Are you feeling the credit crunch because of the current financial crisis?
The business staff is looking for people who are having trouble getting loans -- home, small business, car, etc. etc. We want to know how you are coping and what you are trying to do to deal with the current credit crunch.
E-mail staff writer Jessica Milcetich at jmilcetich@ydr.com to let us know.
For a while I was pretty removed from all this banking stuff. My bank was struggling but it was surviving, just barely, but still surviving.
But not anymore. The FDIC just announced that Citigroup will acquire the rights to Wachovia.
This is unfortunate for me on two levels. First off, I bank at Wachovia. That is where the large part of my money is stored.
Second, I hold (held?) shares of Wachovia. I know the stock prices were just tumbling, but the stocks were a gift from my grandfather many many years ago and they used to pay an OK dividend. Now I can just say buh-bye to all of that.
So I guess, it's a pretty dull day for me and other Wachovia bankers and shareholders.
Do you bank at Wachovia or own stock? Let me know in the comments.
Well, I think it's safe to say you've been living under a rock this week if you missed all the news surrounding the bailout.
If for some reason you have, here's a quick rundown of what you missed.
People in general are not lovin' the bailout.
Congress is still yakking about the bailout.
WaMu joins the growing list of failing banks.
In more lighthearted news, "The Office" started last night and you can check out a cool story about a York College professor who teaches classes based off the show.
And don't forget to take a few minutes to listen to this week's podcast. The business staff chats about what you need to know to buy a car in our weak economy.
If something seems like an easy fix, it's probably causing a bigger problem. This financial meltdown we're in right now is probably the best big-picture example.
But here's another: Those reusable bags many businesses are touting can be worse for the environment than cheap, reusable plastic. How can that be?
1. Many come from China, and that country's record of environmental health can be as bad as its human health record, including the fact milk from that country is killing babies as we speak.
2. Many of the processes used to make non-plastic bags are water-and energy-intensive.
3. If people take or buy a bunch of those bags but then stop using them, or grab cheap plastics in a pinch when they forget the reusables at home, their overall environmental impact gets bigger than if they just stuck to cheap plastics.
The list goes on from there. And gets even more complicated. Which means I trust it more. Not like I want to hear that a successful initiative getting people to think green can be a bit of a crock.
To check out how your personal favorite retailer stands, check out this link.
Washington Mutual is the latest bank in a long list of bank failures this month. It also happens to be the biggest bank failure in U.S. history.
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. bought out the bank out, and it will open today as normal with people having full access to their accounts, according to a spokeswoman from the FDIC.
And because the economic news of the week has just been depressing, I've decided to be horribly inappropriate in making light of this situation by giving you this video to enjoy.
In case you missed it last night, here is President Bush's speech on the bailout.
Does what Bush said last night in anyway change or sway your opinion of the bailout?
The government bailout is the hot news of the moment and everyone seems to have an opinion on whether or not Congress should pass it.
I'd love to hear what some of you have to say about it. Leave me a comment and let me know!
Last week a Rutter's gas station accidentally priced gas at 35 cents per gallon. If you didn't see the story, you can check it out here.
We asked our readers on the Exchange what they would have done in the same situation.
So you've probably noticed a few things are different around here today.
Most notable is our new look. We switched to a new template to make things easier for you.
If you'll notice in the sidebars, we've added a special one to highlight comments from you, our readers. Check it out if you want to see what people have been saying recently. We encourage you to comment often and let us know what you think about different topics.
Our other big change is our name. You may remember that last month we ran a contest to pick a new name to go with our new look. The new look is here and so is our new name: York Common Cents. We felt the new name better describes the kinds of things we post about on this blog.
We hope you'll spend a few minutes checking out our new design and keep coming back often to share your thoughts and opinions with us!
I'm sure by now most of you have seen the Mac commercials where the old guy and the young guy stand next to each other and one says, "I'm a Mac" and the other says, "I'm a PC."
If you haven't here's one example of one. There's a whole bunch of different versions
Quick take a peek at the bottom of your plate, bowl or mug. Do you see the Pfaltzgraff marking?
Chances are you might. These dishes seem to be everywhere.
At least that's the case for me and a few of my co-workers.
When we heard the news that the company was closing retail outlet stores and the local distribution center, we all started talking about how all of our dishes were made by that company.
I remember eating off Pfaltzgraff dishes as a kid in my parents house. What do you remember about the company? Leave a message in the comments section and let us know!
If you want a change from a traditional grocery store, you might want to check out the new SaveSmart coming to Weigelstown soon. It'll replace the old Nell's Shurfine that closed earlier this month.
Here is what we have so far on it.
Discount is how they are marketing it, and it won't look like a traditional grocery store to keep costs low. So what do you think? Will that make you come check it out?
Another reason to buy American: The same sort of chemical that made its way into pet food shipped to the United States last year from China and killed our pets has made its way into baby formula.
Three babies have died and thousands are sick in China, and evidence of the tainted milk has spread to other countries.
And again, the reason is shady people using chemicals to fool quality inspectors and make more money. This makes me sick.
My editor sent me the link to this map, which shows the gas price averages throughout the country.
I was surprised to see how low York and Pennsylvania as a whole ranked compared to other portions of the country.
I was really surprised to see that areas that have been hit pretty hard by the hurricanes recently weren't in the red. I was sure they would be.
Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section.
Before you brave the nasty weather on the way to your car to start your weekend, here's some quick headlines you might have missed this week.
Public places are now smoke free.
Fewer homes sold last month.
The newest iPods were revealed this week.
If you want to hear why Sean isn't a fan of the new iPods or why Jess thinks they sound cool, take a listen to this week's podcast.
Wednesday afternoon I experienced the York Fair for the first time, and I had the challenging task of trying to "do the Fair" on $20.
As I mentioned in my earlier post, I had gotten a bunch of suggestions from people abut what I had to try.
I'm headed over to the York Fair in an hour or so to see if I can really "do the Fair" on $20.
After the admission fee and paying to park, though, it's going to be more like doing the Fair on $10.
I have no idea what to expect. This is my first year in York so many of my friends have been giving me tips on food that I absolutely have to try.
I've been recommended the fried Oreos, the waffle ice cream sandwiches and soft pretzels, but I've also been told they are a bit pricey.
I don't really plan on riding the rides or playing too many games, but that's all stuff to consider.
Does anyone have tips or suggestions on what I absolutely must do while I'm at the Fair? Let me know in the comments section.
Today I did something I've never done before.
I ran my gas tank so low that the little warning light came on. That has never happened to me before.
After a traumatic incident when I was home from college on winter break where I ran out of gas on the side of an extremely busy road because the gas gauge broke and read half a tank when it was really empty, I have been overly cautious to make sure I fill up in time.
My editor just forwarded me an e-mail about an event that I needed to share with all my female readers. (Fellas don't tune me out yet, you may have a wife, sister, daughter who could benefit from this.)
The smoking ban goes into effect Thursday, meaning many local businesses will be snuffing out smoke for the first time.
I've got two-part question for you all.
What do you think about the smoking ban? Excited? Angry? Indifferent?
And if you're a business owner going smoke free for the first time, what kinds of changes do you have to make? And what do you plan to do with all of your ashtrays? Seriously, that's so random, but I'm really curious.
Leave a comment and let me know.
Our short week is about to come to a close, so here's your headlines before you head out.
Obama pays a visit
No, it's not your eyes, those packages are shrinking.
Coupons can save you big bucks.
And make sure you catch this week's podcast, where the biz staff talks about thrifty entertainment options.
From my friends and neighbors, I know that Comcast doesn't have the best reputation for responding to complaints or problems. However, my recent experience with the company did work out.
If you didn't catch it in this morning's paper, check out Nicki Lefever's story in the Living section about a local mother-daughter duo who went into business selling homemade granola.
Has anyone used the Pump First cards at Sheetz since they were introduced locally a few weeks ago?
They are geared toward people who like to pay for their gas in cash. You have to register your name, address and driver's license information in the store to get the card the first time.
After that you swipe the card and pump and pay like you normally would.
Sheetz is hoping to cut down on theft with the introduction of the cards, but I'm really curious what people think of them. I rarely pay for my gas with cash, so I don't have one.
Leave a comment and let me know what you think.
This story about Utz Quality Foods on "Mad Men" reminded me of a movie I watched Saturday night with my family, "Alvin and Chipmunks." If you have kids and have checked it out, there are tons of Utz products in the movie. Let us know if you see any local product placements. My personal Utz favorite: The sour cream and onion chips.
The hurricane was bearing down on Louisiana over the weekend, and gas prices around York County went from about $3.39 to $3.45. It's a smart move to spread out the pain of a Category 4 storm smashing into oil rigs and upping oil prices in its wake.
But then the rigs pretty much got missed, and oil prices began to fall. At last count, they were down to about $106 per barrel.
So watch out for gas prices to drop, even below that $3.30 range where prices settled for a bit. If they don't, let us know.
Most people know that sneakers and dress pants don't mix. Unfortunately, I've recently been spotted around the office sporting sneakers instead of my usual, nondescript dress shoes. And it's all because my dog mistook my shoes for chew toy.
Just looking at the AAA fuel gauge report and gas prices are already creeping up in the past few days. Do we thank Gustav?
