2019: "The US is on the edge of the economic precipice – Trump may push it over"

Link to The Guardian

"... After the 1929 crash, the government invented new ways to boost the wages of most Americans – social security, unemployment insurance, overtime pay, a minimum wage, the requirement that employers bargain with labor unions, and, finally, a full-employment program called the second world war.

"By contrast, after the 2007 crash the government bailed out the banks and pumped enough money into the economy to stop the slide. But apart from the Affordable Care Act, nothing was done to address the underlying problem of stagnant wages.

"Ten years after the start of the Great Recession, we face another economic precipice."

Nothing from Santa for Hammerson: "Ghosts of Christmas past come to haunt the Whitgift Centre"

Link to 'Inside Croydon'

"... I cross over North End from Whitgift to have a look at Centrale, the slightly more upmarket (I feel I am damning with faint praise here) sister shopping centre (this wholly-owned by Hammerson, the other half of the 'Croydon Partnership'). This is where, according to the display in the Whitgift, 'many of the existing shops… can move during the redevelopment', so I take a look to see if there is room for such a retail migration. There is room.

"There are more eerily empty spaces in Centrale. The two elves employed to shepherd children into Santa’s grotto chat to each other in front of the optimistically long and totally empty queuing area.

"The surreal world of the commercial estate agent is exposed in the great empty space that links Debenhams to Centrale's main stairwell."

Barnet's gamble: Playing with Trains

20-12-21 Barnet DPR - IA Ra... by on Scribd

The Guardian: "'Peak stuff', interest rates and a dollop of Brexit have retailers worried". Plus Hammerson worries

"The UK high street is suffering and now even online outlets are feeling the pinch"

Link to web site

"... Reports from retailers for November have been downbeat. Mike Ashley, the founder of Sports Direct, said the start of the Christmas period was 'unbelievably bad'. The monthly report from the payment company Visa found that spending in November was down for a second month. The online clothing firm, Asos sent share prices of the entire UK retail sector lower on Monday when it issued a profits warning after much worse than expected November sales.

"In truth, retailers have been hit by a number of disparate factors simultaneously. Factor number one is that during a period when budgets have been squeezed, consumers have put a higher priority on going out than they have on buying things, leading to speculation that the UK might have reached 'peak stuff'.

"Factor number two is the increased tendency for people to shop online, where the prices tend to be lower and parking is not a problem. Bricks-and-mortar retailers are having a really tough time, with footfall down and costs up."

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Just Fancy That

"Shopping centre owner Hammerson has been accused of understating its true debt position through creative accounting. Hammerson has kept its headline loan-to-value (LTV) - the ratio of its debts to its assets - below its self-imposed 40% limit by accounting for its retail outlets business, which includes the popular Bicester Village, in a way that is the most flattering, rather than most appropriate, according to Barclays analyst Paul May." - Sunday Times

"Struggling shopping centre owner Hammerson is attempting to fill empty space by playing the traditional role of department stores, renting out concessions direct to small brands. With House of Fraser, Debenhams and even John Lewis under pressure, the owner of the Bullring in Birmingham and Brent Cross in London is faced with unoccupied property and so is seeking to assemble its own collection of fashion, beauty and food concessions on floors formerly used by department stores." - Sunday Telegraph