Search This Blog

Monday, May 18, 2009

Not Improved

American Express expects approximately 10% of the debt owed by its customers not to be repaid. This is linked to the recession.

Part of the company's restructuring includes cutting back on marketing. Consequently companies that benefited from the advertising revenue will also lose out. Certainly many more ripples from this lost revenue will affect various other sectors as well.

Reuters: American Express to cut 4,000 jobs
...it plans to eliminate 4,000 jobs, or 6 percent of its workforce, as the weakened economy causes higher customer defaults.

3 comments:

Glynn Kalara said...

I think were seeing a serious case of what we saw in the late 70's. The one diff. is this could be called
Super-Stagdeflation/inflation. This is much more serious economic disorder that effects only and mostly a certain segment of the population. If you have a good Gov't job or a top level Big Corp. job or your wealthy this doesn't apply to you. 75% of the country though has neither of these and is being affected. The symptoms are rising prices on food, energy, rental housing, % rates on debt, health care prems. and related costs like co-pays and medicines, Fed., State and local taxes, increasing fees for licenses, registrations, tolls etc. Deflation for just about everything else that is non-essential in value, especially things like restaurants, bars, gifts, appliances, and all the junk from wal-mart (china). Cars, used cars, furniture, houses used and new, commercial rental space in malls.

Millions & millions losing their jobs.

Jim Sande said...

I think you hit the nail on the head. The trick for survival seems to unlink oneself from as much of it as possible - don't use credit cards, pay down debt, limit car usage, just go minimal, etc etc.

Glynn Kalara said...

Exactly what were trying to do. We finally got a break though. My wife secured a full-time job she's been in line for @ a local casino operation. This is great news for us because it means we'll have benefits again. The $1400 a month health care was killing us no matter what we did. Still , this is the third time in the last 12 yrs. we've been through this cycle and were tired of the whole game. The health care Industry is no longer connected to the same reality the rest of us are. It's totally part of the BIG Corp. and Big Gov't world, where it seems up is the only direction.