Russia, China warn of dire economic straits in 2009

Russia, China warn of dire economic straits in 2009

uk.biz.yahoo.com

In a sign of the times in Germany, Europe's biggest economy, poodles, terriers and sheepdogs queued up for rations in the country's first soup kitchen for pets in the German capital.

(visit the link for the full news article)



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[edit on 24-12-2008 by 12m8keall2c]

I predicted about 2 years ago that we were heading for something worse than the great depression & that we'd see the return of soup kitchens.

This development from Germany may be for animals now, but wait for the New Year. Begbies Traynor, a UK company insolvency specialist predicts the collapse of at least 10 national & regional chains of stores early in the New Year, since they are having to offer 50% discounts on stock now, the time of year when they usually make all of their profits.

Think of the knock on from this - Zavvi has today had to shut its doors & lay off 3000 workers as a direct consequence of the collapse of Woolworths.

There are going to be huge numbers unemployed in the first 3 months of the new year, and in my mind I can't see how soup kitchens can be avoided as the economic situation gets worse & our currencies are slaughtered leading to huge inflation.

Perpare for the worst & hope for the best.

uk.biz.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)



[edit: title to same as source]
Headline: Please use the original story headline from your source.

[edit on 24-12-2008 by 12m8keall2c]

reply to post by Power_Semi


Those poodles, terriers, sheepdogs are fortunate to be living in Germany
where they have a soup-kitchen to visit again & again...
if they were N Korean dogs, the rumor is; they would have been in the kitchens soup

Can Germans not Fish and Hunt?
There is free food.Especially for pets.Wild pigs, rabbits for example.
Humans needs vegetables.Which they can grow themselves.
One potato can grow 6 more potato's.
People need to realize that food doesn't come from the shop.

If you can believe it we've already had a crime wave in the Uk of people going to their allotments & finding that they have been raided & all of the vegetables have been stolen.

I think that the cost of food is going much higher & that many businesses are going to fold as they can't finance their debts & busines dries up at the same time.

People can't feed their pets already, before long it will be their children & themselves that they are begging food for.

reply to post by St Udio


lol ahh I must say that did cheer me up



I dont know what all the fuss is over, the nwo will look after us!!

Bring it on

Ukraine Faces Gas Cutoff Over $2.1 Billion Debt

MOSCOW (AP) -- Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev sternly urged Ukraine on Wednesday to fully pay its $2.1 billion debt for Russian natural gas supplies or face sanctions, as a Jan. 1 deadline for payment loomed.

Medvedev's statement was the strongest indication to date that Ukraine may face a repeat of January 2006 cutoff of Russian gas shipments which led to a reduction of supplies in Europe. It will likely raise worries in the European Union, which depends on Russia for 40 percent of its gas imports.

''If Ukraine fails to pay, we will use a whole arsenal of possible measures, there must be no illusions on this score,'' Medvedev said in televised remarks. ''They must pay the debt to the last ruble if they do not want their economy to face sanctions.''

Russia's state gas monopoly Gazprom on Wednesday reaffirmed its warning to turn off the taps on Ukraine, if the neighbor doesn't pay off the entire debt by the end of the year.

Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov said Ukraine's gas company Naftogaz told Gazprom officials that they wouldn't be able to pay the debt.

''We asked them a straight question -- will you pay up by the end of the year and we received the answer 'no','' Kupriyanov said at a news conference. He said that Ukraine's debt for November and December together with fines amounts to some $2.1 billion.

Naftogaz declined to comment saying talks were still ongoing.

But in a sign that both countries did not want to upset European consumers, Kupriyanov voiced hope that Ukraine wouldn't siphon gas intended for Europe from a transit pipeline crossing its territory as it did three years ago. He said Ukraine this time has enough gas saved in storage facilities to fulfill its transit obligations.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko made a similar statement earlier in the day, saying that supplies to Europe would be uninterrupted, as Ukraine has some gas saved up.

Ukraine is scrambling for the money amid a devastating financial crisis and relentless political turmoil. The country is relying on a $16.4 billion emergency loan from the International Monetary Fund to mitigate a meltdown as it buckles under a halving of exports and a sharp devaluation of the national currency.

The financial crisis is made worse by a messy tug-of-war between Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who accused the president Wednesday of seeking to usurp power by canceling upcoming presidential elections.

Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko has urged European countries to put pressure on Kiev to avoid a repeat of the 2006 gas war. The other transit country for Russian gas to Europe is Belarus.

(nytimes.com)

Originally posted by Power_Semi


Think of the knock on from this - Zavvi has today had to shut its doors & lay off 3000 workers as a direct consequence of the collapse of Woolworths.

I don't think it was due to the collapse of Woolworths, the reports I've seen suggest that it was the competitive buying costs. Zavvi had been in trouble for a while, not able to compete with others who have more beneficial deals on costs. Zavvi seems to have been precarious since its evolution from Virgin.

I also think we'll see a lot more brands vanishing from the high street. I thought this when I walked through Woolworths a few days ago.
I think many of them were hoping that Christmas sales would pull them out of the slump and allow them to compete properly again, but the market has driven prices down across the board and a lot of them just cannot compete.

My predictions on the next brands to go are Superdrug, Next, H. Samuels, and the very large chain of Dixons/Currys (I'm certain they are operated by the same larger company that is also said to be in trouble). There's also the M&S chain, which has been in the news several times in recent years for failing to secure sales and improve their image to meet the needs of buyers.
I've suggested these because they are well known "middle-road" companies, directly marketed toward middle England where the financial crisis is hitting hard or convincing people to save rather than spend.

It certainly is going to be an interesting few months.