some of us are still adjusting from the heady days of the 1990s...


"THE CONSUMER CONFIDENCE Index plummeted to 64.0 in February from a revised 78.8 in January - a drop of nearly 15 points, the Conference Board said. That is the lowest reading since the index hit 60.5 in October 1993.
      The latest index reading is far below analysts’ expectations of 77.0 for February.
      “Lackluster job and financial markets, rising fuel costs, and the increasing threat of war and terrorism appear to have taken a toll on consumers,” said Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board’s Consumer Research Center.
      Two related indices the Conference Board tracks monthly also plunged.
      The Expectations Index, intended to measure sentiment about conditions in the next six months, fell to 65.6 from 81.1 a month ago, while the Present Situation Index dropped to 61.6 from 75.3.
      “This month’s confidence readings paint a gloomy picture of current economic conditions, with no apparent rebound on the short-term horizon,” Franco said."

I hope so too, but i have a nasty feeling were not even close yet. Hope i'm wrong.

I have had 3 straight years of unparalled growth in my income, just lucky I guess, in the worst economy in years and now this month I will have a loss. Something is happening, I do not know what maybe this war scare and its not good. I didn't think it was possible, but I now think things will get worse before better. Looking for the DOW to hit 6000 and stay flat for some time. Belt tightening time. I wouldn't want to be a high end provider now. Walmarts survive and can do well, Neiman Marcus will be hurting. IMHO.

I  have a service business that is on call and provides services to Corporations that need a "babysitter" so to speak. It is more or less something they don't *need* but want. It has been thriving since I began this venture in the early 90's. Since 9/11/2001 it has been a rollercoaster, and the past 2 months it feels as though the ride has stopped for maintenance with an occassional test run here and there. My steady clients have slowed down, 2 of the largest went under in the last 2 months of 2002 and the smaller clients are shopping for lower rates.

In my business, I cannot think of lowering rates, as the insurance premiums were just raised 22.5%. This is a fine way of thanking a customer for more than 10 years of loyal business, without a single claim. Now the local government wants to raise the taxes for the third straight year.

I suppose it's time to find the new niche.

All the war talk has everyone in CYA mode.  Every indicator - from the vast majority of our allies, to our own stock market and those of the world - screams "Back down NOW!"... but the war talk has gone on for so long and so loudly that Bush cannot back down now without destroying his hopes of re-election.  So political gain once again overcomes common sense, and we all suffer for it.

Haz

It's going to rebound at some point, right?  Corporations are also feeling the consumer confidence levels dropping, and *hopefully* are staying on top of providing first-rate customer service and are willing to forego 3% price reductions in order to keep the customers happy -- and coming back (at least if they are smart enough to do so).  Times are good or times are bad; you need customers = keep what customers you have happy!  Keep in mind, today's number one consumer complaint is poor customer service!  I know I for one am tired of getting my "custom" drive-through order wrong 70% of the time....  !@#$%&* poorly-trained slack-ass teenagers!!!  (Personal rant, sorry....)

In times like these, customer satisfaction and targeted service customization is the prime objective to service oriented businesses to keep revenues up -- at least it should be.  Try targeting each of your corporations with customized packages at a reduced rate, "cut a deal" with them individually that helps them retain your services to keep your customers (and their customers) happy first and cut the fat in-house instead.

JMHO,

BJ, Palm Beach, Florida
[email protected]

I dont know either, I am also in a service to corporations. It is in the marketing arena and demand is down signifigantly. In the last 2 months of 2002 my gross receipts were down 2/3 of the previous months. The first 2 of this year was better but I am cutting costs everywhere I can and still clients want reduced rates. Actually I made more 10 years ago in rates than I do today, and my costs are signifigantly higher.

Amen to the bottom being here.  However, Haz, As someone who has served 12 years in our nation's military, I can only Make the comment that I would rather it be THEIR civilians dying over THERE than ours HERE.  This is not a political war, but a necessary and justified one.

And I don't just mean the current situation with Iraq. Once there is a definitive conclusion to our current struggle against militant Islam, we will know.

1. If we win, then the economy will skyrocket. All the resources, manpower, etc. currently employed in the fight will be able to be returned to peacetime uses. In addition, the removal of uncertainty will assure investors they can more safely invest.

2. If we lose, then the economy will tank big-time. A couple of attacks with biological or chemical weapons will cause a huge run on cash. We may even see hyper-inflation like the Germans did in the mid-20s. Trade will dry up because of the difficulty of transporting goods across our borders.

I sincerely hope we win.

I don't think that the economy will come back until the war situation is resolved.  I am not entirely sure about this war but CNN had an presented an interesting fact on their news several nights ago.  Of the 30 wars currently be fought around the world 28 of them involve Moslems.  Why are Moslems involved in so many wars around the globe?

While I'm not at all convinced of the necessity of this particular war, I agree wholeheartedly about the issue of them-vs-us in bodycount, in any situation (Iraq, North Korea, Al Quieda, etc.)

I agree that it is necessary to bring to justice those responsible for the 9/11 attack. However, W. has not made the case that Iraq had anything to do with it. Indeed, I believe that this obsession with Iraq is given Bin Ladin and Al Qaida the time and wherewithal to plan further attacks against us.