It’s My Imagination

Passing By Louis Vuitton and Saks

My daughter and I headed out today, gift cards in hand, shopping list at the ready, to purchase those accessories and what-nots that we didn’t get for Christmas. We decided to venture out of our comfort zone and visit a shopping center we’d never been to before, mainly because it had an Apple store location and she was looking for accessories for her mp3 player.

We were very surprised upon arriving to see that it was a regular shopping mall, not exactly what we were expecting. Then, upon entering the mall we discovered most of the stores inside were quite upscale including Saks Fifth Avenue and a Louis Vuitton store. We did quickly find the Apple store, but they were sold out of the cases my daughter was looking for and then just strolled around getting sticker shock at just about everything we looked at.

With the economy the way it is, it didn’t surprise me to see so few people in the mall and most of the stores. Although the Dallas area as a whole has not been hit as hard as other areas of the country, people are certainly watching their money more closing and not spending. Many people have found themselves carrying too much debt and are now risking job loss or have all ready lost their jobs. The job market is uncertain and again, causes people to stress over how they’re going to pay their bills.

Perhaps, rather than being out shopping, many people were looking into IVA, a formal a legally binding agreement between debtors and creditors, which allows people to make as large of payments as they can afford, the most important thing being that payments are being made. The IVA can be the best option for creditors because they are more likely to get payments if a person has not yet filed for bankruptcy, and for debtors, it is simply a positive approach to fixing a financial situation.

I’m certainly hoping the economy turns around sooner rather than later, but if you’re one of those who may be facing bankruptcy, IVA may be the right move.

Tribune Filing for Bankruptcy?

Looks like we’re in for another round of bankruptcies and this time we may see Tribune Co., parent of the Chicago Tribune, filing for Chapter 11.   In addition to owning the Chicago paper, Tribune Co., also owns the Los Angeles Times, as well as several other newspapers, plus the Chicago Cubs major league baseball time and the stadium they play in, Wrigley Field.

Tribune Co., has hired financial advisors to look into ways of restructuring their current debt which is in the neighborhood of $12 billion.  Advertising revenue, a mainstay of revenue for  newspapers, has been on a steady decline over the last few years.

Is print news going the way of the dinosaur?

Mrs. Fields to File Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Another company is biting the dust. Well, at least it’s taking that first fateful  step. According to Fox Business News, Cookie maker Mrs. Fields is planning to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Besides owning all the cookie stands inside of malls, Mrs. Fields also owns TCBY yogurt. Personally, I believe TCBY may have been the beginning of their downfall.  TCBY is one of those companies that could be good, but the ones I’ve been inside of in recent years are dirty and have poor customer service.Mrs. Fields is currently $200 million in debt and losing money at a rather rapid pace. While filing Chapter 11 does not necessarily mean that Mrs. Fields will be going out of business, it doesn’t look too good. The company has remained privately owned since its inception in the 1970’s.