So are any businesses profiting from the "depression" we're in?

[graywarrior]

Is anyone hiring anywhere?

[ixion]

1. repo, collection, foreclosure verticals are all doing well,

I would imagine...

[jpljr77]

24. No, debt collectors are struggling.

Traditional debt collectors are feeling it in a pretty big way right now. Simple reason: when people don't have jobs or have less money, they can't pay their debts. The collection agencies are getting a TON of work from banks and other creditors, but collections are way down.

Now, repo men and foreclosure specialists probably are doing well right now.

[Taverner]

2. Surprisingly, despite budget cuts, all of the Police Departments are hiring

:scared:

[conspirator]

29. Yep.There will be riots to control. It's the rich hiring half the poor to kill the other half nt

[Tangerine LaBamba]

3. The outfits that go in and

clean up and clean out abandoned foreclosed homes. That's a real boom business, I understand.

Sort of like how undertakers did a land office business during the Black Death.

[graywarrior]

9. LOL

:rofl:

[waiting for hope]

4. The US Military.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

5. Hey, I thought you were going to free the duck on Jan. 20. nt

[graywarrior]

10. He can't get a job anywhere else.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

12. LOL. nt

[Soylent Brice]

16. ...

:spray:

oh wait... that's kinda sad...

[graywarrior]

17. No kidding.

Between him and my cat....oy.

[uppityperson]

19. Thank you for the explanation, I won't bug the duck any more

that makes sense, have to hang in with the jobs we have rather than being cut loose.

[graywarrior]

20. Thank you

:patriot:

[Donnachaidh]

6. those idiots with *we'll buy your old gold* adverts.

And the guy offering lump sum payouts on annuities.

[Blaze Diem]

14. Yep. The "Its my money & I want it now" guy.

Hate that commercial..

[doc03]

7. The firearms dealers and manufactures

are having a boom in sales fueled by the NRA.

[maseman]

8. McDonalds is doing very well

I know it seems funny but it is quite serious. Cheap food versus higher priced food outlets. Other fast-food will do well.

The auto after-market industry is starting to do quite well. If people are not buying new cars then they are fixing the ones they have. The older they get, the more they need fixing. That includes body shops, transmission shops, retail automotive stores, muffler/brakes, etc.

The big product companies like P & G and Johnston and Johnston will do well. People need soap, shampoo, baby wipes, etc.

Pharmaceuticals will continue to do well overall.

Grocery is doing better I just read. More people eating at home means more people going to/buying at grocery stores.

Teaching. My wife is a teacher and the amount of boomers retiring/getting packages is growing. They can hire two new teachers for the price of one retiring. In the south they are begging for teachers fulltime and subs. Lower pay but great health and retirement benefits.

[graywarrior]

13. I was at the Newington Mall yesterday

McDonald's was wicked busy. Subway was dead. Chinese food place was busy. Pizza place was semi-busy.

[jpljr77]

25. Nope, not according to their earnings report this morning. Earnings down 23%

in the fourth quarter. Sales were down 3%. The earnings actually came in above analysts' estimates, but the sales were below.

[maseman]

30. McDs

Here's the link to 2008 fro McDs.

Yes sales declined in Q4 but they were significantly better than nearly every business out there. McDonalds will be just fine.

[Blaze Diem]

11. Payday Loan Sharks..

*

[lifesbeautifulmagic]

15. my brothers girlfriend is a paralegal for a bankruptcy

attorney, and she says the business is up 60% over this time last year.

[graywarrior]

18. Figures

And the bankruptcy laws suck

[Individualist]

21. Pawn shops

[graywarrior]

22. But are they selling anything?

[flvegan]

23. Foreclosure lawyers, process servers, REO marketers.

[aikoaiko]

26. bankruptcy lawyers

very busy.

[jpljr77]

27. Ironically, banks will do very well in 2009. And it should be a crime.

Those banks that survive the first quarter will probably do quite well for the remainder of the year. Here's why: most of the large ones have received massive chunks of gov't money from either TARP or by direct investment (Citi, BofA). As consumers grapple with this recession/depression, they will do two things: 1) take on less debt, and possibly even pay off some, and 2) save.

Both of these things are fantastic for banks in the current climate. The more people want to borrow, the more banks have to borrow, and today, that's nearly impossible. It's icing on the cake if folks want to actually pay down their current debt. Plus, if consumers save, they will simply deposit money into their savings accounts. Those deposits are the life-blood of banks.

So, in a disgustingly ironic twist, banks will probably perform well this year, if they don't fail, of course.

[Lisa0825]

28. Campbell's Soup sales are way up!

I saw a story about that on TV. Budget foods are raking in the bucks these days. Campbell's new motto is "The ORINGINAL Dollar Menu!"