PSoTD

For hiring a bulletin board spamming service to promote their perhaps legitimate business:

Dimwits

Mistaken and Unimaginative

Interesting article on MSNBC about business types facing extinction with ten years. But I really think that they've missed the boat on this one:

Coin-operated arcades

With Nintendo Wii, casual gaming online and the Xbox 360, the video game arcade industry is thriving, but not the standalone brick-and-mortar arcades. For those of you who thought arcades were already dead, they still exist — at movie theaters, miniature golf courses and other touristy spots — but it seems only a matter of time before they vanish from the landscape. Ten years ago, there were 10,000 arcades in the nation, and now the number is close to 3,000, according to the American Amusement Machine Association. Revenue from arcade game units brought in $866 million last year, which sounds good until you consider that in 1994, the industry was pocketing $2.3 billion and that the profits are only still high because it costs so much to play a game.

Odds of survival in 10 years: Game over.

I think the fact of the matter is that arcades are not going to be stand-alones, but they'll still exist due to complimentary entertainment combinations (think much more imaginative Chuck E. Cheese) and greater imagination used in game development. Hasn't anyone noticed that the arcade games of today look a LOT like casino games? Think that's an accident? I don't. How better to build the customers for slots and other machine casino games of the future by building starter games for kids today, using tickets and prizes for rewards.

It won't be going away.

Bread lovers, prepare for rising prices:

Wheat prices continue amazing market climb

The U.S. wheat market continues to go up, up, up as all three market exchanges - Minneapolis, Chicago and Kansas City - all hit historical highs in early September.

“These are the highest prices ever,” said Erica Peterson, marketing specialist for the North Dakota Wheat Commission. “Just this week alone, all exchanges were limit up two days in a row. Over the last two weeks prices have shot up about a dollar. Spring wheat futures for Minneapolis have been as high as $7.81. Chicago hit a high of $8.49 and Kansas City had $7.91.”

Although prices were down slightly on the day she gave this report, (Sept. 6), they are still very high. “They've gone practically straight up the last week or so,” Peterson said.

The main factors that continue to drive the market remain the same - tight supplies, world production concerns, and strong demand.

In fact, there was stronger export demand this past week that really caused a stir in the market.

Bread lovers all over the world, that is:

Prices for bread and other wheat products have been rising in Central Asia to record highs over the past three months, causing hardship for many people. Experts say the reasons behind the surging prices are not local, and that prices have gone up worldwide. Some Central Asian governments, however, are trying to find a solution to the problem inside their countries.

The start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan this year has coincided with soaring prices for bread, flour, and wheat in Central Asia. The increase in the cost of a staple like bread has caused severe problems for many people in the poverty-stricken region, where many have already cut down on other staples such as meat and butter.

Rahmatullo Saidov, a Dushanbe resident who came to the city market to buy flour, found the price has gone up by almost 60 percent since the beginning of September. Saidov says his family usually buys flour to make bread at home because it is cheaper than buying bread. However, Saidov says he is no longer able to pay for all of the flour he needs.

"I can't believe that during one week the flour price goes up from $20 [per 50-kilogram sack] to $32," Saidov says. "Do we have any law or government that could do something about it? Our salaries are not enough for flour anymore. My family needs three sacks of flour every month. My income is about $22 a month. I don't know what we are going to do."

Regionwide Crisis

People in the rest of the region -- including Kazakhstan, which is the main exporter of wheat in the region -- are facing similar crises with steep price increases reported in the other four Central Asian countries. But it is far from being a local problem.

What do you think?

Except that I think everyone should have anticipated that McMansions would eventually be used for almost anything other than homes for DINKs as the marketplace came off the bubble, this is a spot-on post/article.

Don't forget using them for group homes for various folks having difficulties. Welcome to the neighborhood!

Six of 10 households in Ohio are treading water financially, with no real income gains for 18 years, according to a Labor Day report from Policy Matters Ohio.

Meanwhile, the wealthiest households saw income rise by nearly 24 percent during the same period.

...

The study showed that how fast household income grows in Ohio varies sharply by one's position on the economic ladder.

For middle-income, lower- middle-income and low-income families, household incomes were stagnant, declined slightly or rose only slightly between 1988 and 2006. Upper-middle- income households, with income of about $58,700, had an income increase of less than $2,000.

The next tier, between the 80th and 95th percentile, did better, with an average family-income increase of $8,000. A rung higher, at the 95th to 99th percentile, household income rose by an average of $40,000.

But it was the richest 1 percent that saw the biggest jump. Average income rose from $698,000 in 1988 to $986,000 in 2006, a 40 percent spike. These households earned more than 26 times what middle-income households earned last year, Police Matters reported.

"This is Ohio and America in the new millennium," Executive Director Amy Hanauer said.