...the retailers, especially those born of private equity deals (ala loaded to the gills with debt), will be dropping like flies. This season saw cataclysmic consumer spending, and deflationary expectations are now firmly entrenched in the minds of consumers - if they can't steal it, they aren't biting, and if stores placate that desire, they only dig a deeper hole for themselves. On top of this, jobless claims are rising, so even those with jobs and money are scared, and clinging, white knuckle style, to their money. Add a critical situation where banks are basically all but not lending any money for big ticket items and credit card companies dramatically slashing unsecured lines of credit, and you have a very, very ugly retail and consumption landscape.
if not 30 days, soon enough... http://moneycentral.msn.com/inc/news/providerredir.asp?feed=AP&date=20081229&id=9478140