Malls: Death of an American Icon (CNN.com): After turning our backs on Main Street and fleeing to the suburbs, Americans are looking for a sense of place. We’re fixing up houses in the older parts of town and spending more of our free time in newly-revived downtowns. And when we want to do serious shopping, we head to upscale mega-malls and big-box stores such as Costco, Home Depot and Target, even if it means driving a little farther. That leaves smaller neighborhood malls -- many of which are carbon copies of each other -- struggling to keep retailers from packing up and following the crowds to downtown districts or mega malls. Although some have managed to turn themselves around by looking beyond Sears and J.C. Penney and bringing in the likes of Ikea or Borders as anchors, more drastic measures are often needed. (There’s even a Web site, Deadmalls.com, dedicated to tracking these doomed malls.)
Will Bush Ratings Follow Slumping Economy (CSMonitor.com): “Unless the economy improves, Bush will have to run on a record of losing jobs - so far 2.5 million. That would give him the dubious distinction of being behind only Herbert Hoover in terms of job losses. Even the divided Democrats are quickly homing in on the economy, and their constant harping could prod voters to forget the quick war in Iraq or other foreign incursions.”
When Profits Go Out of Fashion (Economist.com): “Luxury’s current woes have revealed unexpected stresses at several firms, and reminded everybody that hawking brands to the mass-affluent is a risky strategy, with a high price for failure. Not the least of the dangers is that if the economy does not pick up soon, the affluent will be less massing than missing.”
Fireworks Dimmed by Budget Woes (Reuters): “With the national economic slowdown eating into state and local tax revenues, governments have less money to spend on the traditional displays, which can typically cost $1,000 to $2,500 a minute. Officials at companies specializing in big pyrotechnics displays said they have seen a slight decline or steady levels of business this Fourth of July season.”
Posted by Mises.org News
