As you all know, yesterday was Black Friday, and what did I get?  7 DVDs from Amazon for the awesome price of $25 with free shipping, and 2 sweaters from Old Navy for $35 + shipping.  Are they good deals? You bet.  But what about those big ticket items from Best Buy, Circuit City, and the mall?  I didn’t even bother.

First of all, I already have a nice 32″ plasma that doesn’t beed replacing, so why spend $699 to upgrade to a 42″?  Besides, when I first saw on Gizmodo that Sears had a 42″ Panasonic Viera plasma for $699, I was giddy with joy, and I was SURE that that was going to be the best deal around.  And then I saw on Amazon that the same TV was on sale for $699 as well.  And that got me thinking.  Why go to a store and brave the crowds on Black Friday when I can sit in the comfort of my home on a chilly night with coffee in my hands and buy the same product online.  Not only that, but Amazon also offered their “White Glove” service for the TV.  Basically, they coordinate the best time to deliver to your house and even set the TV up for you!  That definitely beats me carrying the TV to my car and trying to get it to fit myself.  Why do more than you have to when everything is free?

Yesterday was also Pink Friday brought to you by CompUSA and TigetDirect.  While nobel in their cause to donate to cancer research, the deals were a complete scam.  Phone lines couldn’t get through, and products were gone awfully fast.  After watching for a few hours, I got sick of it and left.  That $99 Xbox 360 Halo edition never materialized.  I’m sure of it: I had my twitter feed set and never saw it pop up.  Towards the end of the night, the whole things crashed!  Talk about one shitty promotion!  I don’t care if the money went to cancer research – it’s a good cause, but what about satisfying the customer?!?

Not only that, 1 Wal-mart worker got trampled to death!  This is the  United States of America people!  Try not to behave like savages while living in this civilized country.  Killing someone to get an awesome deal on TVs and cameras shows your lack of morals.

Monday is Cyber Monday.  What are we going to see then?  More deals?  Absolutely, but to be completely honest, really people, how much tech junk do we really need in our homes?

Say what you will about Renewable Energy Certificates, Green Tags, carbon offsets and the like, but Intel sure does own a lot of them. Intel just became the largest purchaser of Renewable Energy Certificates in the US, with a commitment to snapping up 1.3 billion kilowatt hours a year of the stuff. RECs act as a sort of green “currency,” allowing a company invest in renewable energy sources, instead of the pollution-ridden plant up the river fueled by the blood of innocents. Not a bad PR move, but the investment should make renewable energy sources more affordable down the line, so it’s hard to fault them there.

-from Engadget.com

U.S. taxpayers would get checks of several hundred dollars from the federal government under a plan to stimulate the economy, congressional and Bush administration officials said Thursday.

“Tens of millions Americans will have a check in the mail,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, said at a Capitol Hill news conference. “It is there to strengthen the middle class, to create jobs and to turn this economy around.”

House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said, “I’m looking for quick action in the House. I hope that the Senate will follow quickly so that we can put this money in the hands of middle-income Americans as soon as possible.”

Speaking a few minutes later at the White House, President Bush said the package will “boost our economy and encourage job creation.”

Department said the plan would send checks of $600 to individuals and $1,200 to couples who paid income tax and who filed jointly.

People who did not pay federal income taxes but who had earned income of more than $3,000 would get checks of $300 per individual or $600 per couple.

A Democratic aide and Republican aide said there will be an additional amount per child, which could be in the neighborhood of $300.

Those who earn up to $75,000 individually or up to $150,000 as a couple will be eligible for the payments, said Republican and Democratic sources familiar with the tentative deal.

Pelosi said as many as 116 million American families will get a rebate check.

Checks could be in taxpayer mailboxes by June, according to an Associated Press report.

The agreement includes a robust package of business incentives and help for homeowners facing possible mortgage foreclosures.

The Treasury Department still must analyze the numbers to determine the price tag of the stimulus package, sources said.

To get to the agreement, Democrats dropped calls for increases in food stamps and an extension of unemployment compensation. Republicans agreed to allow people who pay Social Security taxes but not income taxes to get the checks, sources said.

“This package has the right set of policies and is the right size,” Bush said Thursday. “The incentives in this package will lead to higher consumer spending and increased business investment this year.”

He added, “This package recognizes that lowering taxes is a powerful and efficient way to help consumers and businesses.”

-CNN.com

Well, the holidays were pretty happy down Cupertino way this year — Apple just posted its Q108 financials and they’re impressive. Spurred by sales of 2.3 million iPhones, 22 million iPods, and 2.3 million Macs, Steve and the boys raked in $9.6 billion in total revenue, which translates to $1.58 billion in pure, glorious profit. That represents Apple’s latest best quarter ever, with a 35 percent jump in revenue year-over-year — a $2.5 billion increase from last December. The $1.76 profit per share also beat consensus analyst estimates of $1.63 a share, and, as Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster pointed out in his notes, Mac sales have increased 43 percent since last year.

-from Engadget.com

Joi Freemont, a dentist in suburban Atlanta, doesn’t have to look further than her appointment book to tell that people are worried about money.Patients who used to get their teeth whitened all the time “now want to think about it a bit,” she said. Braces? “People were getting them for the kids, for themselves, but now they’re waiting,” she added. And when people get cavities, they have their fillings done one a month, not five or six at a time, she said.

As a result, Freemont and her husband are worried their income could drop and are trying to be more prudent with their money. They’re monitoring spending more closely and continuing to whittle down their credit card balances and her dental school debt, she said.

“We know how to put the brakes on if we have to,” said Freemont, 35.

Across America, there are growing signs that consumers are worried about the weakening economy, which could slip into recession. While some say Americans are not famed for their belt-tightening tactics, there are signs that people are trying to improve their personal balance sheets so they’re ready for tougher times.

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com, said the economic signals “are flashing yellow,” suggesting that consumers need to take care.

Jobs are getting harder to find, while the crisis in the mortgage industry has made it more difficult for homeowners to borrow against their houses, closing down what has been a major source of extra cash in recent years. Consumers’ budgets have been squeezed by rising food and fuel prices.

Credit card balances surged through the fall months, according to Federal Reserve figures. Now delinquency rates on consumer loans are rising, the American Bankers Association reported recently. Even companies that cater to higher-income families, such as American Express Co., are feeling the pinch.

When the economy stumbles, “you have to begin living within your means, or you’ll be forced to do so,” Zandi said.

But Americans are much better spenders than savers, said Greg McBride, senior financial analyst with Bankrate.com, an online financial information service.

“Consumer spending isn’t something that gets turned on and off like a light switch,” he said. “People will say they need to cut back, but they often lack the willpower to do it.”

Still, it appears that people are starting to make an effort.

-from Yahoo.com, credited to the AP

The start of 2008 has brought a harsh reality to Wall Street: The U.S. may indeed be headed toward recession.

So, after suffering punishing losses the first three trading days of the year, the stock market will be seizing on any data or forecast in the coming weeks that can help investors determine if their worst fears are coming to pass. And earnings are now part of the equation, with results from Alcoa Inc., the first of the 30 Dow Jones industrials to report fourth-quarter results, opening earnings season on Tuesday.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expect, on average, the aluminum producer to post a drop in per-share profit, but the company’s outlook is likely to have a bigger impact on Wall Street.

Last week’s readings showed that the economy continues to slump amid the ongoing mortgage and credit crisis, and that energy costs could have further to climb. Over the course of the week, oil prices hit the psychologically important $100-a-barrel mark, investors found out that manufacturing unexpectedly contracted in December, and — perhaps most devastatingly — payrolls grew less than anticipated last month, while unemployment hit a two-year high of 5 percent. When people start losing their jobs, they pare back spending and find it harder to pay their bills, a trend that would aggravate already deteriorated lending conditions.

The news pounded stocks. In just the first three trading days of 2008, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 3.50 percent, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 3.86 percent, and the Nasdaq composite index dropped 5.57 percent.

Economists and market analysts are still split on whether this year will bring recession, but virtually no one is completely discounting the possibility.

-MSNBC.com