Global Economy Bursting?

[Austin]

I heard something very interesting today. I assume everyone knows that “Lowe’s” is one of the largest building supply chains in the country. I heard that recently maybe this week every store in the country had an employee meeting at 10AM EST. It was announced that salaries and wages would be reduced 10 to 20% depending on the pay scale. They were told that if this was a problem they could leave.

 

[Caterina Platt]

I heard something very interesting today. I assume everyone knows that “Lowe’s” is one of the largest building supply chains in the country. I heard that recently maybe this week every store in the country had an employee meeting at 10AM EST. It was announced that salaries and wages would be reduced 10 to 20% depending on the pay scale. They were told that if this was a problem they could leave.

Didn't find that, but did find this. Looks like moral is in the toilet and there are some layoffs taking place.

http://www.topix.com/forum/com/low/TRPUH8LT4PGQS0E6F

 

[Couch Potato]

August 29, 2011

I heard something very interesting today. I assume everyone knows that “Lowe’s” is one of the largest building supply chains in the country. I heard that recently maybe this week every store in the country had an employee meeting at 10AM EST. It was announced that salaries and wages would be reduced 10 to 20% depending on the pay scale. They were told that if this was a problem they could leave.

They announced they were going to "reorganize" their retail operations at the end of August. They are just now implementing that announcement.

 

[Randolph Kinney]

Lowe’s gives incentives for leaving

http://www.journalpatriot.com/news/article_def7955a-5416-11e1-9612-0019bb30f31a.html

 

[Randolph Kinney]

Lowe’s to Shut Down 20 Stores, Layoff Nearly 2,000
Read more - http://w.po.st/share/entry/redir?pu... Stores, Layoff Nearly 2,000&sharer=copypaste

 

[Austin]

Didn't find that, but did find this. Looks like moral is in the toilet and there are some layoffs taking place.

http://www.topix.com/forum/com/low/TRPUH8LT4PGQS0E6F

Darn Caternia, it worse than I heard. Sounds like they are about to go belly up.
Everyone read those posts in Caternia's link!!!!! Bad stuff coming down the pike. All this stuff about the economy recovering is crap. Now I know why the Feds are worried about a revolution.

 

[Austin]

Duplicate posts. I have trouble with this forum server for some reason. It will not respond.

 

[Caterina Platt]

Heart breaking to read some of them, isn't it?

One person stated the folks laid off were all in their 40s, 50s and 60s. Hmm. That sounds downright illegal.

 

[nm505]

Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE:LOW): Jim Cramer ranked this stock a Buy. The stock closed at $26.91, its 52-week high is $27.57, and its 52-week low is $18.07. http://wallstcheatsheet.com/investing/jim-cramer-buy-and-sell-these-stocks-feb-9th.html/

This recommendation was on 2/10, I believe. Lay off people and expect increased profits. Corporate duty to maximize shareholder profit.

There has been some movement (CEO roundtables) toward "shareholder sustainability" rather than short term quarterly goals. This would be a good thing for our country. We could all go back to buying stock in good solid companies for our retirement portfolios instead of having to be day traders to make any money. AND companies would not lay off so quickly in downturns as it is very expensive to hire and rehire well trained people.

 

[Randolph Kinney]

The fallacy of economic growth

http://financeandeconomics.org/Articles archive/2012.02.06 Growth fallacy.htm

The most important objective for any government is to achieve economic growth. Out of this growth develops employment and taxes to fund government itself. It is in other words the primary focus of all economic planning. However, not only have governments consistently failed to achieve this fundamental objective, they are now increasingly worried that government spending cuts will propel us all into a deep economic contraction.

The statistics devised to measure economic growth, principally gross domestic product, cannot measure anything other than the money in the productive economy, which it does imperfectly. Government spending, which is an economic cost, is included pari-passu with valued production. Efficient producers such as the manufacturers and suppliers of electronic goods and services, who reduce their prices over time, see their output diminished as a proportion of the statistical whole, while those that maintain their prices by monopolistic or subsidized means keep and even increase their weightings. This is simply the result of the indiscriminate use of a money-aggregate to measure the fallacious concept of economic growth. So GDP and related statistics do not measure progress: if anything they promote economic regression.