Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: mishedlo who wrote (14554)	11/2/2004 12:17:04 AM
From: GraceZ	Respond to of 116555

The "this time is different article"? We kind of knew that because it wasn't a consumer lead recession but a capital spending bust. It matters not at all to me that the computers I use to churn out my income on have parts, software and patents from 30 different countries. Before that I used paper and chemicals from England and a machine built in Italy of all places. All I know is that computer equipment (assembled in Texas, software from California) enables me to do what used to take four people to do in the same time frame. I'm making the same income while my overhead is a third of what it was in 2000 and capital equipment expenditures are a fifth of what I was spending in 2000 as well. No debt, very small contribution margin and low break even point means I'll have a great year this year for the first time since I made the switch from photo to digital. My worst worry is taxes. My clients are saying similar things to me. What does bother me a little is that Ilford, my favorite B&W film/paper manufacturer is BK. I was a faithful user of their products and while they made a valiant effort to adjust from photo to digital, I guess it proved too much. Is Kodak next? It is disconcerting to me to see a company that has been here for over 100 years look like it'll disappear, but this is the price of progress. I don't know if these kinds of dislocations will send the US worker into a ten year depression like funk and neither does the author of that piece. I'm adapting, my clients are adapting and a lot of the US companies I follow actually have great earnings. We'll see if they invest those earnings back here or send them abroad where they might be used more efficiently. My attempts to get price breaks from suppliers hasn't been too fruitful, not like during the Asia crisis when they were paying me to take stuff from them, so perhaps biz isn't on the ropes quite yet. We sure don't want to see employment cost rise like it did coming out of the 74 slump. I tell you, slow job grow might be great fodder for politicians, it's not bad for business unless you are a retailer or run a restaurant. There are too many retailers and too much retail space in the US so we could use to lose some.