If you haven’t been looking at the news much today, you might be surprised to hear the media has already given today a nickname. They’re calling it Bloody Monday due to the number of job losses. CNNMoney reports that there have been over 68,000 job cuts today alone (announced). With earnings announcements all week, I think we’ll see a higher number by the end of the week. This could be one of the worst weeks we’ve seen yet since companies are finally announcing how they performed in the last quarter of the year, which I think we all know, wasn’t too peachy.
Here are a few of the notables so far this month:
- Circuit City: 30,000
- Pfizer: 26,000
- Caterpillar: 20,000
- Alcoa: 13,500
- Sprint/Nextel: 8000
- TDK Corp: 8000
- Home Depot: 7000
- ING: 7000
- Intel: 6000
- Microsoft: 5000
- Boeing: 4500
- Motorola: 4000
- Hertz: 4000
- Honda: 3100
I personally don’t see a turnaround anytime soon. I’ve always held a bit more pessimistic opinion about how the economy is going to go, but this time I don’t think I’m being overly pessimistic because there just doesn’t seem to be any good news on the horizon. I’m expecting that things will keep going at this pace for awhile. If we start to recover in 2010, I’ll be really happy, but with so many variables in play here, I just don’t see where the good news is. More foreclosures are on the way due to ARMs resetting, job losses and negative equity. More jobs are at risk as consumer spending and GDP continue to retract. Consumer debt levels are still at levels that are waaaay too high. What else am I missing?
Please, if someone can shed some good news on the economy, please do. So far I just don’t see it.
Update:
Okay, here’s at least one good sign. Homes are selling a bit better and the available inventory has dropped to a 9.3 month supply because more people can actually afford the lower priced homes with lower mortgage rates. Not huge, but better than a jab in the eye with a sharp stick, as my father used to say:
http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/hotproperty/archives/2009/01/buyers_are_star.html?campaign_id=rss_daily
The good news, such as it is, is that competent people are now controlling the levers of government. Alas, it is eight years too late, but I shudder to think where we would be with McCain/Palin, et al., in charge. Thankfully Obama has put in place a well-qualified administration. Unfortunately, that may not be enough to stave off dire times. Personally, I’m a bit disappointed about the size of the stimulus (too small) and the proportion of it dedicated to tax cuts (too large).
By the way, great blog!