Chapter 15 Blog

http://www.finance-commerce.com/article.cfm?recID=10038

Summary: Because of the economic recession stores and businesses have been suffering from poor sales. This article reveals the percentage decline in retail stores in North America. Last month in January, sales of retail stores dropped 1.6%. This was not as bad as expected but still increased a monthly sales slump to a consecutive four months. Luxury stores suffered from even greater hardship, as their sales went down 11.4%. January is the least important month of retail stores, but the percentages show how weak consumer spending is. Merchants couldn’t even rely on a boost from gift cards, mainly because customers were looking for sales or just not buying at all. People are concerned about home prices, tight credit, and more, but their biggest worry is job security and income. The unemployment rate is currently at 7.2%, but expected to be driven up to 7.5% when the government releases new figures. This would be the highest unemployment rate in 17 years.

Connections: My article is connected to Chapter 15 as a result of comparing sales from different time periods. The article shows how sales have dropped either lightly, or heavily, due to our recent recession. In chapter 15 "Analyzing Financial Statements" there is a comparison of financial data. The article compares the sales in January of 2009. This month is compared financially with the sales from last year and reveals the differences in percentages. Section 15.2 from Chapter 15 focuses more in depth of comparing sales and profits, which is similar to what this article does by comparing the decline in sales from last year, to this year January.

Reflection: I believe that these percentages are accurate, and will continue to descend as long as the major recession is in process. I do not find it surprising that Businesses are making fewer sales because now is a tough time for many of their customers. There is bills that must be paid, items that need to be purchased, and money that has to be made. It would be especially difficult if you are unemployed, or have recently been fired. Companies aren't generating their fulfilled sales, so they will fire or temporarily lay off workers, which makes this an extremely stressful time for everyone caught in the recession’s path.