OUT OF THE BOX

News Spotting


By Lois Laine

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened"--Dr. Suess

Mo'Money

Lehman Brothers downgraded its stock and their continuing quest for more assets to liquidate leaves investors wondering...Running a distant fourth to the other financial giants--like Goldman Sachs--Lehman Bros. is looking for mo' money anywhere they can these days. The Lehman Bros. stock news just joins the more than 400-point fall on Friday, June 6-a truly dismal day on Wall Street.


Freebies to Lure in Home buyers

Real estate agents across the country are concocting clever ways to get people into the homes they have listed. Try free bottles of $30 wine on for size. Or how about free dog biscuits in trendy Carmel, CA. Volume off=limited demand=freebies for home tourists. Housing is in a holding pattern with overall sales down 13.7 percent from 2007 (this time of year). Mortgages are getting tighter than a corset on Fannie Mae, and interest rates--instead of being lower--are still high. Real estate analysts say it's possible that this year's loss will be about 6.4 percent for 2008.





Tomato Warning:
Do You Know Where
Your Vegetables Have Been?

Another food-related outbreak of salmonella in the country. This time it's the tomatoes--of many kinds. About 20 states are affected at this time, including California, and many of the top fast-food restaurants have taken the produce off their refrig. shelves.
Luckily, we'll be enjoying our own Farmers Market here soon, beginning in July. Then we'll probably have a better idea about where our food has been, and just how many days it really was packed up in warm places.

The Rant
I am sick of being placed in robovoice jail, waiting sometimes for hours, for a real human voice to answer just some of the most basic of questions. I waited on "1-800-hold" for more than an hour to get info about visiting Yosemite, and more wait time for info about bus trips from Yosemite to the Bay Area. I wait on hold for retail info, park info, customer service info, and a lot of times--I'm on hold waiting to find out where to send my money orders. Yeah, they can just hold this thought-if I can't get through to them--I guess my money or payment isn't important after all....

LL Copyrighted