Monday, November 17, 2008

Citigroup to cut at least 50,000 jobs as the economy spiral downwards

This is bad. Really bad.

All weekend, the media has been atwitter with the rumor of enormous impending job cuts at Citigroup. This morning, Clusterstock reports that Citigroup has confirmed 50,000 job cuts:

Citi has confirmed the job cuts in a presentation (.pdf) post online. The presentation is actually a defense of the Citi business model, though it outlines the steps it has taken to shed legacy assets and bolster deposits.

But that news may not be the end of it. Some are speculating that the time is nearing for a Citigroup takeover or buyout.

Retail sales are down all over: Lowe's, Home Depot, Target, etc. And layaway plans, that most stores got rid of? It's backkkkkkk....



People with money are not spending it and those in financial crisis is just another small kink in the melting armour.

We have passed a recession folks, this is moving to a depression. We now have Philadelphia asking for bailout money and if we think this is the only city, THINK AGAIN.

As food prices soar, when things get tight the processed food, Spam benefits.
The economy is in tatters and, for millions of people, the future is uncertain. But for some employees at the Hormel Foods Corporation plant here, times have never been better. They are working at a furious pace and piling up all the overtime they want.

The workers make Spam, perhaps the emblematic hard-times food in the American pantry.

Through war and recession, Americans have turned to the glistening canned product from Hormel as a way to save money while still putting something that resembles meat on the table. Now, in a sign of the times, it is happening again, and Hormel is cranking out as much Spam as its workers can produce.

In a factory that abuts Interstate 90, two shifts of workers have been making Spam seven days a week since July, and they have been told that the relentless work schedule will continue indefinitely.

Spam, a gelatinous 12-ounce rectangle of spiced ham and pork, may be among the world’s most maligned foods, dismissed as inedible by food elites and skewered by comedians who have offered smart-alecky theories on its name (one G-rated example: Something Posing As Meat).

But these days, consumers are rediscovering relatively cheap foods, Spam among them. A 12-ounce can of Spam, marketed as “Crazy Tasty,” costs about $2.40. “People are realizing it’s not that bad a product,” said Dan Johnson, 55, who operates a 70-foot-high Spam oven.

Yep, Spam benefits when the pocketbook and wallet is very light.

As for Detroit and the Big 3 automakers? Don't expect any bailout from the lame duck congress, this is being thrown into President Obama's lap after January 20, 2009.

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