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US STOCK MARKETS have continued their freefalls in early trading, with the Dow Jones, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq indices all recording steep losses in the first trading since the US debt downgrade.
After an hour’s trading the Dow had dropped 3.3 per cent, the S&P 500 had shed just under 4 per cent, and the Nasdaq lost 4.25 per cent in a torrid morning’s trading.
The news was not all bad for the United States, however: given their first chance to react to last Friday’s unprecedented downgrade from Standard & Poor’s, the cost of borrowing for the US government actually fell, as demand for bonds surged.
As of 4pm Irish time, the US was being asked to pay 2.37 per cent interest on a 10-year loan – a drop of almost 0.2 per cent on the same price it would have paid on Monday, before the downgrade.
Traders attributed the drop to constant fears over the future of the stock markets, which had caused investors to dump shares and plump for the more long-term security usually offered by a treasury bond.
There were also mixed messages from Europe, where the FTSE 100 is poised to set a new record for consecutive losses, but where the cost of borrowing for under-pressure governments has also eased.
In a mixed morning’s trading, European markets initially opened brightly – with many, including the ISE in Dublin, initially opening in positive territory – but that optimism soon waned as markets across the continent all fell into negative territory.
The FTSE 100 index, at the time of writing, was down 151 points (2.9 per cent) – ready to record a new record, registering triple-digit losses in four consecutive days for the first time in its history.
Markets on the continent were not faring much better: the CAC 40 in Paris had dropped by 3.25 per cent, while the DAX in Frankfurt had dropped by 3.8 per cent.
In Greece the Athex index dropped 6 per cent, falling below 1,000 points for the first time in many years.
But the cost of borrowing for Europe’s main economies fell across the board, on foot of the ECB’s plan to purchase large amounts of Spanish and Italian bonds.
Italy – which had been on the verge of being priced out of the markets entirely – has seen the cost of a 10-year loan fallen by 0.8 per cent today alone, with the current yield standing at 5.28 per cent.
Spain, meanwhile, will now pay 5.16 per cent for a 10-year loan – down by nearly 0.9 per cent on the price it would have paid at the close of business on Friday.
The costs of borrowing for more stable economies like the UK, France and Germany had risen earlier this morning, but as trading neared conclusion the cost of borrowing for all three governments had fallen slightly.
The cost of borrowing for the Irish government has also passed a welcome threshold: the hypothetical cost of a 10-year loan today fell below 10 per cent for the first time since April 20.
Just three weeks ago, a similar loan on the open market would have cost Ireland 14.22 per cent.
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I have worked in retail for over 15 years. I loved dealing with people,helping customers with their queries and feeling like I made a difference. Then,you know what happened? People happened. Grumpy SOB’s that come into the shop at 7.30 in the morning,throwing coins at me for a paper without so much as a hello, people complaining that the coffee machine is on a cleaning cycle and walking off in a huff or when you don’t activate petrol pumps within 2 seconds,you get an earful.. People completely ruined my love for retail so….rant over
What’s the difference between people now and 15 years ago?
Experience and 15 years full of taking cr@p from people. Most retail staff can be unprofessional as well,I understand that but I’ve put up with and seen a fair amount of abuse from people over the years and it’s made me want to just get out of it altogether. A nice office somewhere away from people
But you just said in your first comment you loved dealing with people and then you contradicted yourself that you hate dealing with people?
You get ass###es in all walks of life and in every job. It’s just the way the world is. I have learnt over the years to take these people in my stride and realise it’s not my fault they’re unpleasant. If you stand up to them they usually back down quite quickly. They usually pray on the weak.
I realise giving lip to unpleasant people isn’t easy when your in customer services but you can make life more difficult for them. Get some pleasure from that.
Your mistake was staying in retail for 15 years.
I used to like people before I worked in retail, four years of idiocy and snide remarks when you’re trying to do your utmost best for them takes its toll..
Yes I LOVED dealing with people when I first started out but people’s attitude changed my opinion on the job. I don’t hate dealing with people at work but they don’t make the job any easier. Most customers are lovely but you will ALWAYS get at least 3 in any shift that will cause a problem when there is none there. Asking a customer if they have any fuel outside can be a nightmare. IT IS MY JOB TO ASK THIS!! Yet when I ask some people,it’s like I’ve committed the worst atrocity towards them
They’re 15 years older
How do people get offended when asked ‘did you get fuel’ is beyond me?. There is a few people round here like that. The whole community think they’re ass###es so be safe in the knowledge that most people think the same.
One of the bullet points says, “Only 27% of shoppers found their main supermarket to be fun and exciting.”
Whenever I have roller-skated through the Tesco aisles, expertly lobbing everything I need into a basket as I go and usually without dropping anything, I was always stopped by security and abruptly asked to leave :/
Shopping isn’t exciting for me anymore, I am one of the disgruntled 27%. Sort it out Tesco!
In retail, the public think they have a right to walk in and completely ruin anything you have, whether it be a display, cleanliness or dignity. They will shout and ball at you for the littlest things imaginable. Families with kids are the worst horror of all, spoiling peoples day with their disregard of other people, so they don’t have to look after the kids. The elderly are split into 2 groups, really nice and pleasant or real S.O.B.’s
I still get amazed how people walk into penny’s and destroy the stores on a daily basis.
Retail workers are usually on minimum wage and deserve a medal for what they have to put up with!
You sir, I salute you. Do you work or have you worked in retail? Because you know what you’re on about. If you haven’t, I’m amazed at your consideration – something that the majority of the non retail experienced public seem to lack.
He’s dead right, parents that don’t keep control of their kids while enquiring about a product and the children wreck the shop then you spend an hour fixing for it only for it to happen again and again and again…
Once this little brat walked around the whole perimeter of the store, held his arm out to his level and knocked over EVERYTHING at arms level. Needless to say i was fit to kill the mother…
He’s dead right, parents that don’t keep control of their kids while enquiring about a product and the children wreck the shop then you spend an hour fixing for it only for it to happen again and again and again…
Once this little brat walked around the whole perimeter of the store, held his arm out to his level and knocked over EVERYTHING at arms level. Needless to say i was fit to kill the mother…
Sell blue moulded chocolate eclairs,that’s how Tescos got me to go back to them yesterday
I can’t understand then, how lidl and aldi have taken the Irish and British markets by storm, since their interiors look like a warehouse. Does not compute….
Both Aldi and Lidl are bright and airy – Aldi more so, in my opinion. Walk in the door, you can see from one side of the shop to the other. No clutter. Flow around nicely with your trolley. It’s always clean. Get to the checkout and be dealt with quicker than in any of the other supermarkets. They pay their staff a considerable amount more than any other chain and it pays off.
And you can walk into any Aldi in Ireland and find exactly what you went in for in 10 seconds unlike the big names where your a half an hour trying to find a bag of sugar.Aldi may not be fancy but they are functional and cheap.
That’s bollox about the queues. You often spend 20 minutes queuing in the German shops.
I’m always amazed at the speed of the person on check out in Lidl /Aldi. It’s so fast. They also say hi to you maybe have a very brief chat. Then I go to Tesco. About 99% of the times I’ve been in there there’s always a grumpy sod on checkout that sighs before beginning to checkout your goods. Never smiles at you but if one of their colleagues comes over it’s all shits and giggles. The 1% is usually a new person or a needle in a haystack.
That’s because they’re terrified they’ll lose their jobs if they fail to smile the requisite 4.5 inches and scan one item every 2.7 micro-seconds. At least Tesco lets them have an off-day.
Has anyone found that you’re almost taken aback when you get a friendly checkout operator in these stores? And that when you do come across one they are almost always foreign?? Its almost funny how downright rude some of the miserable Irish biddies (they are ALWAYS girls/women) are, say hello and they point blank ignore you, through change at you like you have leporasy and ignored again when you say “thank you”. Or leave you standing there while they b*tch & moan to a colleague for 5 mins. Dunnes Stores staff are the worst!!
Not exactly retail but I went into burgerking on Grafton street yesterday and encountered two surly slow Irish people employed there. Long queue. Gave up went next door to the much busier but queueless McDonald’s and got served instantly with a smile by a charming Polish person.
Can’t beat a shop with a clear, attractive layout. I honestly think this is a huge part of where Tesco fell down in recent years; shops with little order, dirty and unkept shelves etc. Good visual displays, friendly staff and organisation across the shop floor…that’s what retailers need to focus on.
I recently came across a small clothes shop in Charleville, Co. Cork. Contrary to popular belief that these shops are dying out, the shop was doing roaring trade. Why? The lady that owned the shop was passionate about clothes and buys a very wide range of styles that are appealing to young and old. She also used vintage couches and chairs to add to the boutique vibe she wanted to create. And she utilised social media very well, using case studies of ladies who came to her looking for a dress for a wedding or special occasion, along with competitions etc (she has over 27k FB fans…not bad going).
If small retailers want to survive, they have to interact as much as they can with the customer and not underestimate the importance of visual impact and genuine enthusiasm for their products.
What is the name of the shop?
Cherish, on the Cork side as you’re coming into town…well worth a look.
The rudeness of staff in most shops here in the town where I live is a disgrace.And in a restaurant you cannot complain if there is an issue with your food.Oh no.People accept every shyte .The customer is not king in Ireland.
The customer should be king.In shops.In pubs.In restaurants.Just like in America. Unfortunately the customer is far from being king here.The shopkeeper rules the waves.And since nobody complains..
Never ever go to the male checkout staff, slow as snails. Proof that women are multi-taskers and we men are not!
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