Funny Business

SQUAWK BOX VIDEO

25 Nov 2009

A look at what's likely to happen at the registers once the doors open on Friday, with Richard Hastings, Global Hunters Securities; Richard Jaffe, Stifel Nicolaus & Co. and CNBC's Jane Wells.

Black Friday: Bargain or Bust?

25 Nov 2009

Whether the deals are better than what shoppers will usually see or if it is just another marketing tactic, with Hitha Prabhakar, Style File Group; Brad Wilson, BlackFriday2009.com and CNBC's Jane Wells.

Holiday Central 25 Nov 2009
A discussion of the many ways retailers are preparing for Black Friday, live from K-Mart in Burbank, CA, with CNBC's Jane Wells.
Retailers Getting Ready for Black Friday 25 Nov 2009
Retailers are getting ready for Black Friday, and CNBC's Jane Wells has the play by play. Stacy Janiak, of Deloitte, shares her insight.

Amazon vs. Wal-Mart

24 Nov 2009

What began as a price war between Wal-Mart and Amazon over a handful of books has nos spread to a wide assortment of consumer goods. Lee Eisenberg, a noted retail expert and consumer behaviorist, and CNBC's Jane Wells discuss.

Prices to Be Thankful For 24 Nov 2009
A decrease in food prices is something to be thankful for this holiday, reports CNBC's Jane Wells.

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CNBC ON DIGG

The Relationship Between CPI And Newport Beach

Published: Tuesday, 25 Aug 2009 | 11:59 AM ET

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By: Jane Wells
Correspondent

Fashion Island Parking
Photo by: Robert Mancuso
Fashion Island Parking
This weekend I moved my daughter back down to Orange County for school. She and a roommate are renting an apartment. How has the economy changed? We got a nicer apartment for $200 a month LESS. Plus $500 off the security deposit.

Her apartment is near UC Irvine, where management professor Robert Mancuso sent me a note this morning about a "telling statistic that reveals how absent the consumer is from the economic mix."

Mancuso sent me two pictures he snapped Monday evening at the expensive new parking garage at Fashion Island, a high-end shopping mall in Newport Beach.

Fashion Island Parking
Photo by: Robert Mancuso
Fashion Island Parking
"The Market is looking for evidence that the consumer will step up to cash register," Mancuso says. "However here is photographic proof that she may not be willing to do that." He says the new parking structure remains largely empty. "Capable of handling over 300 cars per floor, the numbers speak for themselves that there is still ample room for consumer involvement in this economy."

Granted, Monday evening isn't prime shopping time, but 352 empty parking spaces on the top level of one of the most popular malls for rich people in California? Mancuso says, "The higher the number (of empty spaces), the lower the CPI."

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