Tom Johansmeyer
Manhattan - http://migrantblogger.wordpress.com

Tom Johansmeyer is a New York-based writer specializing in travel, cigars, art and finance.

We've put three quarters behind us in 2009, and the most recent one was merely another miserable step downward for the beleaguered newspaper industry. Total ad revenue plummeted in the third quarter to $6.4 billion for the print jockeys, a decline of 28%. This info from the Newspaper Association of America drives home the notion that conditions will only worsen for the newspaper industry. So, if you're hoping those shares of New York Times Company (NYT), Gannett (GCI) and Washington Post Company (WPO), holding your breath will leave you little more than dizzy.

Of the total advertising revenue generated in the third quarter of 2009, $5.8 million came from print, the lowest quarterly amount this year. The $623 million in online advertising sold by America's newspapers was also 2009's worst. Both are down substantially from the same quarter in 2008, when the newspapers posted print ad revenue of $8.2 million and online ad revenue of $750 million, according to NAA data. At this time last year, we lamented year-over-year declines approaching 20%. Now, we have the same feelings as ad revenue drops approach 30%.

The loans that got us into this mess were generally the first to fall. Variable rate mortgages written without documentation for people with sketchy credit histories shocked nobody as their slide became an avalanche. But, the good stuff is starting to follow. An increasing amount of fixed rate mortgages offered to borrowers with solid credit histories are feeling their ways to foreclosure. Blame unemployment for this one. When people can't work, it gets pretty hard to pay the mortgage.

Fixed rate, high quality mortgages had a foreclosure a year ago. Last quarter, it jumped to 33%, according to a Mortgage Bankers Association report. As this happened, the amount of homeowners behind on their payments or in foreclosure just set another record high ... for the ninth month in a row. Subprime mortgages are headed in the other direction. Low quality adjustable rate mortgages are now 16% of new foreclosures -- compared to 35% last year. And, more than 18% of Federal Housing Administration loans are anywhere from one payment behind to in foreclosure, with California, Nevada, Arizona and Florida worst off: together, they accounted for 44% of new foreclosures.

Yahoo! (YHOO) is the latest company that wants to optimize its search results for Twitter. This follows moves by Microsoft (MSFT) and Google (GOOG) to integrate Twitter data into their search results. Unlike its competitors, however, Yahoo! wants to do this without spending a dime (well, without giving a dime to the hot new social media platform).

Twitter's microblogging service has become famous not only for its rapid growth but also because it's found no way to turn it into revenue. Its recent discussions with Microsoft and Google demonstrated that Twitter can indeed bring in some cash -- by licensing its data for use in fine-tuning search engines. With two of the top search engines now optimizing for Twitter, it was only a matter of time before Yahoo! would rush to join the party.

Playboy is such a mess that even the hint that a company is interested in it triggers a reaction. Oak Hill Capital Partners, a private equity firm, announced Wednesday that it has no interest in buying ailing adult media company Playboy (PLA), despite previous media reports indicating the contrary. Of course, this sent Playboy's shares down 3.7%. Oak Hill didn't just say "no way" to the present but made it clear for the future as well.

This follows a statement by Golden Gate Capital that it wouldn't be involved in a Playboy acquisition, again, despite suggestions in the media that it might make a move for the bunny. The latest possible buyer is Iconix Brand Group, which is generally hungry for brand acquisitions. Playboy is keeping its mouth shut on the matter.

The price at the cash register ticked higher in October, though it was driven by the cost at the pump and on the lot.

Energy prices and new car sales (the highest in 28 years) pushed consumer prices upward in October, they're still cheaper than they were a year earlier. The Labor Department reports that consumer prices edged up 0.3% last month, a tad higher than the 0.2% anticipated. Take food and energy out of the equation, and inflation rose 0.2%, again ahead of the 0.1% that analysts expected.

Every day, it's becoming clearer that e-readers will be the hot holiday gifts of 2009. Amazon (AMZN) is obviously in the game with its Kindle, with which it took an early lead in the industry. Barnes & Noble (BKS) has made a play with its new Nook reader, applying some pressure to what was once a wide open space.

Even though we're still short of Black Friday, the weeding process has begun. Sony (SNE), which is also in the e-reader market, has revealed that it makes no guarantees about delivery by Christmas.

Once upon a time, Mac users could brag they were much safer from malicious electronic attacks. After all, in the days before Google (GOOG), when Microsoft (MSFT) was the only uber-player in town, Windows was the perpetual malware target. Phishers, however, aren't discriminating; they're just looking for an account to plunge. So, both Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft users are threatened. Virus writers do tend to focus on the Windows operating system, which owns 90% of the OS market, but phishers are platform independent.

Phishing involves attempts to get a user to reveal information about their accounts. Once the soon-to-be victim clicks that link or fills out a form, the "transaction" is complete -- no operating system interaction necessary. As a result, there really isn't any advantage to using a Mac over a PC.

Amazon, Inc. (AMZN) is in the clouds. So are Google, Inc. (GOOG), EMC (EMC) and Cisco (CSCO). Now, Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) is joining them, having announced on Tuesday its new Windows Azure cloud computing system. The new product will be released on January 1, 2010 -- a new solution for a new year.

Azure will deliver an online platform for the software development set to build their own mousetraps and provide plenty of storage space for users. Testing began a year ago, and full live version will be celebrated next year. For the first month, Azure will be free. The charges start in February.

An unemployment rate of 10.2% means that serious jobseekers are using every tool they can find. So, it's not at all shocking that social networking tools top the list, with LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter leading the charge. Openings are being tweeted, hints of a new position are being monitored and hot candidates are being hit up directly, even if they aren't saying they're on the prowl for a new gig. Social media is a tool to use in a job hunt but not necessarily the only one, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Instead, it makes sense to balance a search with many tools.

John Challenger, CEO, says, "The job search has changed radically over the last two decades with the advent of electronic mail, the internet, social networking, smart phones, etc. However, it is important to remember that all of these technologies simply enhance the job search; they will never replace the face-to-face connections that are critical to a successful search." But, he continues that "we feel that these new networking tools are essential and now advise all of the job seekers going through our program to open LinkedIn accounts and to consider other services such as Facebook and Twitter.

No, don't expect to see windmills and solar panels -- consumers are leaning toward a different kind of green this holiday season: cash. Rather than hit their credit cards, shoppers will only be spending money they have (and can see and touch). Seventy-one percent of consumers are looking to cash and debit cards as their primary form of payment for holiday shopping this year, which the National Retail Foundation pegs as the highest level since 2005.

This could be a problem for the retailers.

Sure, you'd think that the merchant fees on credit cards make cash more attractive to the sellers. But, Ellen Davis, a spokesperson for the NRF, says that most retailers have found they can talk credit card buyers into up-sells more easily. That leads to a bigger basket size and more revenue. Done successfully, it should comfortably absorb the impact of merchant fees. James Roberts, a marketing professor at Baylor University, adds that using plastic makes consumers more likely to buy at all, let alone more.

How do you know the green finance sector has arrived? Well, it got its first Ponzi scheme! Allegedly.

The SEC filed charges against four people and two companies in a Denver federal court on Monday. Mantria Corp. and its principals, Troy Wragg and Amanada Knorr, stand accused of running raising $122 million from more than 300 investors in what could be a dozen fraudulent offers of securities. Mantria engaged Speed of Wealth LLC, run by Wayde and Donna McKelvy, to dump the cash out of their retirement plans and tap their home equity to "invest" in Mantria, which they said was offering returns ranging from 17% to "hundreds of percent" every year.

The rest of the world is going to help U.S. consumer product manufacturers next year. Look for international growth to push the likes of Colgate-Palmolive (CL), Avon (AVP) and Clorox (CLX) higher in 2010, according to Fitch Ratings. In an interview with Reuters, a director gave the Fitch's outlook for consumer goods.

The household and personal care segments increased revenue every year from 2003 to 2008. So, 2009 was but a bump in the road. Even in a recession, you need toilet paper and shampoo, so expect the spending to come back.

Retailers may lose a revenue lever to pull this upcoming holiday shopping season ... and it could be a big one. The number of shoppers expected to opt for gift cards rather than traditional purchased goods is likely to increase this year, as nobody wants to waste money on a loser present in a tough financial environment.

Gift cards make that problem go away, but flexibility isn't free. Retailers have tacked on a variety of fees to bring in a bit of extra cash from gift card sales, but if the U.S. Federal Reserve gets its way, these fees will be forced sharply lower.

Imagine taking the personal connections and interactions that occur every day on the likes of Facebook and Twitter... and bringing them to bear on an education. To a large extent, this hasn't been done yet, but the potential is profound. In a new report by the Center for Community Survey for Student Engagement, two-year programs aren't taking advantage of the tools at their disposal -- plenty of growth is still possible. Kay McClenney, director of the CCSSE, says, "Colleges are not taking advantage of that particular set of tools for making connections with students to the extent that they could."

Now that it's reached 10.2%, the unemployment rate is higher than it's been in 26 years. That puts plenty of people on the hunt for work, especially since the unemployment rate doesn't reflect everyone who's been affected by the recession, such as those who have been unemployed too long or who are underemployed. Lacking alternatives at home, more Americans are heading overseas to find their fortunes weather the storm.

The number of people looking for international work through Manpower Inc. (MAN), the largest staffing firm in the country, has increased over the past six months. Half a year ago, Jeff Joerres, the company CEO, said that only a few dozen were looking for work outside the U.S. Now, it's up to 500. He tells USA Today, "It is a phenomenon we haven't had before."