A Glimpse Of The Future?

I read a very interesting article today. It's by Gerald Celente, and it's called The Collapse Of '09.

Here is an excerpt:

In 2009, the focus will broaden to include a range of calamities that will leave no sector unscathed. Next in line is retail, which accounts for some 70 percent of consumer spending, 26 percent of which is holiday sales.

After the numbers are tallied to reveal a dismal retail Christmas, more big chain bankruptcies will follow. Besides leaving masses unemployed, defunct retailers will leave behind thousands of empty stores. Who will rent them? Nobody!

Add to these empties commercial space vacated by defunct financial firms and an array of troubled businesses, from restaurants to architectural firms, to high-tech operations, to offset printers, etc., etc. The inescapable result (that we predicted over a year ago and is only now being discussed in the business media) is a commercial real estate bust that will be costlier, wreak greater havoc and prove more intractable than the residential market decline.

Because most people don’t live and shop on Wall Street, the "Panic of ’08" was viewed by Main Street as if from afar – even though many were losing money. But when commercial real estate crashes, it will hit much closer to home. The depressive atmosphere of thinly shopped, half-vacant malls will strike emotional chords and all the senses.

In office buildings, vacant floors and empty cubicles will dampen the workday spirit of the still-employed; ever-present reminders of laid-off friends and colleagues and of the fragility of employment.

Abandoned, untended business and industrial parks will highlight the already mournful scene. In cities studded with soaring towers and new construction predicated on eternal economic growth, streets lined with "For Rent/For Sale" signs will complement stilled cranes and uncompleted buildings.

You should really go read the whole thing. It's worth it.

I think he's right. That's it's going to start feeling more like a depression. Already in my city things are starting to slow down. People are leaving the city, trying their luck elsewhere.

There isn't much commercial real estate vacant, but we had a lot of trouble getting a roommate for my basement suite. We finally found somebody, but it wasn't nearly as easy as it was couple years ago.

The boom is definitely over.

This kind of thing just makes me redouble my efforts. I am determined to add more income streams, so that if the bottom does fall out of retail, I won't end up homeless or something.

I have started another blog about how to get the most out of your laptop. People will need to become ultra-productive if they want to remain employed or find a new job if something happens.

Using mobile computing technology properly can help them do that. So go visit my new blog called Best Rated Computer Laptops.

I just started it so don't expect too much to start with. I am going to review laptops and laptop accessories and share my favorite programs and utilities to get the most out of your laptop.

That's it for now. Thanks for reading.