Investing. Recession. Life at Wal-Mart. (Charles Platt is a guest blogger) As I begin my second week here as a guest blogger, I'm going to risk venturing into a couple of contentious political areas. My aim is not to provoke dissent; I simply feel that some stories are not being told. The picture above is of me, finishing my shift at the world’s largest retailer. How did I move from being a senior writer at Wired magazine to an entry-level position in a company that is reviled by almost all living journalists?
It started when I read Nickel and Dimed, in which Atlantic contributor Barbara Ehrenreich denounces the exploitation of minimum-wage workers in America. Getting in was not easy, as more than 100 applicants were competing for fewer than 10 job openings. The job was as dull as I expected, but I was stunned to discover how benign the workplace turned out to be. Several of my co-workers had relocated from other areas, where they had worked at other Wal-Marts. If you haven’t heard of Adam Shepard, this illustrates my point. Bananas: A Parable for Our Times | Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace.
January 17, 2009 | Like this article? Join our email list: Stay up to date with the latest headlines via email. Below the headlines about rocketing food prices and rocking governments, there lays a largely unnoticed fact: bananas are dying. The foodstuff, more heavily consumed even than rice or potatoes, has its own form of cancer. It is a fungus called Panama Disease, and it turns bananas brick-red and inedible. There is no cure. Bananas seem at first like a lush product of nature, but this is a sweet illusion. A corporation called United Fruit took one particular type -- the Gros Michael -- out of the jungle and decided to mass produce it on vast plantations, shipping it on refrigerated boats across the globe.
There was an entrepreneurial spark of genius there -- but United Fruit developed a cruel business model to deliver it. Burn down its rainforests and build banana plantations. This sounds like hyperbole until you study what actually happened. How Financial Madness Overtook Wall Street -- Printout - The Tribune Democrat, Johnstown, PA - Is China preparing for war with U.S.? All eyes in Washington are focused on the Middle East as the war there continues, the troop surge in Iraq nears its climax and the ever-elusive Osama bin Laden, assuming he’s still alive, continues to evade capture. Iran is rattling its sword and the hawks in Washington are demanding satisfaction. The 2008 election countdown has started and politicians on both sides of the aisle have begun the traditional blame game of finger pointing, name calling and jockeying for political advantage. The American political process is once again paralyzed by the politicians’ lust to retain power.
Forget the business of running the nation; there’s an election to be won! Meanwhile, in a country far, far away, the political, military and economic downfall of the United States is being planned by an intelligent, patient, industrious enemy who hopes never to fire a shot in anger, yet fully expects to win. China’s grasp of history China counts its history in millennia. Average Incomes Fell for Most in 2000-5. Bits of News - The Insolvency Crisis: How we got here, and what to expect. “For these ten marks I sold my virtue.” - written on the back of German banknote, 1923 The news of the Federal Reserve injecting $38 billion into the mortgage-backed securities market didn't get a lot of attention yesterday, but it should have.
Since a third injection is unprecedented, as such infusions typically only occur during a crisis, investors are again left wondering just how bad the subprime situation is and questioning whether or not an emergency rate cut would even be enough to avert a possible true credit crunch. It was the largest infusion by the Fed since the 9/11 aftermath. But it paled in comparison to the European Central Bank's two day infusion of 155 Billion Euros.
What does it all mean? Irony is a dish best served cold In late 1997 the hedge fund Long Term Capital Management was Wall Street royalty. Then they lost $4.8 Billion in 1998 and nearly became insolvent. Fast forward nine years. But the irony doesn't end there. What happened? How we got here. The Profit Calculator. You can’t live in New York—arguably, you can’t spend an hour in New York—and remain oblivious to the machinery of profit pumping away under every surface. This city makes money, loses money, houses money; lately, with luxe condos stacking up like casino chips along the waterfront, the city looks like money. What’s amazing, then, is how little we truly know about the inner workings of this beast we feed, and milk, daily: How does New York make its money? Every company setting up in the city finds itself plugged into its myriad historical, cultural, and regulatory quirks.
The biggest one, of course, concerns our island’s most precious commodity and its most enduring obsession: real estate. New York businesses live and die by the rent; if you’re a retailer leasing here, “making the rent” becomes the yardstick of solvency. The unofficial golden rule of restaurants dictates that the rent be made in a week and take up no more than a quarter of revenue.