Thursday, October 05, 2006
Stock Market Hits New High. Wal-Mart Sinks To New
Low
Despite reports that the economy is slowing, the Dow hit new all time highs
the last couple of days. CNBC has been wetting itself in excitement as market
alerts flash on the screen every 5 minutes with announcements of new intraday
highs and record closings. With oil dipping below the $60 mark for the first
time since March and the general commodity market quite bearish, the Dow has
roared ahead.
But Oil rebounded today to $60 territory. Why? Because OPEC is carrying through
on its threat/promise to cut production if oil dropped below $60/barrel. I wish
that I'd saved the old link when some oil minister made that statement. So, get
used to $60 oil because OPEC has. It's not going away unless something drastic
happens. No, new
discoveries won't help. It takes too long for them to come on line to affect
the market in the short term.
Wal-Mart, the nation's number one employer in the private sector, announced
changes to its employment practices. They want more part-time and less full time
workers (to save money on healthcare coverage). They want all workers to be
available 24-7 (1900 of Wal-Mart's 4000 stores are open 24-7), which is not
family-friendly. Wage caps will be put in place for all jobs. No "glass" ceiling
here. It's plainly visible for all to see. Well, I'm sure that the guys at the
top won't have the caps.
Sally Wright, 67, an $11-an-hour greeter at the Wal-Mart in
Ponca City, Okla., said she quit in August after 22 years with the
company when managers pressed her to make herself available to work any time,
day or night. She requested staying on the day shift, but her manager reduced
her schedule from 32 hours a week to 8 and refused her pleas for more hours, she
said.
Emphasis added by me and the source link is gone as of 2011
She's been working there for 22 years and is only making $11/hour? I suppose in
rural parts of the country where the cost of living is low that could be
acceptable. But in the Northeast, $11/hour won't get you much.
Wal-Mart's been on my boycott list now for 4 years. I won't shop there unless I
have no other choice, which has happened twice (both times on vacation). Before
this latest batch of news, my reasons were their poor hiring and employment
practices (which are now worse), damage to small town economies, and poor
product supply management.
When you're a stay-at-home parent, your shopping trips for needed supplies are
constrained within a narrow time window defined by feeding and napping (the
kids that is). Typically, you need to get your shopping done all at one
place. So it doesn't do you any good if one of the primary items you need, like
diaper pail liners, is out of stock. Now you need to go to another store,
putting the kids through another round through the car seats and pushing the
envelope on infant/toddler meltdown.
Do I think that my boycott will have any effect on Wal-Mart? Absolutely not
(Yes, I saw that South Park episode). But I sleep better at night knowing that
I'm not making them any richer.
Jerry Webman of Oppenheimer Funds was on CNBC this afternoon to discuss the
effects of retiring Boomers on the market and the economy. He stated that,
"10% of the population owns 2/3 of the country's assets." Even anchor Bob
Pisani was taken aback by this statistic. To put that in Joe 6-pack perspective,
say there's a gathering of 10 people with a case of beer to split between them.
That means one guy gets 16 beers, leaving the remaining 8 to be split up among
the 9 other people. While one can't compare beer to the nation's assets, it does
offer some perspective.
\_/
DED
2 Comments:
 Alan P. said...
-
OPEC is calling a sick, sick, bluff. Wa Mart won't go higher because the
manipulators know better than to take on a financial superpower like that. It
is easier to run up the price on small margins, no reason to buck against the
grade, ie, why tackle reality? Rhetorical question. Hey it's working good for
me! Must be the alignment of the planets or something.
- 10/05/2006 6:53 PM
 Mike said...-
Color me unsurprised that the market's reaching all-time highs as Election
Day approaches.
I'd love to see what M3's doing, but of course, there's
no M3 to check.
- 10/06/2006 3:24 PM
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About Me
Name: DED
Location: United States
I'm a stay-at-home Dad who survived dotcom burnout and a
chemical engineering career that fizzled. While the kids are in school,
I'm free to write stories.
I'm a rational environmentalist, science and technology enthusiast, who leans
libertarian, reads and watches sci-fi, drinks and brews beer, and listens to
metal.
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