[Doomsday Economics] Home of Kirbeh's FREE SLICE ($25 delivery fee)

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(Thread IKs: skooma512)

Animal-Mother: Feb 14, 2012; RABBIT RABBIT
RABBIT RABBIT

I bought some super basic poo poo today and it cost me a lot of money.

:69snypa:

# ? Dec 31, 2023 22:41

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 25, 2024 10:40

RandomBlue: Dec 30, 2012; hay guys!; Biscuit Hider

Twigand Berries posted:

How do you deal with the book smell?

I sniff real good.

# ? Dec 31, 2023 22:54

Griz: May 21, 2001

SirPablo posted:

There are two types of adults in this world - those that worked retail at some point in there past and those that have not.

i never worked retail but i did phone support for foodservice cash registers and most of the customers were turbo dickheads

WHY ARE CREDIT CARDS NOT WORKING I'M LOSING MONEY
the processor is having an issue and no i can't call you when it's fixed because they don't tell us anything so just keep trying every 10 minutes or so

# ? Dec 31, 2023 22:57

Danny LaFever: Dec 29, 2008; Grimey Drawer

Wishing number a great 2024

# ? Dec 31, 2023 23:01

mawarannahr: May 21, 2019

Danny LaFever posted:

Wishing number a great 2024

the year number has always been getting higher

# ? Dec 31, 2023 23:03

LonsomeSon: Nov 22, 2009; A fishperson in an intimidating hat!

the rate of increase in year number has been stagnant and as a result we must conclude that time
is a failed business

# ? Dec 31, 2023 23:29

Tempora Mutantur: Feb 22, 2005

LonsomeSon posted:

the rate of increase in year number has been stagnant and as a result we must conclude that time
is a failed business

indeed. linear-growth-rear end loser number.

# ? Dec 31, 2023 23:30

bedpan: Apr 23, 2008

RealityWarCriminal posted:

Robertson is the best head btw

# ? Dec 31, 2023 23:36

Xaris: Jul 25, 2006; Lucky there's a family guy
Lucky there's a man who positively can do
All the things that make us
Laugh and cry

Atoramos posted:

I wondered why the new Steam Deck used these loving screws, I'm not longer annoyed at having to buy a new screwdriver.

torx is good. i suggest buying one of those roll-up electronic repair kits that has a zillion type of weirdo torx or the indented star bits, with good metal, magnetizer, magnetic pads, plastic slipping-jimmies, etc. i've gotten so much mileage out of my no-name aliexpress kit that whips rear end

# ? Jan 1, 2024 00:02

blatman: May 10, 2009; 14 inc dont mez

Xaris posted:

torx is good. i suggest buying one of those roll-up electronic repair kits that has a zillion type of weirdo torx or the indented star bits, with good metal, magnetizer, magnetic pads, plastic slipping-jimmies, etc. i've gotten so much mileage out of my no-name aliexpress kit that whips rear end

i got one of those ifixit kits years ago that's basically the name brand version of the one you're describing and it does in fact own

there's also something to be said for someone being like "hey can you fix my thing" and without missing a beat you literally roll out this specialized toolkit like you're a master thief breaking into the shadow vault

# ? Jan 1, 2024 00:48

Mr. Lobe: Feb 23, 2007; ... Dry bones...

Atoramos posted:

I wondered why the new Steam Deck used these loving screws, I'm not longer annoyed at having to buy a new screwdriver.

I know one of the main engineers behind the steam deck, I think I'll ask him if it was his decision behind it

# ? Jan 1, 2024 00:55

Novasol: Jul 27, 2006

blatman posted:

i got one of those ifixit kits years ago that's basically the name brand version of the one you're describing and it does in fact own

there's also something to be said for someone being like "hey can you fix my thing" and without missing a beat you literally roll out this specialized toolkit like you're a master thief breaking into the shadow vault

Have an iFixit kit and can confirm, that thing has had every screw bit I've ever needed, including the nefarious tri-wing tip.

# ? Jan 1, 2024 00:57

Scarabrae: Oct 7, 2002

looks vaguely jewish

# ? Jan 1, 2024 01:21

Danann: Aug 4, 2013

https://www.reuters.com/legal/mckinsey-pay-78-million-us-opioid-settlement-with-health-plans-2023-12-30/

quote:

McKinsey to pay $78 million in US opioid settlement with health plans
By Nate Raymond
December 29, 20236:00 PM PSTUpdated 2 days ago
Logo of McKinsey and Company is seen at VivaTech fair in Paris

The logo of consulting firm McKinsey and Company is seen at the high profile startups and high tech leaders gathering, Viva Tech,in Paris, France May 16, 2019. REUTERS/Charles Platiau Acquire Licensing Rights

Companies

Mckinsey and Company Inc

Dec 29 (Reuters) - Consulting firm McKinsey & Co has agreed to pay $78 million to resolve claims by U.S. health insurers and benefit plans that it fueled an epidemic of opioid addiction through its work for drug companies including OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma.

The settlement was disclosed in papers filed on Friday in federal court in San Francisco. It marked the last in a series of settlements McKinsey has reached resolving lawsuits over the U.S. opioid epidemic.

Plaintiffs accused McKinsey, one of the leading global consulting firms, of contributing to the deadly drug crisis by helping drug manufacturers including Purdue Pharma design deceptive marketing plans and boost sales of painkillers.

McKinsey previously paid $641.5 million to resolve claims by state attorneys general and another $230 million to resolve claims by local governments. It has also settled cases by Native American tribes.

Friday's class action settlement, which requires a judge's approval, resolves claims by so-called third-party payers like insurers that provide health and welfare benefits.

Paul Geller, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, in a statement said the drug crisis was caused by an oversupply of dangerous addictive drugs, and the case aimed to "recover some of the money spent on the over-prescribed pills."

McKinsey did not admit wrongdoing. In a statement, the firm said it continued to believe its past work was lawful. It also noted it had committed in 2019 to no longer advise clients on any opioid-related business.

Thousands of lawsuits have been filed by states, local governments and Native American tribes accusing drug companies of downplaying the risks of opioid painkillers, and distributors and pharmacies of ignoring red flags that they were being trafficked illegally.

The litigation has resulted in more than $50 billion in settlements with drugmakers, distributors and pharmacy chains.

Nearly 645,000 people died in the United States from overdoses involving opioids, both prescription and illicit, from 1999 to 2021, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The U.S. Supreme Court earlier this month heard a challenge by President Joe Biden's administration to Purdue Pharma's multi-billion-dollar bankruptcy settlement resolving related claims against the drugmaker.

Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; editing by Diane Craft

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

living in the dictatorship of the bourgeois where freedom is measured objectively by your bank account

# ? Jan 1, 2024 01:53

Mola Yam: Jun 18, 2004; Kali Ma Shakti de!

total and complete economic collapse this year. 100% locked-in.

# ? Jan 1, 2024 01:57

Palladium: May 8, 2012; Very Good
✔️✔️✔️✔️

Danann posted:

living in the dictatorship of the bourgeois where freedom is measured objectively by your bank account

but we let you talk about it while denying every access to the levels of power, what more do you want

# ? Jan 1, 2024 02:05

Shear Modulus: Jun 9, 2010

Mola Yam posted:

total and complete economic collapse this year. 100% locked-in.

ok I'm selling all my stocks and taking out a second mortgage to short the market. this is investment advice.

# ? Jan 1, 2024 02:07

super sweet best pal: Nov 18, 2009

mawarannahr posted:

I haven't gamed in years but found out about the steam deck yesterday and am intrigued. is it worth it? how are the games on such a small screen?

It's worth buying for increasing Linux's market share of PC gaming.

LonsomeSon posted:

the rate of increase in year number has been stagnant and as a result we must conclude that time
is a failed business

I dunno, past few years feel like they rushed by

# ? Jan 1, 2024 02:28

sonatinas: Apr 15, 2003; Seattle Karate Vs. L.A. Karate

noticed some shrinkflation on cheez its today. usually I have a bit leftover after pouring into a container. today the whole box went in.

go through a box 1-2 weeks for the kids snack.

# ? Jan 1, 2024 03:21

gradenko_2000: Oct 5, 2010; HELL SERPENT; Lipstick Apathy

Shrinkflation: the 100-leaf ringbound notebooks are now down to 95.

# ? Jan 1, 2024 03:45

Real hurthling!: Sep 11, 2001

how do mckinsey contracts not indemnify them from responsibility for their advice to clients?

lol bro. i thought you was lawyers over there!

# ? Jan 1, 2024 03:50

maxwellhill: Jan 5, 2022

Mola Yam posted:

total and complete economic collapse this year. 100% locked-in.

inshallah and jinxed

# ? Jan 1, 2024 03:51

Real hurthling!: Sep 11, 2001

sadly number and misery will continue their ascent in 2024

# ? Jan 1, 2024 03:53

Xaris: Jul 25, 2006; Lucky there's a family guy
Lucky there's a man who positively can do
All the things that make us
Laugh and cry

Real hurthling! posted:

how do mckinsey contracts not indemnify them from responsibility for their advice to clients?

lol bro. i thought you was lawyers over there!

they probably are but there could be reasons that it's being challeged in a suit.

anyways $78m is a tiny rear end slap on the wrist for mcbuttigeg, gently caress it's not even a slap, it's like a light tickle, not even a tickle like gently blowing on someone's wrist

# ? Jan 1, 2024 04:00

corona familiar: Aug 13, 2021

anyone have that article or tweet thread describing how landlords can't lower storefront or office rents because of bank leverage? I seem to recall something along those lines

# ? Jan 1, 2024 04:08

Real hurthling!: Sep 11, 2001

i would write a better contract if i was passing out clientcostsavingsperdeath.xls files for a living

# ? Jan 1, 2024 04:09

WrasslorMonkey: Mar 5, 2012

corona familiar posted:

anyone have that article or tweet thread describing how landlords can't lower storefront or office rents because of bank leverage? I seem to recall something along those lines

https://www.businessinsider.com/bank-financing-urban-planning-pandemic-retail-apocalypse-vacant-storefront-2023-10

# ? Jan 1, 2024 04:23

corona familiar: Aug 13, 2021

WrasslorMonkey posted:

https://www.businessinsider.com/bank-financing-urban-planning-pandemic-retail-apocalypse-vacant-storefront-2023-10

thank you!

# ? Jan 1, 2024 04:23

skooma512: Feb 8, 2012; You couldn't grok my race car, but you dug the roadside blur.

I�m at a rave rolling my face off. Happy New Year Doomsday Econ thread, please let�s be keep being awesome to each other and focus on the bourgeoisie as the enemy!

Wooooooooooooooo I fuckibg hate health insurance as a concept

# ? Jan 1, 2024 04:26

Shifty Nipples: Apr 8, 2007

lol

# ? Jan 1, 2024 04:27

Centrist Committee: Aug 6, 2019

skooma512 posted:

I�m at a rave rolling my face off. Happy New Year Doomsday Econ thread, please let�s be keep being awesome to each other and focus on the bourgeoisie as the enemy!

Wooooooooooooooo I fuckibg hate health insurance as a concept

cheers lol

# ? Jan 1, 2024 04:36

Paradoxish: Dec 19, 2003; Will you stop going crazy in there?

mawarannahr posted:

I haven't gamed in years but found out about the steam deck yesterday and am intrigued. is it worth it? how are the games on such a small screen?

It's the only gaming/electronics purchase I've made in years that I haven't regretted at least a little bit. It's really good, just don't be weird about framerates because things feel fine at lower framerates when you're playing on a tiny screen.

# ? Jan 1, 2024 04:38

gradenko_2000: Oct 5, 2010; HELL SERPENT; Lipstick Apathy

Warms my heart every time someone discovers that the Steam Deck is a thing.

# ? Jan 1, 2024 04:56

super sweet best pal: Nov 18, 2009

Disney can suck a Steamboat Willie

# ? Jan 1, 2024 06:00

Xaris: Jul 25, 2006; Lucky there's a family guy
Lucky there's a man who positively can do
All the things that make us
Laugh and cry

corona familiar posted:

anyone have that article or tweet thread describing how landlords can't lower storefront or office rents because of bank leverage? I seem to recall something along those lines

incase you dont want to deal with archive.is or anti-adblocker, here was the quote i posted back in november

quote:

You've probably seen it in your own neighborhood. Some restaurant or dry cleaner or hardware store closes because it can't make rent, and the space just sits there, empty, for months. Years, even. The pandemic boarded up so many storefronts across America that it turned what was already a Retail Apocalypse into something out of "The Walking Dead," fueling the "doom loop" that's ravaging even the mightiest cities. Urban dwellers fled and offices emptied out, which means walk-in traffic at street-level storefronts has taken a dive. Retail vacancy rates in major cities have soared by as much as 30% since the pandemic began � and in some "superstar urban cores," McKinsey & Company predicts, they could rise by another 26% this decade.

Still, as apocalypses go, this retail one is puzzling. If demand for storefronts is down, why don't landlords just lower the rent and get a tenant in there? That's supposed to be the magic of capitalism � its ability to auto-adjust to anything the world throws at it. But that's not what is happening with vacant shops. Even before the pandemic, one study found, street-level retail spaces in Manhattan were remaining vacant for an average of 16 months.

So if COVID isn't to blame for all the shuttered stores, what is? Well, when a landlord doesn't lower the rent to get a new retail tenant, it's because that landlord can't. The market that sets retail rents isn't only between tenants and landlords. It's also between landlords and the banks that finance the buildings. And the banks, in many cases, won't let property owners lower their rents enough to fill their properties. The pandemic may have emptied out America's storefronts, but it's banks that are keeping them that way.

The owners of America's retail spaces have always had a financial incentive to leave their storefronts empty. Unlike apartments, retail leases often last for years � which means landlords are looking for tenants who are a safe bet to stay put. "Because leases are long and eviction is costly, the value of waiting for a tenant with a high match quality for a particular space can be very high," a recent paper by two NYU economics doctoral students found. In other words, it makes sense for retail landlords to be ultraconservative and leave a space fallow until they find the "right" tenant.

But retail landlords also have to contend with the banks that hold their mortgage. If they built or redeveloped the building themselves, the financing may have been contingent on maintaining a certain level of rent. Which means the bank has veto power if the landlord needs to, say, lower the rent in the wake of a global pandemic. "If your financing assumed $50 a square foot, and you go in and lease the space for $25 a square foot, you're probably going to have to send the lease to the lender to approve," says David Greensfelder, a commercial real-estate consultant.

So if you're trying to lower the rent on your retail space, your bank may say no. And even if it says yes, it might demand you pay off a chunk of the mortgage up front, to account for the way you're lowering the building's value by lowering its rental income. In short, reducing the rent on your storefront might land you a tenant � but it could cost you big-time with your bank.

Of course, nothing is forcing banks to be all hard-assed about it. They're free to renegotiate or refinance the terms of mortgages, given the extraordinary downturn facing retail storefronts. In some cases, according to real-estate brokers I spoke with, banks have apparently decided not to stand in the way of landlords in San Francisco who are offering shorter-term leases and lowering retail rents anywhere from 20% to 50%. One popular restaurant space in the city's tech-heavy South of Market neighborhood that has been dark since 2020 is finally set to reopen this year as a bar and "entertainment concept" � but only because the landlord is offering the new tenant a below-market rate and improvements to the space.

But examples like that are exceptions to the rule. These days, after the housing crash of 2008, most lenders are actually less open to letting landlords adjust rents to match the prevailing market. "As the Fed is doing more and more stress tests on lenders, lenders are less and less willing to say: 'OK, we understand, we know what you're doing, vaya con Dios,'" Greensfelder says.

And if your financing comes through what's known as a CMBS � commercial mortgage-backed securities � you're going to need even more Dios to vaya with. CMBS lenders � the commercial equivalent of the giant cesspools of residential mortgages that crashed the global economy back in '08 � are far less likely than banks to modify the terms of individual loans. Before the pandemic, banks modified about 2% of their loans a quarter and CMBS lenders modified 0.1%. From 2020 to 2022, bank loan modifications got as high as 17%, but CMBS barely brushed up against 5%.

In other words, lots of landlords are sitting on space they can't rent, financed by deals they can't alter. And the future will be full of even higher vacancy rates, higher interest rates, and lower rents. What's a downtown property owner to do? "I can summarize it in two words," Greensfelder says. "They're hosed."

There is actually one scenario in which banks are willing to give retail landlords a break on their mortgages. Unfortunately, it's the kind of deal that makes cities worse overall. Banks often give better financing terms if a landlord can bring in what's called a credit tenant � a national brand like a Starbucks or a Target. That's because even if a big chain winds up shuttering a local store, the parent company is still around to pay the rent. "If a T-Mobile or a Verizon choose to close a store, the landlord knows they're good for it," says Larisa Ortiz, a managing director at Streetsense, an urban-planning consultancy.

You'd think everyone involved would be motivated to fill an empty storefront � landlords aren't making money, cities aren't getting taxes, and the neighborhood has an eyesore. But that eyesore may actually still be profitable to the landlord and the banks. "In SoHo, something vacant isn't necessarily vacant," says Ortiz. "Someone's paying rent there, and the landlord's perfectly fine with it. It's a vacancy to the pedestrian, but not to the landlord."
Multiple vacant storefronts on a city street with papered-over windows and a couple people walking past
Because of the rules governing retail mortgages, banks and landlords often make money off of empty storefronts. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The favoritism shown to credit tenants means that over time, neighborhood streets lined with locally owned yoga studios and bike-repair shops gradually transition to streets full of Sephoras and Banana Republics. The message banks give to retail landlords is clear: Either go big, or go home. Lorenzo Perez, an architect and real-estate developer in Phoenix, says that storefront landlords wind up thinking, "poo poo, I've got this expensive space, and I don't have the luxury or choice to go with cool, small operators, because my loan covenants or financing don't allow it."

Banks are also making things worse by financing developers to build even more retail space, despite all the empty storefronts blighting American cities. That's in part because many cities, aiming to create walkable neighborhoods, now require new apartment buildings to include space for retail on the ground floor. But those spaces will never rent, because the rent demands placed on them by the banks can't be met by the market. Rachel Meltzer, an urban planning and economics professor at Harvard, has been tracking retail and rental data in America's seven largest cities. Retail rents have flattened, she says, but the construction of retail space has not. "In LA and New York, they just kept building retail square footage," she says. No one's going to want it.

It's tempting to think, "Well, big financial institutions have to do whatever they can to make a decent return on their investment." I mean, banks are gonna bank, right? Lenders can't afford to let building owners offer long-term leases for most storefront tenants, because almost 70% of retail businesses fail within five years. "If you have a credit tenant with a 10-year lease, arguably the building is worth more because there's more stability," says Kazuko Morgan, an executive vice chair at the real-estate giant Cushman & Wakefield. "A local tenant, or a startup that wants to do a five-year lease � that's a much riskier proposition."

Still, from an urban-planning standpoint, the way we finance retail space makes no sense. Vibrant cities need healthy neighborhoods, and healthy neighborhoods need diversity on the street � front stoops, art galleries, bodegas, florists, snooty coffee places. Not just Targets and Citibanks.

To reverse the Retail Apocalypse, landlords and cities need to start thinking differently about what retail does for them. When the developers of Culdesac, a car-free residential community in Tempe, Arizona, wanted to add a retail component to the town, they tried something new. Instead of expecting restaurants and pet stores to make it on their own, as dog-eat-dog businesses, Culdesac's planners treated retail as an amenity � something essential to everyone's well-being. That creates the opposite of a doom loop: By offering lower rents to small, interesting retailers on the ground floor, landlords can attract residents willing to pay higher rents on the upper floors.

"They filled up all these cool, bookable micro-retail spaces with mom-and-pop operators," says Perez, who worked with Culdesac on its retail component. "They right-sized it, and they offered flexible lease terms."

A few cities are trying to make things easier for retailers. San Francisco has loosened up regulations downtown and instituted a controversial vacancy tax to incentivize landlords to fill their empty storefronts. But most cities aren't getting creative with their zoning codes. If we want to turn things around, local governments may have to step in with subsidies [lmao, that's the end goal is having the public subsidizing business rents], or banks will need to give landlords more wiggle room.

"Something's got to give," says Meltzer, the Harvard urban planner. "Retail startups don't want to open where there's no one on the street. If left to the market, you just end up with these big vacant spaces." The Retail Apocalypse has been a nightmare. But just like in the movies, the postapocalypse could be even worse.

# ? Jan 1, 2024 06:05

Pittsburgh Fentanyl Cloud: Apr 7, 2003

Xaris posted:

incase you dont want to deal with archive.is or anti-adblocker, here was the quote i posted back in november

lol been looking for this for a while

# ? Jan 1, 2024 06:13

skooma512: Feb 8, 2012; You couldn't grok my race car, but you dug the roadside blur.

gently caress health insurance and student loans woooooo

# ? Jan 1, 2024 06:23

mawarannahr: May 21, 2019

skooma512 posted:

gently caress health insurance and student loans woooooo

having a good time?

# ? Jan 1, 2024 06:39

Potato Salad: Oct 23, 2014; nobody cares

BornAPoorBlkChild posted:

bold of you to assume they arent participating in this ML bullshit

https://twitter.com/farahonfilm/status/1740789281042686443?t=DxIVEHMTGbyiyLbhl_PlAw&s=19

Lol even the highest prestige outlets aren't above nickeling themselves to death with generative AI

Paying any kind of payroll is anathema

Love that for us

# ? Jan 1, 2024 06:45

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# ? May 25, 2024 10:40

SKULL.GIF: Jan 20, 2017

gradenko_2000 posted:

Shrinkflation: the 100-leaf ringbound notebooks are now down to 95.

lol loving criminal

# ? Jan 1, 2024 06:45

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > C-SPAM > [Doomsday Economics] Home of Kirbeh's FREE SLICE ($25 delivery fee)

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