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It’s Constant, We’re Not Getting Rid Of Them Fast Enough

A report from Global News in Canada. “‘Starting really around March 11, the second week of March, pretty much everything on the calendar through spring and the summertime, June 15th really, evaporated overnight,’ said AirDNA CEO Scott Shatford, adding that Nova Scotia’s trends are consistent with the rest of Canada.”

“According to Airbnb, however, which reached out to Global News after the publication of this story, the platform has ‘not seen a material drop in active listings’ across Canada. According to AirDNA, a short-term rental market data analytics company, available Airbnb listings in Nova Scotia dropped roughly 17.4 per cent from January to April. In April, as many as 38,490 listed properties in the province did not receive a single booking.”

From City Metric on Canada. “Annie Brissette has had one hell of a time finding a new apartment in Montreal. Time and time again, she saw apartments that were advertised as fully furnished – an anomaly in Montreal, where apartments often don’t even come with their own appliances. ‘I think there’s a huge proliferation of Airbnb apartments on the market, because it’s unbelievable the number of fully furnished apartments that aren’t available empty,’ Brissette says.”

“‘We are seeing a lot of inventory,’ says John Pasalis, a Toronto housing market analys. ‘[Since the start of the pandemic] a lot of sellers didn’t put their units on the market, but a lot of renters did. We saw strong listing growth, particularly in the downtown core.’ The oversupply there, he continues, has led to a 5% price drop on downtown rentals.”

From Peace FM on Ghana. “The real estate business is at a standstill now with sales of properties at a record low, servicing of mortgages deteriorating and most developers rolling back their sleeves and packing out of sites. The situation has led to a spike in the housing glut. At the receiving end is the real estate developing companies, the mortgage lenders and their individual and institutional clients, who are either struggling to service their mortgages or get market for existing properties.”

“‘It is obvious that some of the companies will go down. Some of our members have already given up and when they go down, they will go down with substantial bank loans and investments,’ said President of GREDA, Mr Patrick Ebo Bonful.”

The National on Dubai. “‘Downtown Dubai is another area flooded with stock, especially with the release of four Address properties by Emaar, among several other high-profile properties,’ LuxuryProperty.com says. ‘A three-bedroom apartment at the recently completed The Address Sky Views went for Dh350,000 late last year. At present, the price is roughly Dh200,000. There are similar cases across all prime properties in the area, with discounts averaging 15 to 20 per cent.'”

The Times of India. “Homes in the city are having a tough time finding takers, according to property brokers. ‘Our business is down to just 10% of what we otherwise register during this time, said Rizwan Khan a Begumpet-based broker.”

From CTN News on Thailand. “Developers in Northern Thailand a bracing for a huge slump in the residential property market as home buyers become fewer and fewer. Furthermore banks are imposing stricter rules on home buyers and denying mortgages. Prat Wongwan, president of the Chiang Mai Real Estate Association, said the economic slowdown and lower confidence among home buyers will lead to a continued drop in the property market.”

“‘More than half of Chiang Mai’s GDP is from the tourism industry, which is stumbling,’ Mr Prat said. ‘Many job seekers today are those who used to work in the hotel business.'”

From Mansion Global. “Owners of luxury rental villas in Bali are offering discounts of up to 85% as the industry struggles amid a mass exodus of the country’s expat population that was brought about by the coronavirus pandemic. The island’s approximately 4,000 luxury villas asked an average of $220 per night before the pandemic.”

From Domain News in Australia. “Almost a third of rental properties in Sydney have been discounted since the COVID-19 pandemic hit Australian shores, new figures show, as landlords battle it out to secure tenants. MGM Martin leasing manager Brey Pamalias said while they had encouraged landlords to reduce their asking rents in order to secure tenants, applicants were making even lower offers.”

“‘Mind you when they apply, they still apply on a lower offer … the applicant will only put in a lower offer because they’ve seen the lower price [elsewhere],’ Ms Pamalias said.”

“She said her market, which focuses in the Green Square, Mascot, Alexandria and Zetland area, was saturated with rentals, making it very competitive. ‘Say we’ve leased out 10 properties in one week, there will be 10 more the next week,’ Ms Pamalias said. ‘It’s going around in circles. It’s constant. We’re not getting rid of them fast enough.'”

“She also said many tenants were moving because they were shopping around for cheaper rent, rather than financial hardship. I meet prospective tenants everyday and one of my main questions is, ‘Why are you moving?’ The majority are saying, ‘We don’t really need to move, we just want to move somewhere cheaper’. There is so much competition everywhere that I don’t think it’s going to be picking up anytime soon.'”

From Mirage News in Australia. “Vacancies in Sydney increased for the third consecutive month and now sit at 4.1%, up 0.3% from April and 1.1% from March. ‘Sydney’s Inner Ring experienced the most significant change, rising 0.7% to 5.0%,’ REINSW CEO Tim McKibbin said. ‘This is a historic high. The last time vacancies in the Inner Ring broke through the 5% barrier was in June 2002, almost 18 years ago, when vacancies hit 5.1%.'”

“‘We’re also seeing a continuation of the trend for short-term accommodation properties being listed for long-term rentals,’ he said. ‘With tourism plummeting, short-term rental cancellations have sky-rocketed, meaning landlords have had to rethink their investment strategy and list their holiday rental properties on the long-term market.'”

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This Post Has 99 Comments

  1. ‘pretty much everything on the calendar through spring and the summertime, June 15th really, evaporated overnight,’ said AirDNA CEO Scott Shatford, adding that Nova Scotia’s trends are consistent with the rest of Canada’

    ‘According to Airbnb, however, which reached out to Global News after the publication of this story, the platform has ‘not seen a material drop in active listings’

    Where’s gullible griz, the airbnb believer? These ass-hats lie dozens of times a day.

    1. How many people go to Nova Scotia on an April vacation normally?

      “In April, as many as 38,490 listed properties in the province did not receive a single booking.”

      2. I was wondering that a month ago. Just how much vacay is going on to support 38K rooms in Nova Scotia? Is there some annual fishing or shipping event?

    2. canada is still in lockdown mode while the US is not. Hence the difference between Canadian and American booking numbers. I have a stay coming up for 4th of July weekend in Washington state myself, booked in January. Had no thoughts of cancelling it because a few people in NYC got sick. The whole Covid thing has been overblown on so many fronts.

  2. ‘More than half of Chiang Mai’s GDP is from the tourism industry, which is stumbling…Many job seekers today are those who used to work in the hotel business’

    This would be a problem anyway for Thailand. But they’ve had a big fat real estate bubble, so it’s gonna sux for them.

    I follow a couple of expat’s there. It does look bad for their economy. At one point the dictator said no one in, no one out. It just broke everything.

    1. Ditto for New Zealand, and possibly Iceland. Both NZ and Iceland are bragging that they “beat coronavirus.” If they had herd immunity, I would have agreed. But no, they’re still vulnerable. Now they need to shut out the rest of the world’s people to keep themselves virus free — not an easy thing for tiny island countries who both depend on tourism. I’m sure Iceland took a real hit just from the drop at Reykjavik Airport.

          2. Bjork and the Sugarcubes! We definitely cover a lot of musical territory on this blog. 🙂

        2. Iceland Air uses Reykjavik as a hub for all its flights. It has to be one of Iceland’s main sources of foreign exchange.

    1. I read that Antifa is calling for armed volunteers to join them in Seattle. This is going to be interesting.

      After the dust settles, they might rename that leveled area Haymarket Square.

      1. I read that Antifa is calling for armed volunteers to join them in Seattle. This is going to be interesting.

        My lefty relatives and friends are insisting that’s not really happening and if it is, it’s not those fine folks in Antifa doing it. I’m trying to keep an open mind but starting to lose patience with communists who so badly want to throw the baby out with the bathwater and reboot the country with themselves in charge.

  9. The woman that starts at the 16:03 mark of this video lost her 4 year old son, her brother and her father to black on black crime. To say that she hates Black Lives Matter seems like an understatement given her demeanor and the very genuine looking rage in her eyes.

    https://www.bitchute.com/video/oLS30MfJt00/

  10. “Sell in June and stay at home” lacks the prosody of “sell in May and go away.”

    1. The Financial Times
      Coronavirus business update 30 days complimentary
      Markets Briefing Equities
      Global stocks fall on Fed’s gloomy employment outlook
      US central bank’s median forecast is for 6.5% economic contraction in 2020
      Shares in Japan fell following the Federal Reserve’s grim employment forecast
      © AFP via Getty Images
      Hudson Lockett in Hong Kong and Philip Georgiadis in London 2 hours ago

      Global stocks fell sharply on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve predicted it would not raise rates until 2022 because of an expected protracted slump in employment.

      European stocks recorded significant declines at the opening bell, following broad losses in Asia.

      London’s FTSE 100 fell 2.3 per cent, and Germany’s Xetra Dax was down 2.5 per cent. The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 1.7 per cent.

      Concerns over a new wave of infections, particularly in the US, have also dented sentiment, analysts said. States across the west and south, which loosened their lockdowns weeks ago, are seeing a sudden jump in new cases.

      Japan’s benchmark Topix slipped 2.2 per cent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 3.1 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 1.5 per cent and the CSI 300 index of Shanghai and Shenzhen-listed stocks was down 1 per cent.

      The falls followed a cool reaction on Wall Street to the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates at near zero until 2022, with the S&P 500 index ending 0.5 per cent lower after swinging between gains and losses on Wednesday.

      The Fed left interest rates unchanged at 0-0.25 per cent by a unanimous vote and pledged to continue buying Treasuries and mortgage-backed bonds at least at the current pace.
      …

    2. Europe Markets
      Stocks in Europe skid as reversal from rally continues
      Published: June 11, 2020 at 3:26 a.m. ET
      By Steve Goldstein
      Medical staff provide coronavirus (COVID-19) antibody blood testing on the Boulevard de Belleville on 19th district in Paris, on June 10, 2020.
      Getty Images

      European stocks slumped Thursday in early trade, losing ground for a fourth session as traders looked for a new catalyst after the breathtaking rally from the depths of the coronavirus crisis.

      Up 32% from its March lows, the Stoxx Europe 600 (SXXP, -2.42%) skidded 2.5%.

      Decliners included airline Deutsche Lufthansa (LHA, -7.41%), oil service firm John Wood Group WG, -7.69% and travel agent TUI (TUI, -7.01%).

      The German DAX (DAX, -2.67%) fell 2.7%, French CAC 40 (PX1, -2.82%) tumbled 2.9% and U.K. FTSE 100 (UKX, -2.51%) dropped 2.5%.

      Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM00, -2.08%) fell 544 points, after the 282-point drop for the blue chips (DJIA, -1.03%) on Wednesday.
      …

    3. U.S. stock futures sink after Dow falls for second straight day
      Published: June 11, 2020 at 12:03 a.m. ET
      By Mike Murphy

      U.S. stock index futures fell late Wednesday, after the Dow and S&P 500 fell for a second straight day. As of midnight Eastern, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM00, -2.11%) were last down more than 300 points, or 1.2%, while S&P 500 futures (ES00, -1.70%) and Nasdaq-100 futures (NQ00, -1.10%) fell too. The Dow (DJIA, -1.03%) and S&P 500 (SPX, -0.53%) closed lower Wednesday after the Fed said it will keep interest rates unchanged at near zero through 2022, while keeping up its current pace of bond-buying to support credit markets through the pandemic.
      …

    4. Billionaire bond king Jeff Gundlach said the stock market will likely fall from its ‘lofty’ perch despite ‘Superman’ Jerome Powell’s policies
      Shalini Nagarajan
      Jun. 10, 2020, 01:33 PM
      Brendan McDermid/Reuters
      – Billionaire “bond king” Jeffrey Gundlach expects the stock market to fall from its “lofty” perch as he warned of corporate credit downgrades and a rise in white-collar layoffs on Tuesday.
      – Gundlach said traders think the Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell is “Superman,” and he is expected to keep the fed fund rates at zero for the next two years.
      – His comments came ahead of a much-anticipated key policy meeting on Wednesday that will determine future guidance, justify main street lending facilities, and is expected to touch upon the US protests.
      – “I certainly do expect that Jay Powell would follow through on controlling the yield curve should the 30-year rate really get unhinged,” Gundlach said.

      The stock market is likely to fall from its “lofty” perch alongside waves of corporate credit downgrades and white-collar unemployment, Jeffrey Gundlach, founder and chief executive of DoubleLine Capital, said in a webcast on Tuesday.

      Describing the market as overinflated, he said he thinks the market falling is a “pretty good bet.”

      “If you think that the stock market is going to fall from its fairly lofty perch right now – which I think is a pretty good bet,” he said, adding that such investors should bet on increased dollar strength.
      …

    5. Where did all the bulls go? Seems like they are doing that vanishing act again that they did earlier this year.

    6. Musk tweets ‘lol’ at stock market
      Published: June 11, 2020 at 6:17 a.m. ET
      By Steve Goldstein

      Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted “lol” on Thursday morning — a reference he clarified to apply to “stonks,” the colloquial term given to the rallying stock market. U.S. stock futures (ES00, -2.44%) pointed to a sharply lower start on Thursday, extending the decline since the Federal Reserve said it would keep interest rates at zero through 2022. Musk’s Tesla (TSLA, -3.57%) was lower in premarket trade.
      …

      1. Was he simply stoned again? Or did he manage to cash out a bunch of stocks at the recent highs?

        1. I don’t know if he cashed out, but he did qualify for and lock in his giant milestone payout if I understood correctly. So I think now he can ignore stock prices for a while and just focus on making stuff. To me the question is will his customers continue to be able to buy his stuff? If so, then he should be fine by the next milestone, too.

  11. A couple days ago I got an email from Zillow, asking if I had considered refinancing my home. (I had to sign up for zillow a couple years ago in order to remove the old realtor pix of my house.) Zillow has *never* sent me unsolicited emails before. They want to help me “find a lender.”

    Are banks really hurting for refi? IIRC, didn’t banks stop answering the phone because they were getting so much refi business? Or maybe they’re just after people with really good credit? Or, could it be because I’ve been running up my credit card lately and they think I need more credit?

    1. I remember i think it was 2010 when both my credit cards were automatically increased one as $1000 the other $4000 without even asking. Will this happen again soon?

    2. Interesting. We were getting bombarded on an almost weekly basis for years after the first bubble burst with TARP refinancing offers, packets urgently delivered by FedEx — “Refinance NOW, while you still can!”, even though I never had any employment troubles or any difficultly making the note every month.

      Our mortgage ultimately got sold to a non-bank lender a few years ago, and they have been cold calling nonstop for much the same reason. One time, I actually opened up one of the offer letters they additionally sent, just for the fun of it. They wanted to give us a measly $10K cash-out in exchange for turning the clock on the mortgage all the way back to the first month of a 30-year loan, with no significant change in the monthly payment — we have lived here over 16 years now. Why would anyone want to do that?

      They’re obviously fishing for suckers who are short on liquidity to see if anyone will take the bait. And I seriously doubt that Zillow is working with any legitimate lenders — my guess would be that they’re non-banks who are trying to shore up their balance sheets in anticipation of all of the upcoming defaults and foreclosures later this year.

    1. You have to admit that “colds” that can send you to the ICU or kill you are scarier than the kind that just make you blow your nose alot.

      1. Weather’s going to kill you. Virus going to kill you. Unemployment going to kill you. Real Estate is death. Riots going to kill you. Plenty of year left to make it the year you die six ways from Sunday.

        1. Come to think of it, nobody leaves the planet alive. It’s all about the timing.

          Still, I’d prefer not to have the Wuhan flu hasten my departure.

          1. Have you pondered why it is that hundreds of millions of people living in close proximity to China and access to only medieval level health care have much lower fatalities from CV despite significant numbers of Chinese traveling in and out of their countries? We are separated from China by the Pacific Ocean, shut down air travel, and have the most technologically advanced heath care system in the world. Yet we have over one hundred thousand deaths attributed to CV. Vietnam has a population of 95 million people and zero CV deaths. What is the simplest and most obvious explanation that is most unpalatable?

          2. What is the simplest and most obvious explanation

            Vietnam has an authoritarian government?

            Or even simpler and more obvious: they’re lying?

          3. access to only medieval level health care

            Maybe they don’t pay for test kits and an army of statistics recorders? Maybe they don’t put their elderly in so-called nursing homes?

        1. what always fascinated me was the aver age of our founding fathers was well above any average jefferson was 83 john adams was 90 just amazing for the times

          1. They didn’t live on GMO soy, soda and chips and weren’t injected with 65 questionable vaccines to “protect” themselves. They ate real food and worked their azzes off, just like all those WW2 veterans that lived to their 90s.

          2. Washington died at 67. Monroe died at 73. Hancock was only 56.

            I took a looksie at the list of signers of the Declaration of Independence. Many died young.

          3. worked their azzes off

            Maybe their indentured servants and slaves did. Still, they were probably far more active and leaner than today’s fat azzes.

          4. I had a close up look at DC and some nearby sites a few years ago. It’s probably not BLM-PC to point this out, but Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home just downriver from DC on the Potomac River, was once a large, self-sufficient plantation, staffed by slaves and replete with onsite farming and fishing operations. I haven’t been to Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello yet, but my understanding is that it was a similar operation. And Confederate general Robert E. Lee’s family home was at the site of today’s Arlington National Cemetery.

            Though some might find these truths inconvenient, our founding fathers were slaveowners. You can’t understand the social transformations that brought about today’s America by ignoring this.

          5. our founding fathers were slaveowners.

            And the very first slave owner in the USA was a black man.

            And according to Sowell, more blacks owned whites in Africa than whites owned blacks in the USA.

            Plus, slavery has existed for thousands of years. So why is it so special that our founders owned slaves?

            And in addition to all that, both Washington and Jefferson were against slavery and had plans to try to end it. And there were reasons both of them owned slaves that had nothing to do with wanting to own them. But whole books have been written on that subject and there’s no way to do it justice here.

          6. “And according to Sowell, more blacks owned whites in Africa than whites owned blacks in the USA.”

            That’s awesome. It almost seems like slavery was an openly acknowledged part of early America’s economic order.

            It seems much more honest to openly acknowledge this sort of arrangement, rather than hiding it under coverage of mortgage debt servitude.

          7. It almost seems like slavery was an openly acknowledged part of early America’s economic order.

            In every case they would have been better off with hired labor. When every expense is considered, slavery (real slavery) wasn’t very efficient.

  13. Do thoughts of a looming bank collapse concern you? Or is it safe to assume that the Fed would easily contain any such development with Unlimited Quarantinive Easing?

    1. The Looming Bank Collapse
      The U.S. financial system could be on the cusp of calamity. This time, we might not be able to save it.
      George Wylesol
      Story by Frank Partnoy
      July/August 2020 Issue
      Business
      Like ​The Atlantic? Subscribe to ​The Atlantic Daily​, our free weekday email newsletter.

      After months of living with the coronavirus pandemic, American citizens are well aware of the toll it has taken on the economy: broken supply chains, record unemployment, failing small businesses. All of these factors are serious and could mire the United States in a deep, prolonged recession. But there’s another threat to the economy, too. It lurks on the balance sheets of the big banks, and it could be cataclysmic. Imagine if, in addition to all the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, you woke up one morning to find that the financial sector had collapsed.

      You may think that such a crisis is unlikely, with memories of the 2008 crash still so fresh. But banks learned few lessons from that calamity, and new laws intended to keep them from taking on too much risk have failed to do so. As a result, we could be on the precipice of another crash, one different from 2008 less in kind than in degree. This one could be worse.
      …

      2. The crap discussed in the Atlantic article is surreal. How many thousands or 10K’s of people around the world are getting paid six- or seven-figure salaries (plus bonuses!) to dream up and manage garbage like these CLO’s?

        1. It’s an open secret that banksters love financially engineering sh!tty assets that pay out huge gains while bubbles are inflating and qualify for too-big-to-fail systemic risk bailouts when bubbles collapse, courtesy of their Fed enablers. It’s a great recipe for making bundles of money at all points in the bubble cycle.

        1. It always amazes me what I don’t notice until after the 10th time I watch a music video!

          Robin Williams In ‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy’ Video Will Make You Smile
          The late comedian’s goofball antics will always make us happy.
          Gil Kaufman
          08/12/2014

          When Robin Williams walked onto a stage or screen, you had to smile. And if you didn’t, chances are he would do something, or say something within, like, five seconds that would have you rolling on the floor or laughing through your tears. The actor, who died on Monday at age 63, was the master of pointing out the absurdities of life and playing characters who never lost their youthful spark.

          He was also, once upon a time, a huge music video star. You see, back in 1988, jazz vocalist Bobby McFerrin scored a truly oddball one-hit wonder based on his unique body-thrumming vocalizations called “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” Maybe you never saw it, but you’ve heard the song in, oh, I don’t know, “WALL-E,” “The Simpsons,” “That ’70s Show,” “Cocktail,” “Dawn of the Dead” or a Huggies commercial?

          The video, made 10 years before Williams became an Oscar winner, was in heavy rotation on MTV at the time, and it features Williams goofing alongside physical comedy genius Bill Irwin, wearing a housedress, Hawaiian shirts and cheesy suits, doing silly walks and dances, trying to bribe a limo driver and, in a now bittersweet moment, staring straight into camera and breaking into a warm, heart-melting laugh.
          …

    2. Systemic Racism in Police Departments is false.

      Smolly attacked by Maga people was false.
      Russia collusion false.
      Impeachment false.
      Ford attack of rape by Supreme Court Judge was false.
      FBI take down of General Flynn and attempt on President was false.
      China claiming USA started covid 19 was false.
      Climate Change narrative is false.

      Systemic attempt by Communist to overtake the USA by false narratives and systemic overtake of school systems, Politicians, violations of rule of law, and mod overtake of all aspects of civil Society. Globalists and Commies have hijacked the Civil Rights Movement of the 60 to bring down America and keep a Oligarchy, while the Communist just want to take over.

      How do you like Big Government running your life. How do you like the Globalist stealing your birthright and survival for money. How do you like the Communist mod demands.

  16. Video:

    ‘The coronavirus pandemic is driving down rents in the Bay Area. Recent report by Zumper finds rent is down 9% in San Francisco from a year ago. In parts of the South Bay, the drop is as large as 15%. Experts say the trend will likely accelerate as there are more layoffs, and many leave the Bay Area for less expensive cities.’

    https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/making-it-in-the-bay/pandemic-drives-down-rents-in-the-bay-area/2307270/

    Wa happened to my shortage?

    1. Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle)
      Seattle-area commercial real estate sales stopped cold in April
      It was an 88% drop. The industrial market was hit …

      1. Sacramento Business Journal
        Yardi Matrix: Sacramento luxury rents dropping – For the first time in several years, a report shows year-over-year rents dropping in one Sacramento apartment category.

      2. Seattle-area commercial real estate sales stopped cold in April
        It was an 88% drop. The industrial market was hit …

        The current BS going on there isn’t going to help.

  18. LMAO at this Thursday morning CNBC headline. It instantly reminded me of the shoeshine boys anecdote:

    “Frothy trading in bankrupt companies, penny stocks sent red flags that a pullback was due”

    Bullet points:
    – Bubbly price moves in the stocks of bankrupt companies, a jump in the number of bullish investors and surging activity by small investors in stock options are signs that the stock market may have run too far, too quickly.
    – There’s even been a big rally in stocks trading under $1 per share, which racked up an average gain of nearly 80% in the past week.
    – The market’s strong gains have been a magnetic lure for some retail investors, who feel like they haven’t been invested enough, and for others who are finally beginning to trust the market’s comeback.
    – Stocks skidded sharply Thursday as some of that froth began to unwind.

    3. What happened to the idea that the Fed’s Unlimited QE4-ever would ensure no more down days on Wall Street would ever again occur?

    1. “What’s a merchant supposed to do?”

      Just close the store altogether, I guess. Like when the Walmart near Nellis AFB in Las Vegas was closed in 2016.

      https://youtu.be/yrTGnm7ToC4

      Here’s an interesting reddit discussion about this. I’m not sure if it was ever formally placed “off limits” for the local base personnel. Or if they were simply advised to avoid it. I visited that store during the daytime hours once, and it was pure ghetto.

      https://www.reddit.com/r/vegas/comments/4142n7/the_walmart_at_nellis_and_craig_is_closing_on_the/

      1. I visited that store during the daytime hours once, and it was pure ghetto.

        I remember when WalMart’s target market was small town America. The first WalMart I ever saw was in Payson, AZ. Then they figured out how to out mart K-Mart and suddenly they were in everywhere.

        1. The IT planets lined-up for Walmart at the right time. The countrywide fiber optic, the relational database and UPC bar codes on everything enabled long distance management. K-mart was locked in with aging management that were likely set in their old ways.

        2. I remember when WalMart’s target market was small town America.

          That was around the same time they made a big deal out of buying from American manufacturers, wasn’t it?

        3. The first Walmart I ever visited was in Altus, Oklahoma. This was in 1985 and was definitely not the Supercenter that is now in that town.

          IIRC, it put the local TG&Y out of business. And probably some other stores too.

    2. So, you don’t believe we’re on the eve of distruction like Barry Mcquires song said.

      The issues like the Viet Nam War and Civil Rights were valid issues to talk about in the 60 and 70s.

      Now it’s valid to talk about the takeover from within the USA.

      Who are these revolution fighters that have hijacked the Dems party and along with the Globàlist Money Changers are destroying the Constitution with fake narratives?
      Who are these people that want to abolish free speech in favor of false narratives, and devisive identity politics.

      Who are these people that want to burn the flag and make while people kneel for imagined crimes.

      No investigation on if any of the claims are true, just believe the Mod, like the Russian Hoax . Believe them while they loot and burn down the cities and want to defund the Police.

      I thought this kind of a cultural war was at least 10 years away, and maybe avoidable. But no, take advantage of a panadamic when everyone is down.

      1. I thought this kind of a cultural war was at least 10 years away

        Apparently the globalists have decided that now is the time to make their move. I am surprised that they lost their patience and didn’t try to disarm the populace first.

        Or maybe they are hoping that a full blown civil war will paralyze the US and allow them to do as they please with the rest of the world?

        1. I am surprised that they lost their patience and didn’t try to disarm the populace first.

          It seems they’ve decided that’s too hard. Easier to cut them off economically and then pay half to kill the other half and repeat as needed instead. They may be right.

          1. Problem is that the half they want dead has most of the guns.

            But a destabilized and financially crippled US might be all they need to take over the world.

          2. Problem is that the half they want dead has most of the guns.

            The ones without guns don’t count except whatever usefulness they might have for producing things and manipulating those with guns. I mean split the ones with guns down the middle if possible.

          3. But a destabilized and financially crippled US might be all they need to take over the world.

            I’ve been trying to figure out WTH is really going on. Maybe this is it? I dunno.

          4. all they need to take over the world.

            They’re missing something, or let’s say they’re faking something. Communism was able to take over places that were run by monarchs. They put in place their own dictatorships. Those places yearn for freedom.

            We have freedom. That will not easily be replaced by communist dictatorship. They pretend we live in a dictatorship, which is a lie. Everyone who loves freedom must struggle to keep hold of it, standing on our feet and not being ashamed of being free. Against this, the so-called Resistance has no chance.

    3. What’s a merchant supposed to do?

      Don’t carry items that are likely to be shoplifted?

      1. A lot of the stuff being locked up are “basic essential” items.

        I’ve been in a Walmart that would have been noticeably understocked if they eliminated all the items they had locked up.

        1. They can card the items and put them on the racks that require a clerk to get it for you. You can touch it and there’s no glass case, like the electronics section. Of course the price will have to double.

    4. “What’s a merchant supposed to do?”

      The Walmart in East Oakland closed several years ago.

  20. Are your diamond purchase plans on hold?

    The Financial Times
    Coronavirus business update 30 days complimentary
    Diamonds and gemstones
    Diamond sales freeze: ‘I’ll sort out the ring when the madness ends’
    Global industry that relies on sight and touch to attract consumers grinds to a halt
    Global lockdowns have meant that human handling at each step of the diamond supply chain is not possible
    © Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
    Emiko Terazono, Neil Hume and Anna Gross in London and Benjamin Parkin in New Delhi an hour ago

    When Kenneth Monahan, a financial analyst in New York, got down on one knee to propose to his girlfriend on a Delaware beach at dawn earlier this month, he presented her with a fake diamond ring.

    With jewellery shops closed because of the lockdown, he said: “I’ll sort out the full ring when the madness ends.”

    For many consumers, a diamond ring is a big financial — and emotional — investment, one that they are loath to make online, where it is harder to assess the cut and the clarity.

    With malls and jewellery stores shut during the coronavirus lockdowns, the $80bn diamond industry has ground to a halt.

    From the diamond mines of South Africa and the polishers in India, to the grading of stones in Antwerp and retailers in London’s Hatton Garden and New York’s Diamond District, each stage of the diamond value chain requires close personal contact and human handling. As a result, the industry has been hit hard by the coronavirus crisis.

    “[The global lockdowns] impacted everything. Nobody [in the industry] was unaffected,” said Stephen Lussier, the head of consumer and brands at De Beers, the diamond group.
    …

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