posted
What's your profession and how is your industry? Just curious. As some of you know, I'm the owner of a small business, a steel service center. For the most part my business is wholly dependent on the manufacturing industry and related/support industries. August was a record month for us. Some of that can be attributed to unprecedented increases in the price of steel but certainly not all of it. Year to year, we're up about 20% in gross sales and roughly the same in profits.
I'm by no means saying that the economy isn't in trouble but at least so far, my little corner of it isn't. So who's feeling it and who isn't?
IP: Logged |
posted
I do mostly residential construction about 95% the rest on the same commercial job basically improvements to the building. In the 25 years I have been in business this may be the second winter in that time where I am going to sit on my ass. Certainly not by choice obviously a reflection of the economy. I also have a weekly rental house here in Northern NY and our summer rentals were off 60% that business is 5 years old so the gas prices have certainly reflected in this summers rentals. So far we have 3 weeks booked for the winter and it's still early so it could turn around. All in all I believe the economy will turn around after the election no matter who gets voted in. Something or some one new seems to change things with the exception of the first Bush after Reagan uugghhhh that was a terrible time.
IP: Logged |
posted
Oil and Gas industry for me. So, as you know business is good. I at the moment provide pumpjacks, and have arranged with my VP seed capital for another company on a well stimulation treatment that may be somewhat revolutionary should it work out the way we hope.
However, the business I put together is only 6 months old and these are really tough times to build and grow a business. Especially when I have bootstrapped it all because getting an SBA loan is like trying to get a military secret clearance. Once enough income starts coming in then I can begin drilling some smaller shallow wells that arent as costly and build from there one by one.
so the industry is doing well even though some people out there want to put red tape all over it. To provide oilfield services such as products like tubing, casing, pumping units, storage tanks etc you can actually make more money than selling the oil if you are drilling it. There are waiting lists to get certain equipment because the demand is so high. It has become so much about the dollar that people starting importing steel and iron from China at cheaper prices to make products here. Well, a lot of that stuff is poor quality. They dont do a good job of oversight in Chinese factories to ensure quality. To the Chinese it is all about mass volumes of goods dirt cheap.
So I dont do any business that involves foereign products. In fact one of the manufacturers I am working with for distribution uses U.S. high quality steel. sure, it may cost more but you get a better product and it is one less dollar out of the China-man hand.
-------------------- It isn't so much that liberals are ignorant. It's just that they know so many things that aren't so.
IP: Logged |
posted
Pre-cast/Pre-stressed concrete here. Dismal for the last six months or so. Work is out there... just hard getting them to pull the trigger.
IP: Logged |
posted
Rental property business for me. Demand for rentals is at a multi-year high. The problem is that there are so many deadbeats out there, it is still a chore to find qualified tenants. In addition, I believe that there will be a LOT of evictions this winter as people won't be able to afford both the rent; gas for their cars; and the extremely high heating costs.
IP: Logged |
posted
Buliding related product, mostly for the aviation industry. We are having a record month/quarter for sales and shippments, there is still plenty of money in the aviation market.
-------------------- If ignorance is bliss, why aren't more people happy?
IP: Logged |
posted
I am retired so business is good...walleye, salmon, and whitetails are plentiful and I am getting record numbers of all.
Seriously...the GM assembly plant that I worked at has just added a 3rd shift. This is the first time they have run three shifts since the plant opened in 1983. They are building the Pontiac G6 and the new Chevy Malibu...
posted
Meanwhile, they have about shut down the GM plant here....and the Ford plant and so on and on....
Lots of burger joint part time jobs, though.
I'm supposed to be retired too, and I have savings and investments to rely on. Have to admit it, though, a lot of those are being eaten up by relatives that have been laid off and had to borrow money from me to feed the kids and buy $4 a gallon gas to look for work. The banks, of course, won't lend them money without a job.
IP: Logged |
posted
Oh, I wasn't trying to imply that things are "good" up here...in fact my nephew just hired in at that assembly plant, and his wages are half of what mine were when I left.
If American consumers continue to buy foreign made products, and our government continues to allow "free trade" with other countries...our quality of life will most certainly continue towards that of other third world countries...
quote:Originally posted by retiredat49: Well...it "feels" that way up here in Michigan
here in MS too...
the economy here is never that strong, but recently we have a major glut of commercial propertys for sale. there's always quite a few, but right now it seems like it's more than one in every ten on the main roads... not 1 in 5, but more then 1 in 10...
a lot of broker owned houses for sale too...
the brokers take first crack at foreclosures here...
pretty soon i expect even the brokers will have too much inventory...
-------------------- Don't envy the happiness of those who live in a fool's paradise.
IP: Logged |
posted
Glass...I live in Oakland County and there is a LOT of old money up here. That is the only thing that is keeping us alive. The only homes selling up here are short sales & foreclosures and they are being bought by first time home buyers and landlords, and...you can buy a home for 50 cents on the dollar.
posted
Security is my field. I'm set up pretty good where I am at but very few are hiring anything but part-timers or rent-a-cops right now. Very little contraction so far but no growth either.
Talking about housing...have you seen MBS prices today? Up over 2 points. Bond players are gonna make a killing over the government bailout of Fred and Fann.
The one good thing about that is that interest rates on a 30 yr fixed should drop below 6% rather quickly here. Maybe even as low as 5.5%. Possible that might bring the housing sector back to life, but with so much of the cash going to greedy hands and such a glut of bad paper that still has to be accounted for don't expect 1 Bil to be the last cash infusion the gov has to make.
-------------------- No longer eligible for government service due to lack of tax issues.
IP: Logged |
posted
From Sept. 2008 AARP Bulletin, "Going Hungry in America," by Peter Jaret, p. 17 (bold, my emphasis):
quote:One gauge of desperation is the surging number of people turning to food banks, soup kitchens, other emergency food assistance programs. Many organizations that operate such programs report that the [people needing food] are up at least 15 percent from a year ago. The Clayton County Aging Program in Georgia estimates that the number of older people coming in for food assistance has doubled in the past year. Some particularly hard-hit communities have seen even bigger increases.
[food bank in Las Vegas says:] "This year we've had to quadruple"....[their budget.]
As the ranks of needy Americans have increased, the demographics of hunger have also changed. "I've seen a lot of up and down cycles after 30 years in this business," says Bill Bolling, executive director of the Atlanta Community Food Bank. "What's fundamentally different is who we're seeing at the door of the agencies we serve. Half of the people have full-time jobs but don't earn enough to keep up with the rising prices of health care, energy and food. The working poor increasingly compete with seniors on fixed incomes."
-------------------- Nashoba Holba Chepulechi Adventures in microcapitalism...
IP: Logged |
quote:Half of the people have full-time jobs but don't earn enough to keep up with the rising prices of health care, energy and food.
And it is only going to get MUCH worse with the Federal Government printing funny money out of thin air to bail out all these big banks, Freddie, Fannie, GM (coming soon), the airlines (also coming soon), etc. The hidden tax of inflation is going to make what dollars we do have all but worthless!
IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by retiredat49: Well...it "feels" that way up here in Michigan
here in MS too...
the economy here is never that strong, but recently we have a major glut of commercial propertys for sale. there's always quite a few, but right now it seems like it's more than one in every ten on the main roads... not 1 in 5, but more then 1 in 10...
a lot of broker owned houses for sale too...
the brokers take first crack at foreclosures here...
pretty soon i expect even the brokers will have too much inventory...
The amount of commercial property that is sitting vacant in S.W. Fl. from Naples to Fort Myers is staggering.
There are some with signs FREE RENT for 6 months.
Also several that have just walked from what look to be 75% complete.
As a contractor here in Naples I have been lucky that I have a core group of customers that have referred me to most everything coming down the pike.
Finishing one 7,000 sq. ft. home by Jan. and doing 2 remodels over 500k a piece.
I am booked right through 2009 as of now.
We have lost nearly 50% of our realtors and I am guessing close to 30% of our contractors have gone out of business too.
A house in the "Moorings" just auctioned off for $440,000 that would have sold for over a mil. in 2005. A true auction, not a short sale or foreclosure.
IP: Logged |
Same story up here in MN regarding contractors. My father in law is a specialist in restoration of old homes which means works been steady for him but the rest of the construction market is crap. Had a group planning a condo across the block from me finally bow out after 10 years and a huge amount of work with the city and community. They fought hard to keep it alive but in the end it imploded with the weight of the real estate glut. It's sad, they were making it their mission to bring a quality grocery store to the downtown area. I've also heard some condos that are half done over in Minneapolis have had to change plans mid-construction and finish em off as hotels instead.
-------------------- No longer eligible for government service due to lack of tax issues.
IP: Logged |
posted
A short sale is when a buyer is allowed by the property owner's bank to purchase the property for less than is owed on the owner's mortgage. In other words, the bank that holds the mortgage takes a loss on the sale.
IP: Logged |
A short sale is when the lender agrees to accept less than the mortgage amount the lessee owes in a home sale rather than take on the cost of foreclosing and then marketing the home itself.
It's more complicated then that but that's the gist of it.
quote:Originally posted by Propertymanager: A short sale is when a buyer is allowed by the property owner's bank to purchase the property for less than is owed on the owner's mortgage. In other words, the bank that holds the mortgage takes a loss on the sale.
It benefits the banks to try and salvage more dollars than they would recieve through a foreclosure.
I have heard of some banks that have accepted just over half what was owed through S.S.
quote:Originally posted by Propertymanager: A short sale is when a buyer is allowed by the property owner's bank to purchase the property for less than is owed on the owner's mortgage. In other words, the bank that holds the mortgage takes a loss on the sale.
It benefits the banks to try and salvage more dollars than they would recieve through a foreclosure.
I have heard of some banks that have accepted just over half what was owed through S.S.
By the way Hello TEX!!!
God bless you man!
Thanks, surfer...
OK, I get it: the owner of the note "comes up short."
Thanks, fellas
-------------------- Nashoba Holba Chepulechi Adventures in microcapitalism...
IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by glassman: you mean Chrysler IS still open?
Yep, I went to work today and get checks on Friday's.
Anyways, Chrysler's owners have a TON of money and farmed out some things. They FORCED the UNION to eliminate UNION STEWARD jobs. About time!!! They got rid of PAYROLL...so unless you have direct deposit, your check gets mailed to you and you cash it when you get it. Material is getting farmed out as well and they are getting super LEAN. They don't want anybody doing any work unless you directly work on a line. All the off line work is done by CONTRACTORS getting paid $8.00.
So, I believe that MICHIGAN is the worst off state plus MICHIGAN SUCKS...(I'm a BUCKEYE). But a few years ago, I watch houses everywhere for sale. Now you see those houses bought up or foreclosed. Those bought are 95% foreclosed I am guessing. Why buy a house for $150,000 when the one next door is forclosed and they are asking $60,000. Pretty bad here.
Auto industry DICTATES the economy and the stock market. Sorry but it does no matter how you look at it. If they didn't eliminate so many jobs, they would have a better housing industry. More cash flow in the economy. More plants open that supply us parts. If we crashed, what would happen to LEAR, Visteon, American Axle, Hayes Lemmerz, Delphi, Dana, Tower, Mascotech, do I need to mention more. Ohh yeah....I think they all filed bankrupcy or close to it.
Now the city I grew up in, Jobs are in the RETAIL market. Only a few good jobs there and that is in Lima, OH. Most likely you work for Meijers, Walmart, a bakery, Chain restraunt, or medical. I think the only good jobs are in Medical anymore. So when do they get attacked for $14.00 an hours????
IP: Logged |
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[BadOne]](graemlins/headbash.gif)
