Friday, January 25, 2008

The colors of Naples - 6

Sadly, not even upscale Naples remains unaffected by the current economic downturn. This is Fifth Avenue South, the heartbeat of the city, in the height of the season and, as as you can see, pretty deserted.

You might debate whether or not US is in a recession, but this photo speaks for itself - any other year, Naples in January is the happenin' place ;-)

Are you noticing any negative economic effects where you are?

18 comments:

Olivier said...

cela fait longtemps que la France est en récession, en ce moment beaucoup de débats sur le pouvoir d'achat des français qui baissent de plus en plus.
Et puis quand les USA vont mal, le monde entier commence a avoir de la fièvre.

It's been a long time that France is in recession, at the moment a lot of discussion on the purchasing power of french diminishing more and more.
And then when the USA go wrong, the world began to have a fever.

Anonymous said...

Customers are scarce here too. I mean people are shopping at WalMart but getting what they need and checking themselves out. I didn't think Bush could ruin anything else but apparently his billions of dollars for the war are starting to cut across our economy. We can't borrow any more money from India, China and Japan to run the show.

Anonymous said...

In the same way that I (misguidedly) used to look forward to global warming, I look forward to an economic downturn if it means quiet traffic free streets, just waiting for the photographer.

In answer to your question about Lugano - well it's the quiet season there anyway. Summer will tell....

Jo's-D-Eyes said...

Hi Isabella dear,
I see what You mean, but the sun is always shining behind the clouds, I hope it will get better soon, We follow about the economic downtown in your countrie/usa, on the news every day. I feel pity for all the people with moneyproblems, most of them worked for their house their whole life and now this....

Take care and try not to think about it too much enjoy the sun,

look at the skies on my blog, or listen to the "angel" song ,

Have a happy weekend ,
with love also from my dog IOS:)

Anonymous said...

Don't worry Isabella, they're there - just in the bar :-)

or maybe it's lunchtime?

Perhaps they were too frozen to get on the plane.....

Peter said...

Many bad news and signs ... and of course a lot is blamed on what's happening in US. The whole world depends on the US economy!

Chica, Cienna, and Cali said...

I know back in India, a lot of jobs are dependent on US' economy...and the pinch is being felt there....my brother being a young engineer in India has some unbecoming stories to share.....

Univ. of South Florida has a huge budget crunch facing it ....funding graduate students is becoming a problem. In fact a lot of new courses have not been added this year due to budget crunch. As a young engineer couple looking for jobs, we know for sure that things are not easy.

Nikon said...

There is definitely a problem with the mortgage "bubble" here.
Since it's an election year, the news will be spun in many ways by many people.

freefalling said...

I wish.
We are still on our path of rampant consumerism! Yesterday's news - 25% increase in Melbourne (Aust)house prices over the last 12 months, Chadstone Shopping Centre hit 1 billion dollars in sales for the year, inflation highest in 16 years.
A lot of our natural resources are being exported to the bottomless pit that is China at present.
I wish everyone would just chill!

Kate said...

As a recent retiree, I have my head in the sand, but I fear that my plans to sell our house to move into a small condo is going to have to wait 'til the real estate market improves. Now is a good time to buy, I guess. Perhaps, maybe. Too bad the streets in Naples look so empty. Doesn't bode well overall.

ft. lauderdale daily photo said...

Nothing lasts forever, I promise. And still, we will photograph what we see,

Southern Heart said...

That shopping area is so pretty...it's a shame what is happening to the economy, isn't it? I work in health care (which is always a necessity), so I don't feel it quite as immediately as others might.

GMG said...

Sorry again for having been a bit absent, but my week, different from your picture, was too much crowded... Anyhow, let the economic cycle do its job and things will get boom again. Boom-bust, it's life!
Nice Boggie's quote: "I'm tall enough"!
Thanks for the comments at Blogtrotter
Enjoy a great weekend!
Gil

Jilly said...

Everyone is at home, watching CNBC and checking their share prices. But it'll turn around - it always does.

Thankyou Mr. Bush and Mr. Blair for invading Irak. And thankyou to the greedy banks.

Anonymous said...

Why must everyone point to Bush, when he had to beg and beg Congress to approve his economic stimulus package. If anything, the war is pumping a bunch of money into the economy. If it's money you are worried about, then you should support the war.

Personally, money is only of secondary value to me. I seek those things money can't buy.

Those who normally vacation in Naples are likely benefiting from the economic downturn by getting cheaper trips to the South of France or the Carribean. Naples is beautiful. I come to your blog often to view your great photos which capture the beauty of Naples so well. Thank you.

Kate said...

Can't help but comment that we have LOTS to blame Bush for...

kuanyin333 said...

Yes, it's been very slow over here on Maui too. Everyone is anxiously awaiting the arrival of the tourists because that's what the Maui economy thrives upon.

Anonymous said...

Just to clarify one thing, the economy in the past two years has been the best of most people's lifetimes, across any group of measures. Low taxes, inflation and interest were coupled with high wages, employment, government revenues and stock prices. What changed suddenly is all related to housing, because banks competed with each other to have the biggest loan portfolios, at any cost. Everything was going extremely well until that hit. Nothing else has really changed but it is all now responding to the housing and credit issues. So, this was not caused by Bush or Iraq or any such thing, in fact the federal deficit is less than 2% of GDP.