Almost All Good News for Cash America
from The Fort Worth Star-Telegram
 Subprime lending and retail sales were brutal businesses in 2008, racked by write-offs, layoffs and company failures. But Cash America International, known as the king of pawns, rode those downtrodden sectors to a record year, despite a disappointing fourth quarter and more regulatory setbacks. Last week, it reported that annual revenue topped $1 billion for the first time, and net income rose to $81 million, the most in its history. More
Gold Rush for Refineries
from Fox Business Network
Jeff Flock, a Fox Business Network reporter, demonstrates how the metal refinery business is booming amid a grim economy. Reporting from an undisclosed location in Chicago, Flock stands before a gold smelting furnace that is burning between 1800 and 2000 degrees. The site liquidates old jewelry scrap made of gold and other precious metals often brought to pawnshops. More
Gold Hard Cash
from Fox Business Network
Branding expert Laura Ries discusses the marketing of gold in the Super Bowl ads, particularly the Cash4Gold ad. In the spot, ex-talk show sidekick Ed McMahon and ex-hip hop idol MC Hammer display the multitude of gold objects they plan to sell through Cash4Gold.com. More
U.S. Jobless Rate Probably Climbed to 16-Year High as Recession Deepened
from Bloomberg
The jobless rate in the U.S. probably jumped in January to the highest level in 16 years as slumping sales forced employers to slash staff, economists project reports this week will show. Unemployment climbed to 7.5 percent, and payrolls fell by 530,000, the 13th consecutive decrease, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. More
 |
Product Showcase:
Get Advanced Pawn Security Today
 The PAWNSAFE series offers premium security in a six-sided composite TL-30 at an affordable price. Each drawer can be individually programmed with a time delay lock. Only one drawer can be opened a time. 52 documented burglary/armed robbery attempts failed due to
a PAWNSAFE in use. More info
|
Middle Class Meets the Pawnbroker
from The Pioneer Press
Roy Stegner doesn't need an economist to know there's a recession. All he has to do is look around his pawnshop in Forest Lake, Minn. His aisles are full of the cast-offs of the rich, such as fancy jewelry and snowmobiles. At his counter stand members of the fallen middle class, slightly embarrassed to be pawning their laptops and ATVs. More
Payday Lenders Stress Pawnshops as Downturn Bites
from Reuters
Just grab that electric guitar in the corner and head for a pawn shop. Cash-strapped consumers are swapping jewelry, music systems and electronic gadgets for cash like never before. Payday lenders, who make small, short-term loans against the borrower's next paycheck, are investing more in their pawn operations as stricter regulations and rising unemployment make their primary business less attractive. More
Suspect Arrested after SWAT Standoff
from KTBC-TV
An Austin police officer opened fire on a suspected serial burglar during a SWAT-stand off early Saturday morning in Austin, Texas Hector Berronnes, 35, was not hurt. He surrendered after barricading himself for five hours inside the Austin Pawn and Jewelry Shop. Police said Berronnes broke into the pawnshop and tripped the alarm. When officers arrived on the scene they spotted Berronnes on the roof. More
Philanthropist Brings Music to Children
from The Denver Post
When pawnshop scion Scott Pasternack learned that Augustana Arts' City Strings, an Aurora music program for low-income children, relied on expensive secondhand instruments, he promptly galvanized a fundraising campaign to buy new violins. "I could not believe that City Strings was being asked to buy used and reconditioned instruments for $200 apiece," he said. Pasternack, who runs a chain of pawnshops started by his grandfather in 1919, still gets mad when he thinks about the inflated prices for used instruments. More
Possessions and Pawnshops
from Tampa Bay Newspapers
When the going gets tough, the tough get going. And when a recession hits, people get to ransacking their attics and closets to see what they can sell. Today across the country citizens rich and poor are casting a new and appreciative eye on jewelry, paintings, furs and assorted heirlooms. But now these items are ending up in pawnshops, as many Americans discover they don’t have enough money to pay for mortgages or groceries. More
Don't Pawn Off the Pawnbrokers
from The Motley Fool
If you're looking for investments that will thrive in this recession, ignore the dollar stores, deep-discount retailers, and low-cost grocery chains. Sure, they'll do well − just look at how Family Dollar, Wal-Mart, and Kroger have performed lately. But for even better performance, look no further than your neighborhood pawnshop. More
Jake’s Pawn Shop Has Deep Roots
from The Post Searchlight
Jake's Pawn Shop has literally changed from head to toe over its 60 years of operation in Bainbridge, Ga. The business, started by Romanian immigrant Jake Wolffe, who came to this country with his family when he was 7, is now owned and operated by Jake's daughter, Roslyn Palmer, and her husband, Jack. In the old days Jake's also carried such obsolete items as women's cotton stockings. Today, the store is a mix of yesterday and today. More
Old Gold Jewelry Can Mean Cold Hard Cash
from The News-Herald
A broken gold necklace or an old class ring might be a source of nostalgia. But in these tough economic times, it also could be more attractive in the form of cash. With gold selling for about $900 an ounce, the precious metal is at its peak, said Dr. Rolando Santos, economics professor at Lakeland Community College in Kirtland, Ohio. More
Pawnshops Lifeline in Hard Times
from Philippine Daily Inquirer
The massive job cuts being implemented by manufacturers and exporters amid the global economic crisis may lead to an increase in the number of unredeemed pawned items. "Every financial crisis that results in mass layoffs will have a ripple effect. We saw that happened in 1986, again in 1997, and we expect to see the same now," says Marc Ablaza, vice president of Chamber of Pawnbrokers of the Philippines Inc. More
|
|
