gifts.

Red Plum Coupons can be found at Redplum.com

Smart Source coupons can be found at Smart Source.com

Red Plum offers some more info about their service online:

Redplum.com is a single destination for you to find special offers, great deals, valuable product information and coupons for products and services that are local and relevant to you. We search for the best offers, deals and products to feature in one place, so that you can easily enjoy the savings, splurge on the fun things and spend more time doing the things that matter.

Those were the news on Red Plum coupons and Smart Source Coupons.

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Jake DeSantis AIG Resignation Letter

Jake DeSantis AIG Resignation Letter – The New York Times on yesterday’s edition published the resignation letter from Jake DeSantis who was the vice-president of AIG’s (American International Group) financial products unit. Check out the Jake DeSantis AIG Resignation Letter :

“Dear Mr. Liddy,

It is with deep regret that I submit my notice of resignation from A.I.G. Financial Products. I hope you take the time to read this entire letter. Before describing the details of my decision, I want to offer some context:

I am proud of everything I have done for the commodity and equity divisions of A.I.G.-F.P. I was in no way involved in — or responsible for — the credit default swap transactions that have hamstrung A.I.G. Nor were more than a handful of the 400 current employees of A.I.G.-F.P. Most of those responsible have left the company and have conspicuously escaped the public outrage.

After 12 months of hard work dismantling the company — during which A.I.G. reassured us many times we would be rewarded in March 2009 — we in the financial products unit have been betrayed by A.I.G. and are being unfairly persecuted by elected officials. In response to this, I will now leave the company and donate my entire post-tax retention payment to those suffering from the global economic downturn. My intent is to keep none of the money myself.

I take this action after 11 years of dedicated, honorable service to A.I.G. I can no longer effectively perform my duties in this dysfunctional environment, nor am I being paid to do so. Like you, I was asked to work for an annual salary of $1, and I agreed out of a sense of duty to the company and to the public officials who have come to its aid. Having now been let down by both, I can no longer justify spending 10, 12, 14 hours a day away from my family for the benefit of those who have let me down. …

The profitability of the businesses with which I was associated clearly supported my compensation. I never received any pay resulting from the credit default swaps that are now losing so much money. I did, however, like many others here, lose a significant portion of my life savings in the form of deferred compensation invested in the capital of A.I.G.-F.P. because of those losses. In this way I have personally suffered from this controversial activity — directly as well as indirectly with the rest of the taxpayers. …

But you also are aware that most of the employees of your financial products unit had nothing to do with the large losses. And I am disappointed and frustrated over your lack of support for us. I and many others in the unit feel betrayed that you failed to stand up for us in the face of untrue and unfair accusations from certain members of Congress last Wednesday and from the press over our retention payments, and that you didn’t defend us against the baseless and reckless comments made by the attorneys general of New York and Connecticut. …

I have decided to donate 100 percent of the effective after-tax proceeds of my retention payment directly to organizations that are helping people who are suffering from the global downturn. This is not a tax-deduction gimmick; I simply believe that I at least deserve to dictate how my earnings are spent, and do not want to see them disappear back into the obscurity of A.I.G.’s or the federal government’s budget. Our earnings have caused such a distraction for so many from the more pressing issues our country faces, and I would like to see my share of it benefit those truly in need.

On March 16 I received a payment from A.I.G. amounting to $742,006.40, after taxes. In light of the uncertainty over the ultimate taxation and legal status of this payment, the actual amount I donate may be less — in fact, it may end up being far less if the recent House bill raising the tax on the retention payments to 90 percent stands. Once all the money is donated, you will immediately receive a list of all recipients. …

This choice is right for me. I wish others at A.I.G.-F.P. luck finding peace with their difficult decision, and only hope their judgment is not clouded by fear. …
Sincerely,

Jake DeSantis”

What a joke! These type of men want to get al the money they can, and when someone catches them, they act so humble like the purest souls on Earth. Now Liddy defends the bonuses and want employers to return the money to do the “right thing”. The right thing once you are caught I presume.

Those were the news on Jake DeSantis AIG Resignation Letter.

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Another Fed Rate Cut Seeks Economy Reactivation

Today, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by three quarters of a percentage point. This was a move made to reactivate the US economy, which is right now in a critical point.

This was a less aggressive fed rate cut than what most investors were hoping for. The move has moved the dollar higher against other currencies. According to CNN Money:

The 15-nation euro traded at $1.5715, down from $1.5731 late Monday. But prior to the Fed’s decision to cut interest rates, the euro was trading $1.5792.

The dollar also moved higher against the British pound but eased further against the yen.

The greenback has moved sharply lower in recent weeks against a number of foreign currencies on expectations that the Fed will keep cutting interest rates to keep the U.S. economy from entering a recession.

“I don’t think this [cut] changes the outlook for significantly lower rates from here,” said Shaun Osborne, chief currency strategist in Toronto at TD Securities Inc. “Any rebound we might get in the dollar is going to be pretty limited.”

Let’s hope these measures really help the country. America is living hard economic times, and it shouldn’t be like that. Those were the news on the Fed Rate Cut on March 2008.

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