Retail sales plunged far more than expected in December, a record sixth straight monthly decline as consumers were battered by a recession, a severe credit crisis and soaring job losses, none of which are likely to ease anytime soon.The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that retail sales dropped 2.7 percent last month, more than double the 1.2 percent decline that Wall Street expected.
For the entire year, retail sales were down 0.1 percent, a sharp turnaround after a 4.1 percent gain in 2007. It was the first time the annual retail sales figure has fallen on government records going back to 1992. Before 2008, the weakest year for retail sales had been an increase of 2.4 percent in 2002, the year after the 2001 recession.
The weakness in consumer spending has been a prime contributing factor to the economy's current swoon and analysts say they don't see that turning around soon. They predict the current recession, already the longest in a quarter-century, will continue at least until the second half of this year.
The 2.7 percent December plunge in sales, which followed a November drop revised upward to 2.1 percent, confirmed private sector reports that retailers had suffered their worst holiday shopping season since at least 1969.
Since consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of total economic activity, the weakness is a major factor depressing overall economic activity. The country fell into a recession in December 2007, reflecting a severe slump in housing.
The economy's weakness intensified in the fall when the financial system was engulfed in its biggest crisis since the 1930s as billions of dollars of losses on mortgages and other types of loans forced the government to put together a massive rescue effort to try to get banks to resume more normal lending.President-elect Barack Obama has promised to push a sweeping economic stimulus program of around $800 billion through Congress in the next few weeks, but even with that assistance, economists say the country is facing a prolonged period of weakness.
Many analysts believe the overall economy, as measured by the gross domestic product, plunged at an annual rate of 6 percent in the just-completed fourth quarter after dropping by 0.5 percent in the third quarter.
For December, virtually all areas of retail sales showed declines. Auto sales fell by 0.7 percent and are down a huge 22.4 percent from a year ago.
Excluding autos, retail sales were down a record 3.1 percent. This reflected declines at department stores, specialty clothing stores, furniture stores, hardware stores, restaurants and service stations. The 15.9 percent drop at service stations was heavily influenced by the steep decline in gasoline prices during the month.
Automakers closed out a dismal 2008 with General Motors Corp. having its worst year in nearly a half-century and both GM and Chrysler LLC having to take emergency loans from the government's bailout fund.
Last week, the nation's major chain stores reported dismal sales results for December. Even Wal-Mart Stores Inc. reported smaller gains than economists expected. Among the retailers reporting big declines were Sears Holdings Corp., which operates Sears and Kmart stores, luxury retailer Saks Inc. and Gap Inc.
Departing Wal-Mart Chief Executive Lee Scott on Monday told the annual National Retail Federation convention that while a new economic stimulus package from the government will have "some impact" on the economy, he doesn't expect a quick rebound since "fundamental changes" in consumer behavior - an increased focus on saving and less buying - will likely linger.
Scott, who was making his last public speech as CEO and president of the world's largest retailer, predicted that the first half of 2009 will be "extremely challenging," and said he hopes the second half would be a little easier.
2009年1月14日星期三
What is Website Promotion?
Search Engine Optimization: How important is SEO to my Website? Extremely important! Again, many web designers do not know how to properly optimize a Website for the search engines. It is important to have someone who specializes in SEO to go over your Website and make sure it is ready to get crawled and indexed by the search engines.There was a time when SEO was all-inclusive with link building, Website promotion, search engine marketing, etc. Times have changed somewhat and the search engines have become more complicated, so now many people specialize in certain aspects of Search engine optimization.I define SEO as coding the Website properly, writing text that contains the proper amount and correct keywords and phrases, search engine submissions, and some link building techniques.Search Engine Marketing: What is SEM and how important is this to my Website? Search Engine Marketing by my own definition is marketing your Website through Google Adwords, MSN AdCenter, and other keyword purchasing programs as well as purchasing links, ads, and sponsored listings.Again, many people are specializing in an area they have success with these days. I am very good at seo services, but I have limited experience with SEM. Therefore, I can make your Website ready to be crawled, do link building, and write text that helps you attract good search engine rank and traffic, but I would not be the guy you would hire to manage your Adwords program.Website Promotion: Yet another category with a relationship to SEO and SEM. How important is this category? In my opinion it tops the list. What is Website Promotion? This category includes Article Marketing, Press Releases, Link Popularity, Buying Traffic, Blogging, Forum Posting and more.Why do I consider it more important? First, none of the things mentioned here can stand-alone. You need to consider all of the different aspects as important. However, search engines change constantly. Depending on search engines for all or most of your traffic and sales is putting your life in Google's hands basically since they account for 60% of all searches now.If you are comfortable with one company having that much control over how well you do on the web, then ignore Website promotion and just do SEO and SEM. You need traffic from many different sources if you want to be successful. That way if one source dies out, you are not affected nearly as much as someone who only had one or a few sources of traffic would be.Focus on getting traffic from every source you can. Post comments in Blogs and Forums related to your topic. That means actually join the forums or blogs and actually get involved in the conversations there and post quality comments. Be helpful to people at the forums and blogs. Ask questions. No one will mind that a link in your SIG line goes to your Website is you are a real participant. If they do object at that point, find a new place to join.
2009年1月5日星期一
Diplomats seek truce as Gaza toll rises
Diplomats and European leaders raced around the region in search of a cease-fire, but with Palestinian rocket fire continuing, Israel said it won't stop its crippling 10-day assault until "peace and tranquility" are achieved in southern Israeli towns in the line of fire.
The operation's ground phase, which began Saturday with a withering round of artillery fire, was going according to plan, military spokesman Brig. Gen. Avi Benayahu told Israeli TV. Israeli forces were sweeping through Palestinian rocket launching locations near the border and the militants were suffering many casualties, he said.
But no militant casualties were seen Monday by an Associated Press reporter at Shifa Hospital, the Gaza Strip's largest. Instead, the hospital was overwhelmed with civilians. Bodies were two to a morgue drawer, and the wounded were being treated in hallways because beds were full.
Gaza health officials reported more than 550 Palestinian dead and about 2,500 wounded since Israel began the campaign 10 days ago, including 200 civilians. UN humanitarian chief John Holmes told reporters in New York on Monday that UN officials believe at least 500 people have been killed in the fighting and that as many as 25 percent are civilians.
At least 20 Palestinian children were killed during the day, said Dr. Moaiya Hassanain, a health official. Most confirmed deaths have been civilians.
The three young brothers from the Samouni family died in an attack on a town outside Gaza City, a Gaza health official said.
Five Israelis have been killed during the offensive, including a soldier in the ground operation. Heavy Israeli casualties could undermine what has so far been overwhelming public support for the operation.
The three brothers, reportedly were killed in an artillery strike Monday, were carried to a cemetery in an emotional funeral. One of them, Issa Samouni, 3, was wrapped in a white cloth, showing only his pale, yellow face. A man delicately placed him in a dark grave cut into the earth.
In one of the first major gunbattles of the ground campaign, Israeli troops and Hamas militants clashed at close quarters on the outskirts of the crowded Gaza City neighborhood of Shajaiyeh, Israeli defense officials said.
Troops seized control of three six-story buildings on the outskirts, climbing to rooftop gun and observation positions. Residents were locked in their rooms and soldiers took away their cell phones, a neighbor said, quoting a relative who called before his phone was seized.
"The army is there, firing in all directions," said Mohammed Salmai, a 29-year-old truck driver. "All we can do is take clothes to each other to keep ourselves warm and pray to God that if we die, someone will find our bodies under the rubble."
Fighter jets attacked houses, weapons storage sites, a pair of mosques and smuggling tunnels, as they have since the start of the offensive Dec. 27. Israel has attacked several mosques during the campaign, saying they were used to store weapons.
The operation's ground phase, which began Saturday with a withering round of artillery fire, was going according to plan, military spokesman Brig. Gen. Avi Benayahu told Israeli TV. Israeli forces were sweeping through Palestinian rocket launching locations near the border and the militants were suffering many casualties, he said.
But no militant casualties were seen Monday by an Associated Press reporter at Shifa Hospital, the Gaza Strip's largest. Instead, the hospital was overwhelmed with civilians. Bodies were two to a morgue drawer, and the wounded were being treated in hallways because beds were full.
Gaza health officials reported more than 550 Palestinian dead and about 2,500 wounded since Israel began the campaign 10 days ago, including 200 civilians. UN humanitarian chief John Holmes told reporters in New York on Monday that UN officials believe at least 500 people have been killed in the fighting and that as many as 25 percent are civilians.
At least 20 Palestinian children were killed during the day, said Dr. Moaiya Hassanain, a health official. Most confirmed deaths have been civilians.
The three young brothers from the Samouni family died in an attack on a town outside Gaza City, a Gaza health official said.
Five Israelis have been killed during the offensive, including a soldier in the ground operation. Heavy Israeli casualties could undermine what has so far been overwhelming public support for the operation.
The three brothers, reportedly were killed in an artillery strike Monday, were carried to a cemetery in an emotional funeral. One of them, Issa Samouni, 3, was wrapped in a white cloth, showing only his pale, yellow face. A man delicately placed him in a dark grave cut into the earth.
In one of the first major gunbattles of the ground campaign, Israeli troops and Hamas militants clashed at close quarters on the outskirts of the crowded Gaza City neighborhood of Shajaiyeh, Israeli defense officials said.
Troops seized control of three six-story buildings on the outskirts, climbing to rooftop gun and observation positions. Residents were locked in their rooms and soldiers took away their cell phones, a neighbor said, quoting a relative who called before his phone was seized.
"The army is there, firing in all directions," said Mohammed Salmai, a 29-year-old truck driver. "All we can do is take clothes to each other to keep ourselves warm and pray to God that if we die, someone will find our bodies under the rubble."
Fighter jets attacked houses, weapons storage sites, a pair of mosques and smuggling tunnels, as they have since the start of the offensive Dec. 27. Israel has attacked several mosques during the campaign, saying they were used to store weapons.
Campaign looks to free Web from porn
A month-long campaign has been launched against websites that "spread pornography and threaten the morals of young people", the government said Monday.
The campaign, whose targets include Google and Baidu, is being run by the Ministry of Public Security and six other central agencies, a statement posted on the government's website said.
Cai Mingzhao, deputy director of the Information Office of the State Council, said in the statement: "These websites violate public morality and harm the physical and mental health of young people."
Huang Chengqing, deputy secretary-general of the Internet Society of China, said: "Pornography is banned in China and websites that feature erotic content are morally offensive."
Google and Baidu, the most popular search engines in China, failed to take "efficient" measures after receiving notices from the Internet watchdog that they were providing links to pornographic material, the statement said.
Web portals Sina and Sohu, and a number of video sharing sites and bulletin boards were also said to have "problematic photos, blogs and postings".
Cui Jin, a public relations official for Google China said "finger pointing should differentiate between the producers and non-producers of pornographic materials".
"Google does not produce nor own any content or websites," she said.
The firm has always abided by local laws and will delete links to sites if we are told they contain illegal content, she said.
"We have also adopted 'safe search' as the default setting, which automatically blocks sites with such content," she said.
The campaign, whose targets include Google and Baidu, is being run by the Ministry of Public Security and six other central agencies, a statement posted on the government's website said.
Cai Mingzhao, deputy director of the Information Office of the State Council, said in the statement: "These websites violate public morality and harm the physical and mental health of young people."
Huang Chengqing, deputy secretary-general of the Internet Society of China, said: "Pornography is banned in China and websites that feature erotic content are morally offensive."
Google and Baidu, the most popular search engines in China, failed to take "efficient" measures after receiving notices from the Internet watchdog that they were providing links to pornographic material, the statement said.
Web portals Sina and Sohu, and a number of video sharing sites and bulletin boards were also said to have "problematic photos, blogs and postings".
Cui Jin, a public relations official for Google China said "finger pointing should differentiate between the producers and non-producers of pornographic materials".
"Google does not produce nor own any content or websites," she said.
The firm has always abided by local laws and will delete links to sites if we are told they contain illegal content, she said.
"We have also adopted 'safe search' as the default setting, which automatically blocks sites with such content," she said.
In House SEO Adoption
There's not much information available on the rate of adoption of in-house SEO, but driving some of the demand is poor experiences with SEO services companies. Some of the results delivered may have been disappointing and other times it was believed the SEO provider could do magic, and make Google behave and accept a Web site and keyword positioning that was inappropriate. Other times, the SEO provider couldn't interface with competing in house stakeholders and get them to work together to appeal to Google's needs. The company then considered bringing it in-house so that magically, everyone would come onside and work together to achieve organic search visibility, and Google would step in line with the company's preferences.
In dealing with corporate clients, I do often act as intermediary between competing internal departments, holdouts, and others who don't understand or appreciate the business value of SEO. However, in the end, the company itself must see SEO as important and not something done by the "temp." It has to be organized by an executive who champions the cause of SEO - obviously the visionary who can see the huge potential. Bringing a newbie in and giving them a desk to sit at, will not do much to solve internal squabbles and create respect for SEO. In fact, it will often degrade the perception of SEO and what is really needed for your company to succeed.
An important truth about Search engine optimization projects is that once they're up and running, only ongoing maintenance and development are normally needed. With the bulk of the work correctly implemented, there's no need for an in-house specialist. So before you get saddled with a yearly salary for questionable performance and lost opportunity, consider the true value of an SEO consultant who is dedicated to top results. There's no reward for 5th place.
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