- $SBUX (Starbucks) fell 5% afterhours monday as consumers cut back on their coffee splurges. The coffee retailer, in a regulatory filing, said 2009 will be "extremely" challenging as it anticipates a pullback in spending by customers as more people lose their jobs, face foreclosures and file for bankruptcy protection.
- But if people are foreclosed on and move from a $2000 mortgage to a $1200 rent payment, won't they have more money to spend on coffee? The bank gets stuck with the house and the people move on. And with gasoline prices down from nearly $5 a gallon to about $2 a gallon, that's a big boost to the wallet. If one uses 15 gallons of fuel a week, that's $45 a week to spend on something else. Stores and restaurants around here have been very crowded.
- But lots of competition for your coffee dollars out there. I had one from McDonalds today...
- Peter Brimelow takes a look at a money guru who has done well this year. But - and it's a big but - the long-term record isn't that great.
- Seems strange that just as the US appears to be ready to fight the good fight against "global warming," Europe is moving in the opposite direction. Looks like the main reason is economic costs.
- The electric car economy from Fortune. It seems to be coming, but one troubling thing is they write, Another winner in the electric car economy will be solar and wind companies and utilities, particularly those like PG&E (PCG) and Southern California Edison (EIX) that are making multi billion-dollar investments in renewable energy. Most folks would plug their cars in overnight, when there is no sunshine. Unless they're working graveyard.
