Take Note

HOUSING BOOM TOUGH TO EXPLAIN, EASY TO ENJOY The continuing housing boom during what has been a recession is tough to explain, but many related industries continue to enjoy it all the same. Demand for lumber, carpeting, laundry machines, furniture and all other things going into the home continues soaring. The National Association of Home Builders reports that in the first year after buying a new home, property alterations cost $2,475, furnishings $2,117 and appliances $529. DEPARTMENT STORES DOOMED? While not exactly facing extinction, department stores are striving to remain useful in shoppers’ lives. A page one headline in The Wall Street Journal (March 12, 2002) states, “Department Stores Fight an Uphill Battle Just to Stay Relevant.” The Journal went on to observe that department stores have been losing market share for years because of inconvenience. They are difficult to get to, difficult to find one’s way around in, difficult to shop in and even difficult to pay up in because of a shortage of sales help. Plus, they charge more. WALLET PHONES COULD BE NEXT Someday soon consumers could store their credit card or bank account numbers in their mobile phones and when they’re ready to pay for something simply press a button to transmit the information. Such a program will be launched this year in the United Kingdom and Germany by Vodafone Group PLC and T-Mobile International AG. In the United States, Paypal, Inc. is active in developing such payments. U.S. CURRENCY TO ADD COLOR To thwart counterfeiters, the U.S. government plans to roll out new currency next year with new color added. The new bills will have “subtle color” in neutral areas, but the colors have not been announced. As in 1995 when currency was changed by enlarging the presidents’ portraits, the $1 and $2 bills likely won’t be changed because they’re rarely counterfeited. Computers have made counterfeiting much easier—of the $47.5 million in fake money last year, almost half was made on computers.