IT'S DIFFERENT THIS TIME

http://arhaus.com/ Higher end home furn...salesman told me biz off more than 50%....

Area eateries
http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-te.bz.smallbiz23mar23,0,7798947.story

Marco and Petra Pineyro, owners of Kiko's Mexican Restaurant in Perry Hall, tried everything to keep their restaurant running amid the worsening economy - they sought marketing advice, lowered prices and even offered a "dinner for a nickel" special.But squeezed between skyrocketing food, electricity and labor costs, as well as penny-pinching consumers who are eating out less, the Pineyros reached the end of the line. Kiko's - which had received good reviews from food critics and was named "Best Mexican Restaurant" in 2006 by Baltimore Magazine - is closing March 31, exactly three years after it opened.

FED policy working? 30-year mortgage rates move to 6.13% from 6.03%

Trickle down? http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/realestate/bal-bz.supplier20mar20,0,5756073.story


Fewer exhibitors and visitors have registered for this year's Builder Mart in Timonium, a little over 6,000 compared with more than 7,000 last year, amid the downturn for the homebuilding industry. (Sun photo by Kim Hairston / March 19, 2008)

Shelter Systems, a Westminster company that makes roof and floor trusses, had 220 employees in 2005. Now? Ninety.

Here come the lawsuits blame game
Bear Stearns Lawsuit
Explore Recovery Options for Losses From Bear Stearns Collapse.
http://www.stockbrokerfraudblog.com/
Moving BACK HOME
MILWAUKEE - After being laid off from her job as an events planner at an upscale resort, Jo Ann Bauer struggled financially. She worked at several lower-paying jobs, relocated to a new city and even declared bankruptcy.Then in December, she finally accepted her parents' invitation to move into their home -- at age 52. "I'm back living in the bedroom that I grew up in," she said.
BAIL ME OUT
Calls grow for U.S. to bail out homeowners, prevent foreclosures
Los Angeles Times Staff WriterFrom Wall Street to Capitol Hill, calls are growing for the government to get into the mortgage business as the only way out of the housing crisis roiling the economy and the financial markets. Proposals to shore up tottering home loans with taxpayer...
SEC ASLEEP
Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox was asked on March 11 if he was concerned about the financial condition of Bear Stearns Cos.''We have a good deal of comfort about the capital cushions at these firms at the moment,'' Cox told reporters in Washington.Three days later, the Federal Reserve said it was pumping emergency funds into the 85-year-old securities firm through JPMorgan Chase & Co., the third-biggest U.S. bank by assets
EARLY EASTER DOESNT HELP
NEW YORK - The nation's stores are awash with orange patent leather sandals and coral printed dresses, but gray or black would be a better match to shoppers' moods these days."The climate out there is frightening," said Judith Lederman, a public relations executive who was laid off from Lord & Taylor three weeks ago. The Scarsdale, N.Y. resident says she'll bypass the mall and dig into her closet for her spring wardrobe.

COMMERCIAL SPACE
If anyone needed further proof that the economy is heading into recession, several reports on commercial real estate provide it, including one released Thursday that showed Chicago is not immune to a downturn in demand for office space."The housing recession is now migrating into other parts of the economy, and we are seeing a drop in employment," said Paul Kasriel, chief economist for Northern Trust Co. "That is going to lower the demand for office space."Jones Lang LaSalle's "Skyline Review," released Thursday, said Chicago's office market may get through 2008 without too much damage, but that 2009 will likely be much worse.The company said downtown Chicago's vacancy rate for top-quality offices is now a little below 8 percent."An economic downturn coupled with significant new inventory could push the Class A vacancy rate back up to 11 percent by late 2009," said Rena Christofidis, vice president of Chicago Market Research at Jones Lang.
HISTORIC ACTION
Wall Street firms take emergency Fed loans
Associated Press
Associated Press WASHINGTON—Big Wall Street investment companies are taking advantage of the Federal Reserve's unprecedented offer to secure emergency loans, the central bank reported Thursday. The lending is part of a major effort by the Fed...

BEAT EST GAME *(even though A..its acct fiction and B....they fell 50%)
Morgan Stanley 1Q Profit Tops Estimates
AP Business WriterMorgan Stanley posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings on Wednesday, joining those from two of its rivals and indicating that Wall Street may be getting a better grip on the credit crisis. The nation's second-largest investment bank was able to...

HOW THEY SPIN THE FRAUD EARNINGS and HUGE YR/YR DROP

Morgan Stanley Earnings Raise Wall Street Hopes
Associated PressMorgan Stanley posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings on Wednesday, joining those from two of its rivals and indicating that Wall Street may be getting a better grip on the credit crisis. The nation's second-largest investment bank was able to...

Help is around the corner
NEW YORK - A rise in jobless claims and a drop in a key forecasting gauge provided the latest evidence that the U.S. economy is faltering and may be slipping into recession.
The Conference Board, a business-backed research group, said yesterday that its index of leading economic indicators fell in February for the fifth consecutive month. The index, which is designed to forecast where the nation's economy is headed in the next three to six months, dipped 0.3 percent to 135.0 in February after slumping 0.4 percent the month before.
HOME LOANS HARDER TO GET
WASHINGTON - Just when consumers and the U.S. economy need banks to lend more freely, the mortgage industry is making it harder to borrow - even for those with good credit.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-bz.crunch21mar21,0,3806827.story

*The deleveraging has begun, and credit CONTRACTION.....any efforts will only make it worse, IMHO

Duratek