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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Road Walker who wrote (579153)	8/2/2010 3:16:22 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1572226

Actually, the way things are shaping up......the Senate may prove to be more functionable than it is right now. Most people expect Crist to caucus with the Dems. Since going independent, he very caculatedly has moved more to the center. I think the Reps will gain seats... which will make 60 harder to come by. Now if you had a 6-10 independents that were not accountable to their party boss, and would just vote the issues, you might get some good legislation. There are 18 Senate seats up for grabs. Two months ago, the majority were supposed to go to the Rs. That's changing very quickly. For an example, Reid was supposted to lose big time. In the latest polls he's ahead by a sliver. I think in the end Rs may only pick up only 5 seats. Time will tell.

To: Road Walker who wrote (579153)	8/2/2010 4:30:35 PM
From: tejek	Respond to of 1572226

I think employment is getting ready to pop. "The ISM's Employment Index, which measures growth in manufacturing employment, registered 58.6 percent in July, up 0.8 percent from June, and marked the eighth consecutive month of expansion. An Employment Index above 49.8 percent, over time, is generally consistent with an increase in the Bureau of Labor Statistics' data on manufacturing employment, the ISM said. "If employment can start to improve, consumer spending will do better, and that'll get the whole economy going again," said Michael Moran, chief economist at New York-based Daiwa Capital Markets America Inc. voices.washingtonpost.com

To: Road Walker who wrote (579153)	8/3/2010 12:21:13 PM
From: tejek	1 Recommendation Respond to of 1572226

To follow up what I was saying yesterday the Dems are seeing an improvement in their Senate prospects. However, the House is still very much in play. The Dems improving Senate picture by kos Tue Aug 03, 2010 at 08:46:02 AM PDT It's ironic given how broken the Senate is, and how afraid its Democrats have been of using their majority, but they will likely come out far better this November than their House colleagues. And the picture for Senate Dems is improving. If you simply look at the national trends Democrats are in pretty bad shape right now. Barack Obama's approval numbers are hitting record lows in a lot of polling and the balance of the generic ballot surveys show Republicans in the lead. If you look at the trends in the actual races though things are getting sunnier for the Democrats. In June and July PPP polled eight Senate match ups that we had a previous poll to compare to- in all eight the Democratic candidate improved his/her position, by an average of 4.25 points. The chart above also shows how Dems are actually playing some serious offense this cycle -- Ohio, New Hampshire, Louisiana, North Carolina and Kentucky are all pickup opportunities. Throw in Missouri and Florida (with independent Charlie Crist), and you've got seven legitimate pickup opportunities to offset the guaranteed GOP pickups in North Dakota and Arkansas, plus tough contests in Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Nevada, Pennsylvania, as well as potentially tough races in California, Washington and Wisconsin. Throw in fading GOP challengers in Nevada and Illinois, and we've got something approaching parity heading into November. As Gov. Brian Schweitzer said at Netroots Nation, sometimes it's better to be lucky than good, and so far, luck is keeping them in the game. dailykos.com

To: Road Walker who wrote (579153)	8/3/2010 12:34:26 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1572226

Now this is the kind of stuff I am starting to see. And to make sure its clear........Target isn't just renting space and opening its first downtown store in Seattle but its buying the space for the store. That's a significant investment for any retail company to make in an untested market and especially after the last two years. So I see that as another sign that business activity has definitely picked up. Of course, one has to remember that Seattle didn't boom and bust like some other areas so recovery is happening here probably at a faster pace. Target buys space for retail store in downtown Seattle Target, the national discount department store, will open a store at the base of the 24-story Newmark condo tower on Second Avenue between Pike and Union streets. By Eric Pryne Seattle Times business reporter Target is coming to downtown Seattle. The national discount department-store chain has bought the three-story office and retail space at the base of the 24-story Newmark condo tower on Second Avenue between Pike and Union streets. The 103,000-square-foot commercial space, known since 2008 as Pike Plaza, will be home to a smaller-format Target store, the seller, Seattle-based HAL Real Estate, said in a prepared statement. But it will be at least a year before a store opens, Target spokeswoman Sarah Bakken said. The Minneapolis-based company first must obtain city permits and reconfigure the space to fit its needs, she said. Target paid $15.5 million for the property, according to county records. The purchase includes a 250-stall underground garage. Bakken couldn't say whether the store would occupy all three floors. Even if it does, it would be smaller than the 135,000 square feet in a typical Target. While most of Target's 1,700 stores are suburban, single-story big boxes surrounded by parking lots, in recent years the chain has moved into more urban areas and built or occupied buildings with several floors, or parking garages or both. The Target in the Northgate North complex in North Seattle is one example. "We are not a one-size-fits-all company," Bakken said. One Target store in Brooklyn, N.Y., has no dedicated parking. Earlier this month, the chain opened a store in New York's East Harlem, its first in Manhattan. Target operates stores in downtown Minneapolis and the Chicago Loop, and it also is exploring sites for its first store in San Francisco. Kate Joncas, president of the Downtown Seattle Association, hailed Target's plans as a sign of confidence in downtown, and she said it would provide another incentive for people to both live and work in the city center. With its mix of style and value, "Target is definitely one type of store that isn't in downtown at all now," Joncas said. "It's a great national brand to have." HAL President Dana Behar echoed those sentiments. "This will be a great addition to the downtown retail environment and will undoubtedly enhance its position as a 24-hour city," he said in a prepared statement. Target already operates 21 stores in King, Snohomish, Pierce and Kitsap counties, according to the company's Web site. The Newmark tower was built in 1991. Its 191 apartments were converted to condos later in the decade. HAL acquired 100 percent interest in the retail mall at the base in 1998 and converted it to a mix of office and retail uses. Washington Mutual was leasing 84,000 square feet in the building at the time of the bank's collapse in 2008. That lease expired last summer, and since then, the space has been mostly vacant. A shoe store and souvenir shop are the only tenants now, said Gabriel Grant, HAL vice president. The building, between the Pike Place Market and downtown's major retail destinations, is surrounded by a mix of older buildings and newer high-rises, including the Russell Investments Center — formerly the WaMu Center — and the luxury Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue condo tower. seattletimes.nwsource.com