What is the deal with the economy?

Hi bloggers!

What is the deal with the economy? There are rumblings of all facets of the economy that are in trouble- everything from your large, national banks, to grocery stores, to your favorite and addictive coffee chain. What is going on?

I won't claim to have any answers about what the economy is doing. It would seem that we are in a cycle with pockets of growth and pockets of depression.

Some banks seem to be doing fairly well- like Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.- which boasts a positive outlook, based on their positioning in the current market and intelligent management, is weathering the storm. It also happens to be my former employer.

Wachovia Bank, N.A. is having to cut about 6300 jobs- and showing a large loss of 8.9 billion. Tough stuff. Read the Rocky Mountain News reports.

I am under the opinion that the economic growth that has happened over the last several years has been under the 'discretionary' monkier, giving rise to things like 'organic food' and the coffee addiction that so many people maintain by going to their local Starbucks- which, by the way, is closing 9 of its stores in Colorado, alone.

The pedicab industry is being affected- I am making one-half of the money I was making last year.

It could be argued that we are going through a cleansing period, where the willingness to lend money and spend money is caught between the popular media and the upcoming November election.

Many people are holding their cards close to the vest, because of unsure futures. Whether I agree with this or not, it is a reality that the popular news media is playing a very key role in controlling how people behave. Information is unbiased, but its presentation is not.

So, what will we do? It can be said that the government is growing by the day, like homeland security. Yes, it can be said that the War in Iraq is costing money, but I would be willing to say that the tax rates are doing nothing but going up, which means that the government is the biggest business in town.

What are hot industries? Government contractors, health care, and I dare say smaller, vibrant businesses, like entrepreneurs, start-ups, and local companies. My theory of people buying smaller, more locally, and investing in bikes and public transit, instead of cars and timeshares, things are changing from the last 10 years. With large companies in trouble- like Wachovia, Qwest, Frontier Airlines, United Airlines- all are scaling back.

The silver lining: our capitalism is in a cycle. We are currently finishing a slow 10 year cycle, which may give rise to greater economic period of growth. Something to think about.

Thanks for listening!

Edward Martin
303-875-4450
Showcase Properties Unlimited
apexofdenver.blogspot.com