The Changing Phase in Shopping Centers

Here in Greensboro our main two shopping areas are Friendly Shopping Center and Four Seasons Town Centre. Over the past few years one has been hit hard with economic times and one has been steadily increasing. Our mall is on a downward slope into non-existence. There have been several different owners and managers which could have helped in the unstable business handling. I remember when going to mall was all I would do on a Saturday. Now with an increase in crime and decrease in stores at the mall it has seen a significant drop in sales. More and more stores are leaving the mall and going to outdoor shopping centers in our case like Friendly Shopping Center. More "living centers" as they are called are being built in all major cities. These centers include shopping, dining as well as living. They are convenient for one store shopping and a great place to go on a beautiful day or night for a stroll. If this switch in shopping is happening in little ol' Greensboro you can imagine that it is happening in other larger cities.

Just today the second largest mall corporation company filed for bankruptcy. This should be a wake up call for retailers. With many stores not being able to pay mall rent because of decline in their business they were forced out of the malls, which left big gaps in some peoples shopping. Who wants to go to a beautiful mall where at almost every other store front you see a gate pulled down? It's not appealing shopping. This has forced those shoppers to relocate to other centers. General Growth company has been back and forth trying to get out of debt but with more stores leaving and less shopping it has finally become an unrealistic task to get out of debt. Over 1500 malls in the US still remain, however they are now forced to look at what to do to bring in business? With spring and summer soon approaching more and more people spend their time dining and shopping outside. 

With more and more retailers going out of business it is truly a wake up call and realization for where our economy is at now. And if this continues I feel that we will see more malls going under because they can not withstand the economic times. With living centers being the most popular thing, more malls are looking at renovating to save themselves. Malls such as Southpoint in Durham have an outdoor appeal indoors, with nice restaurants that border the mall and some shopping outside you get the best of both worlds! 

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/16/general-growth-properties-files-for-bankruptcy/?hp

Are we Letting OUr Food Safety Go?

Now more and more often we hear on the news and radio about disease caused from food. Why is this? The policies and procedures that are required by the FDA just aren't enough anymore and more and more food born disease are affecting Americans and many others. We are throwing our money away by not properly inspecting food, With the huge peanut butter outbreak million of products were recalled and returned to stores and vendors. After that cleared up now pistachios are being recalled. Most of the problem are coming from where the foods are being grown, health is not closely monitored, production is done way too quickly forgetting about one of the most important parts of it. During the production line companies are trying to produce too much at one time, which leaves thousands of food particles open in the air and susceptible to contamination. If we continue to let our food suffer and poison our bodies, what will be next?

Peanut butter, meat, pistachios, baby food, cleaning products, etc. The list keeps getting longer and longer, where do we draw the line for safety and inspection? In addition to all the food recalls the amount of baby products that have been recalled in the recent years is astounding. From cribs to toys i feel like someone is not doing their job to thoroughly inspect the products that we are turning around and resales. Once there is a recall on a product, depending upon the size of it can completely destroy and company.

Over 76 million citizens suffer from food borne illnesses every year and with that amount nearly 5,000 die from it because it goes unnoticeable or is untreatable. Many people can help themselves by being cautious. Make sure you wash your hands thoroughly before eating or handling food. When cooking with eggs, meat, etc make sure you wash your area very well with a disinfectant and try not to use the same sponge or cloth to clean with that you use to wash your dishes. IN addition if we all take notice of our food it would help alot also. Don't eat anything that has been previously opened or doesn't have a seal, and check the color and smell of a product in addition to the expiration date. There are a hand full of things that we can do to protect ourselves, however I feel that more should be done with the FDA and Agriculture department to inspect foods before allowing them to reach the shelves.

New CEO for News Corp

At announced today there will be a new man in charge at News Corp. It is the former executive CEO of AOL. How will this benefit the company and how impressive was his resume for getting the job? Mr. Miller the former CEO of AOL has done many things will his techno career. First off I remember how booming AOL used to be. Everyone had to have instant messenger set up and it was just as addicting as Facebook and Myspace are now. Mr. Miller will be in charge of Myspace, Photobucket, and other joint-ventures with NBC Universal. His name will once again shine. Myspace has recently been in a downward fall since the boom of Facebook and Twitter. Myspace started to get too much scandal from creepy people stalking younger members of the website and then when Facebook opened up to accept anyone even if they were not associated with a school their members sored will Myspace fell off. Then comes Twitter which a lot of people haven't caught onto yet but it is the very same as status updates on either website. This allows you to keep to up with celebrities and other people who you may not be able to as easily with other providers.

Mr. Miller has a lot to handle coming into his position but with experience with MTV and Nickalodeon he should have no problems completely the task at hand. I am interested and excited to see what he may bring to the company and MySpace. I know for myself i never check my account anymore, I'm only on facebook because I got too burnt out on Myspace. Maybe Mr. Miller can bring back other people like myself who have wondered to other providers. However this may be a challenge for him as well seeing as how AOL has fallen dramatically with the increase in other providers. I remember only having an AOL account, and the annoying dial up that you had to wait for in order to get on the Internet. Now yahoo and google has skyrocketed with their email accounts and offerings. I am wondering if Myspace and other joint companies will have issues or decline with Mr. Miller in charge now. They need to come up with innovative ideas to keep up the times.

Housing market is back in Business!

Recently many of Americans have been forced out of their homes due to foreclosures with record numbers in job losses and a downfall in the economy. Finally we are starting to see some relief and encouragement that better times are coming. In February there was a 5% increase in established home sales. Why you may ask? People are jumping on the low, low prices that are being offered to buyers. Many houses have cut their profits just to get out from under their payments, or they have decided to downsize. Many people are being foreclosed houses and with the little that they invest in them they have more money to spend on fixing them up how they want it, which will also create higher revenue for stores such as PotteryBarn, Pier 1 and Home Depot who have all also been affective buy the economy. Many banks are slowly getting out of the mess that they were in which is allowing people to be able to receive loans. However the loans are a lot harder to receive now, so you need to be completely qualified to receive one. Banks are making sure that the people they are letting loan out money is good for so that they can prevent future foreclosed houses and losses for the bank. With President Obama's help with refinancing rates and loans for home buyers it has also helped people save on their payments.
Overall with lower rates and extra incentives for buying people now spend their days driving around new areas or looking online for a future home. The bracket that has seen the most increase was the houses that are priced under $200,000 however the greatest saving are sometimes the larger houses that the owners can't afford anymore and they are taking a big cut on the overall price. Also there is a $8000 tax deduction for new home buyer which is incentive enough for going to purchase a new house if you were planning to do so soon. The deduction is similar to the one previously offered however this deduction does not have to be paid back while the other does over a 15 year period of time. With the housing market on a rise hopefully the economy will receive a domino effect and allow the spending to contribute to other markets such as restaurants, shopping, etc which will pull the economy back up. Now is the time to buy with very low rates and lower prices on houses, it is truly a buyers market... but maybe not for long!


http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/24/business/24econ.html?hp

Has the Economy Hit Rock Bottom?

With almost every headline on the news being about the housing market and the stock market are low in addition to the millions of jobs that are being lost everyday people begin to wonder have we hit the bottom yet? In that past few weeks we have noticed an increase in the stock market and several banks and establishment not needing extra bail out money, but is that enough? How do we know or is there a way to know when our economy is at its worst times. Many people agree there is no way to know for sure. It is a combination of things and i feel that the way our economy is it could be worse. Like during the great depression people were rationed food and supplies. We are so use to having everything and having it all at our fingertips that when it doesn't happen that way we can't stand it. No we may not be able to lead a luxury lifestyle but we still have family and basic necessities, people need to get back to the basics.
I think that a lot of consumer shock is based from the news. Every night there are stories about people loosing their jobs, the crisis we are in, and how bad things are. Yes we want to know what is going on but i think it scares people more than informs them. When they keep hearing that our economy is so bad they cling on to what they have and don't go out and spend which creates a recession. The housing market is slowly starting to come back up as people realize that it is a great time to buy buy rates are super low. However it is harder to get a loan because the banks are being so closing watched. This downturn of events has been churning for some time now It could have maybe been better predicted and better handled but it wasn't so now we are stuck here trying to get out of it. But i know one thing approving stimulus packages which gets us in more debt is not going to help. There is no immediate fix which is what I think people are looking for, it's going to take time and effort from every American. We should focus on creating more jobs, which would give people money that they can put back into the economy buy spending it. I think its ridiculous the amount of people on welfare and support systems, they are there when people really need help but I feel that they are too often abused and people get comfortable with getting their money check instead of trying harder to better themselves. I would be great if there was a way to allow anyone who wanted to work a job and not a government issued check.
Many saw that the stock market is the first thing to show hard times, well it has been back and forth lately. So I don't think there is any true way of knowing when we have hit the bottom I just know that many people have seen harder times then what we are experiencing now.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/weekinreview/15vikas.html?pagewanted=2

A Slow Down in America

Many Americans are known for working long extensive hours or working more than one job. And it is now common to not a have a Monday through Friday 9-5 job, but people work more weekends and more nights. Recently mainly employers have cut days during the work week whether it be cutting a Friday or cutting the hours in a shift per day. This cut in hours is to allow many people to still keep their job but to help with other cuts for the company. They don't have to worry about the cost of being open for the day or worry about having to pay the employees for that day. So yes it is a cut in income but is having an extra day such a bad thing? Americans rely so much on daycare and nannies to watch and teach their kids. And many adults spend too much time in the work place that they completely miss out on their kids growing up. And its not just about parents and children, but also other relationships. When you work all the time you have less time with other family whether it be with your parents or siblings, etc and less time with you husband or boyfriend or trying to find one. I feel that it is very important to take time for myself and set my priorities in order. EVERYONE needs *ME* time. After the recent cuts that employers have made it has been proven that employees have decreased stress and anger. However on the the other hand some have increased those issues because it is now that much harder to pay the bills.
Bottom line we only live once and who wants to look back on their life and only be able to remember how much they worked and how they missed out on so many events and missed out on time with family and friends. Time is also looked upon as wealth and it is important for people to make time to do things that make the happy. In another article that i read a Russian professor predicted that the US would collapse by 2010. And that it would divide into 6 parts. I must say it was a little disturbing to read this however, no one knows what will happy with the country that we live in. With economic times as they are and the rise in crime no one knows what will happen but everyone should be able to look back and say i tried and more importantly i was happy. To me happiness is more important than money and status. What ever happened to the "American Dream" of owning a home and having a family, etc. Its gone! I think we are at a time where we as Americans need to reevaluate our priorities and get back to basics!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/01/weekinreview/01dewan.html?pagewanted=1

http://www.rr.com/news/politics/article/9002/7049934/Russian_scholar_says_US_will_collapse___next_year

Obama's plan to Pull out troops

One of the main topics all over the newspaper and tv today was how Obama plans to get the troops out of Iraq. Now as most of us remember one of the main differences during the presidential raises was that Obama wanted the troops out a.s.a.p. which raised a lot of questions to Americans as far as if that was the best move or now. With his address being made in NC and being from a military family I took a strong interest in his speech. I am happy to learn that the troops will be pulled out of Iraq and not as quickly as people thought but the way he is handling it is better overall. We have spent too much time in Iraq, too much money and risked too many lives. Pulling out the troops within the next year will allow the military to finish the purpose for going to that country in the first place. I feel that the troops need to be home and they have done their time in Iraq. But is what we first went there completely finished? Have we captured the men that plotted the 9/11 attacks? If we pull out our troops will that show signs of weakness and will open us up for more terrorist attacks? Many of questions begin to arise especially with the talks of closing Guantanamo Bay and what may happen to some of the prisoners there. Many people questions our involvement in this war in the first place. i feel that America could not just sit back and let terrorist destroy the landmarks and peoples lives like they did and let it go unnoticed. However i do feel that it is time to pull out troops. One of my main concerns is the fact that the President will be withdrawing several thousands troops but leaving some to tie up the lose ends. Will that put those military people in danger?

With the economy the way it is, we do not need to be spending money fighting a war. I do not agree with a lot of Obama's views on the military such as cutting housing, medical and other benefits to military families, but i do feel that an end to this war is long overdue. With the shortage of jobs that we have now and with bringing home all the troops that are fighting the war with it create an even bigger job shortage? Many questions still need to be figured out, but all I know is as of August 2010 many welcome home banners should be flying high.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/26/washington/26troops.html?scp=6&sq=Obama&st=cse