Recession Briefing 9.29

Recessionwire — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 10:19:41 -0400

Living through a recession or economic downturn may be good for your health, a study on life during the Great Depression has claimed. (Telegraph)

Job seekers now outnumber openings six to one, the worst ratio since the government began tracking open positions in 2000. Only 2.4 million full-time permanent jobs were open in July, with 14.5 million people officially unemployed. (New York Times)

The recession has hit middle-income and poor families hardest, widening the economic gap between the richest and poorest Americans as rippling job layoffs ravaged household budgets. (Associated Press)

This recession is taking a particularly heavy toll on business creation, as sources of small-business funding dry up and would-be entrepreneurs become more risk-averse. (Wall Street Journal)

The Obama administration is close to rolling out two initiatives aimed at addressing lingering problems from the financial crisis: A long-delayed effort to cleanse financial firms of their toxic assets, and a $35 billion plan to prop up state programs that help lower-income borrowers get affordable mortgages. (Washington Post)

Some economists are heartened by an obscure measure of buyer sentiment: recreational vehicle sales. RV wholesale shipments jumped 16% in August from July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 209,800. That’s a 136% surge from January. (USA Today)

Organized religion was already in trouble before the fall of 2008. Denominations were stagnating or shrinking, and congregations across faith groups were fretting about their finances. The Great Recession made things worse. (Associated Press)

“The end of the recession seems so close that you can almost smell it,” writes Geoff Colvin. “Yet this is exactly the wrong moment to let up on the mean and lean strategies you’ve adopted.” (Washington Post)

For a quintet of small businesses that The New York Times has been tracking for the past year, the persistent recession has hurt some more than others. As fall began, some cautious optimism about a recovery crept into recent interviews. (New York Times)

One economist who believes a “double dip recession” is a real danger is Martin Feldstein, professor at Harvard University. He notes that the current economic upturn is being “force fed” by government stimulus and not driven by the usual business cycle in which growth begets more growth. (CNBC)

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Recession Briefing 9.28

Recessionwire — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:53:29 -0400

The unemployment rate for young Americans (aged 16 to 24, excluding students) has exploded to 52.2 percent — a post-World War II high, according to the Labor Dept. (New York Post)

As challenging as it is for anyone to find a good job in this economy, it can be even harder for people out of work a long time. Skills atrophy. Demoralization sets in and can become permanent. Some potential employers shy away. (Wall Street Journal)

In perhaps the most concrete evidence to date that the recession is abating, some workers are getting their salaries restored after enduring painful pay cuts over the last year. (CNN/Money)

The recession is bringing major cutbacks to one of the more famously profligate companies in the media industry: Condé Nast. (New York Times)

Economists since the mid-1990s have reckoned that full employment was equivalent to about a 5 percent unemployment rate, taking into account the time required to switch jobs. Now two top economist say the so-called natural rate is higher, perhaps 7 percent. (Bloomberg)

It’s hard to gauge how the Great Recession has impacted our culture: How we interact, how we entertain ourselves, how we worship, what we wear and buy and read and watch. (Associated Press)

Big job losses and a spike in early retirement claims from laid-off seniors will force Social Security to pay out more in benefits than it collects in taxes the next two years, the first time that’s happened since the 1980s. (Associated Press)

Candidates, consultants and fundraisers say the sharp economic downturn has shrunk the pool of traditional donors to whom they turn for money — and made those who are still giving reluctant to make commitments early in the campaign. (Las Vegas Sun)

“Thank goodness the recession is over and the economy is on the way back up,” writes Steve Rubenstein. “That’s the word from the experts, the analysts and the pooh-bahs. If only someone could pass the word to everybody left over.” (San Francisco Chronicle)

Charles Salak was laid off in August, along with two-thirds of his co-workers, by a wind-tower maker in Columbus, Neb. The company, like its workers, is waiting for jobs to come in so that it can rehire them. (New York Times)

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Recession Briefing 9.22

Recessionwire — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 09:48:58 -0400

A broad survey of Americans has provided striking measures of the recession’s effect on life at home and at work: People are now stuck in traffic longer, less apt to move away and more inclined to put off marriage and buying a house. (Associated Press)

The FDIC, which is rapidly running out of money after a wave of bank failures, is considering a plan to borrow money from some of the nation’s healthier banks in order to continue to rescue the sickest banks. (New York Times)

The number of foreign-born residents of the U.S. declined for the first time since at least 1970, as a recession and tight labor market dented America’s image as the land of opportunity. (Wall Street Journal)

“The end of the world appears to have been postponed,” said Paul Krugman of the economic stimulus package at a seminar in Helsinki. The world economy “does not appear to be falling into an abyss but is still” in trouble. (Bloomberg)

Long after the economy recovers, millions of Americans will be left with a grim legacy of the recession: damaged credit scores. (USA Today)

A new study shows that people who “strategically default” on their mortgages often have high credit scores, in stark contrast with most financially distressed borrowers. (Los Angeles Times)

The recession could lead to an explosion in sexual health problems and unplanned pregnancies, the head of a British agency has warned. (BBC)

New data shows that Maryland is the state to head to if you’re looking for a fat paycheck: average household income there is highest in the country at $70,545. (CNN/Money)

Small business owners in neighborhoods around New York City are banding together and waging campaigns to urge customers to “shop locally.” (New York Daily News)

A “totally free yard sale” was set up recently in rural Pennsylvania so that community members could donate unwanted items to their struggling neighbors. (Fox43)

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Recession Briefing 9.21

Recessionwire — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 11:49:04 -0400

Why drug dealers are the perfect gurus in a recession. (Financial Times)

The recession has resulted in a “significant” fall in greenhouse gas emissions as manufacturing falls, according to a study by the International Energy Agency. (Telegraph)

The incomes of the young and middle-aged — especially men — have fallen off a cliff since 2000, leaving many age groups poorer than they were even in the 1970s, an analysis of new Census data found. (USA Today)

Throughout the history of American commercial life, one cultural trait has tended to dominate: Americans are optimists. Will the recession cause them to reassess their hopeful worldview? (New York Times)

Why haven’t any Wall Street tycoons been forced to swap their multi-million dollar jobs and custom-made suits for dishwashing and prison stripes, asks Kevin Hall. (McClatchyDC)

With banks tightening their lending standards and credit card companies raising interest rates, borrowers are increasingly turning to an unusual source of money: other people. (Washington Post)

Unable to find steady work, some Americans are ditching the straight life to hike the length of the Appalachian Trail. (Wall Street Journal)

Forty-two states lost jobs last month, up from 29 in July, with the biggest net payroll cuts coming in Texas, Michigan, Georgia and Ohio (USA Today)

If we can’t re-regulate more strongly to better protect public funds, the next crisis could be worse than the last one, write Peter Boone and Simon Johnson. (New York Times)

Despite predictions the Great Recession is running out of steam, the House is taking up emergency legislation this week to help the millions of Americans who see no immediate end to their economic miseries. (Associated Press)

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Recession Briefing 9.15

Recessionwire — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 10:24:13 -0400

French President Nicolas Sarkozy wants world leaders to drop their obsession with gross domestic product and factor measures like “happiness” into economic indicators. (Associated Press)

Despite fresh signs that the worst may be over for the beleaguered U.S. economy, there has been no letup in public fears about possible financial hardship ahead and there is broad concern that not enough is being done to avert another meltdown. (Washington Post)

With more Americans than ever on food stamps, Randy James takes a look back on the program’s history. (TIME)

A woman is refusing to pay off her Bank of America credit card until she is offered a lower interest rate. (Huffington Post)

Tens of thousands of financially strapped homeowners who have asked lenders to lower their mortgage payments are instead winding up with higher monthly payments and larger debts on their homes. (USA Today)

Some companies are offering career counseling to customers who’ve lost jobs during the recession, hoping to help old friends and win additional loyalty when the economy recovers. (Wall Street Journal)

“This recession, a full-blown economic horror, has left a gaping hole in the heart of working America that is unlikely to heal for years, if not decades,” writes Bob Herbert. (New York Times)

James Altucher has five sacred truths in finance that are no longer true in the middle of The Great Recession. (Daily Finance)

The world has not tackled the problems at the heart of the economic downturn and is likely to slip back into recession, says William White, the former chief economist at the Bank for International Settlements. (Financial Times)

The government has gotten back hundreds of billions of dollars in bailout loans, but it still has more than $2 trillion to wind down. (CNN/Money)

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Tue, 15 Sep 2009 10:24:13 -0400

Recession Briefing 9.14

Recessionwire — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 10:26:26 -0400

Goodwill stores — which might have been a wardrobe faux pas in better times — are seeing a recession-fueled boost in sales. (Boston Herald)

Basic salaries for executives at top companies jumped 10 percent last year despite the financial crisis, a report said on Monday. (Agence France-Presse)

There is a surge in student interest at the nation’s schools that provide an education in the business and science of funerals, a field that historically garners greater interest as the job market worsens. (Associated Press)

Barbara Ehrenreich and Dedrick Muhammad draw attention to the fact that blacks are the ones who are taking the brunt of the recession, with disproportionately high levels of foreclosures and unemployment. (New York Times)

Morris Dickstein’s new book looks at what the Great Depression did to culture. (The New Yorker)

Do governments and central banks deserve credit for preventing catastrophe? The early verdict from most scholars, executives and government insiders is yes. (Wall Street Journal)

Lehman’s failure marked a beginning rather than an end, and triggered a series of events that affected economies around the world to a much greater degree than the other failures did. (The Big Money)

The recession has come to the Great White Way. Broadway theater attendance plummeted this summer by 9.3% compared with last year. (New York Daily News)

Ryan Sager asks, how will this “depression generation” be shaped by the current economic crisis? (True/Slant)

Tight financial times may have a lasting effect on California’s home buyers and alter the state’s real estate landscape. (Los Angeles Times)

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Recession Briefing 9.11

Recessionwire — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:33:33 -0400

The typical American household made less money last year than the typical household made a full decade ago. (New York Times/Economix)

Marijuana farming has increased during the recession as hard-luck entrepreneurs supplement their income with backyard pot plantations. (Associated Press)

Both Harvard University and Yale University have reported that the value of their respective endowments fell about 30% in the past fiscal year. (Associated Press, Wall Street Journal)

Some 13.2 percent of Americans were living below the poverty line in 2008, the Census Bureau said Thursday. That’s a significant jump from the 12.5 percent poverty rate a year earlier. (Christian Science Monitor)

The stimulus package saved one million American jobs, says top White House economist Christine Romer. (CNN/Money)

This recession-themed iPhone case only costs 99 cents (assembly required). (Case-Mate)

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner appearing in a town hall meeting yesterday, said that “absolutely, absolutely,” unemployment will be lower this time next year. (Washington Post/Economy Watch)

Big cars and trucks are out. Smaller ones that offer more for your dollar are in. And many drivers will hang onto the new cars they buy longer. (Associated Press)

Ten economic bubbles in the making. (Clusterstock)

The Pew Internet & American Life Project found that more people are using Internet sites like YouTube and Hulu to relax and escape from the steady flow of bad economic data. (Dallas Morning News)

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Recession Briefing 9.4

Recessionwire — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 10:15:04 -0400

More than 35 million Americans received food stamps in June, up 22 percent from June 2008 and a new record. (Reuters)

If more mothers were amateur economists, they’d probably tell you to cover your mouth when you frown. That’s because doing so could help prevent a recession. (The Big Money)

Students are borrowing dramatically more to pay for college, accelerating a trend that has wide-ranging implications for a generation of young people. (Wall Street Journal)

Who can afford to retire? Who can afford to take a vacation? Who can afford to stop thinking about making money for one single instant? Nobody we know. (Gawker)

“American innovation has solved daunting problems before and could again. But it would be a mistake to assume that American prosperity will continue on some preordained upward course,” writes Rick Newman. (U.S. News & World Report)

“It is high time the labor market started showing the kinds of improvement the factory sector and financial markets have,” writes Mark Gongloff. (Wall Street Journal)

The number of U.S. workers claiming unemployment benefits fell back last week but remain stubbornly elevated. (Financial Times)

Half of retailers that experience a downturn during a recession never recover, according to an analysis from Credit Suisse Holdings. (Chicago Tribune)

Twice as many people approaching retirement suffer sleepless nights during a recession, according to new research. (Telegraph)

The recession is a good excuse for employers to introduce a pay freeze, but what if you think your hard work deserves greater financial reward? Here are some tips for getting a raise despite the bad economic climate. (CNN/Money)

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Recession Briefing 9.3

Recessionwire — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 10:07:31 -0400

With housing prices still in the dumps, more Americans are finding themselves in the uncomfortable position of renting out their homes. Many are finding that rent checks don’t come close to covering their mortgage payments. (Wall Street Journal)

To the long list of reasons American companies aren’t hiring — business losses, tight credit, consumer retrenchment — add the fact that many of their older workers are unable, or afraid, to retire. (New York Times)

A new study finds that the recession has left many jobless workers struggling to cope with the psychological stress caused by becoming unemployed in a weak economy. (Associated Press)

Many job seekers are willing to accept as little as half of what they were making before, if it means finding a job. (CNN/Money)

Vice President Joe Biden is playing the role of White House voice of optimism about an economic recovery today at the Brookings Institution, saying the $787-billion economic stimulus that Obama signed into law in February is working better “than we had hoped.” (Tribune Media/The Swamp)

A struggling real estate broker is being forced into bankruptcy by the Washington Redskins, who sued to hold her to a 10-year season tickets contract. (Washington Post)

More people are going on camping trips due to the weak economy, trying to save money by enjoying a simpler existence. (Los Angeles Times)

Although the recession isn’t officially over yet, there is a growing sense that the economy is now in a recovery. But there is also a growing debate about who deserves the credit. (CNN/Money)

Productivity and factory orders are up as the economy continues to flash signals that the recession is coming to an end. (Associated Press)

The heads of the 20 banks that have received the biggest government bailouts were paid nearly 40 percent more last year than other CEOs, a study shows. (Huffington Post)

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Recession Briefing 9.2

Recessionwire — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 10:33:43 -0400

Few people like jury duty. But for many people squeezed by the recession, a jury summons holds a new fear: financial ruin. (New York Times)

American manufacturing expanded for the first time in 19 months, and pending sales of existing homes rose more than forecast, indicating the recession has ended. (Bloomberg)

We’ve all met 20-somethings who’ve been coddled by their parents and seem to expect everything to be handed to them. But the economy might just be changing Gen Y’s outlook. (Marketplace)

The same financiers who earned huge bonuses for creating, trading and investing in complex mortgage-backed securities that resulted in trillions of dollars in losses are now hoping to make another score buying and trading the same securities. (Washington Post)

Here’s a chart from the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics showing unemployment in metropolitan areas across the U.S. (Huffington Post)

Government efforts to funnel hundreds of billions of dollars into the U.S. economy appear to be helping the U.S. climb out of the recession. But there’s little agreement about which programs are having the biggest impact. (Wall Street Journal)

The proportion of people ages 16 to 24 who were employed in July was 51.4 percent, the lowest July rate since records began in 1948 and 4.6 percentage points lower than in July 2008. (McClatchy)

With consumers’ credit cards maxed out, many struggling retailers have resurrected layaway to get shoppers back in the aisles. (NPR)

The boss’ perception: Given the rough economy, workers are thrilled just to have a steady paycheck. The employee’s reality: Many are frustrated, secretly seeking new opportunities — and soon could be scooped up by another company as the economy recovers. (USA Today)

It’s that time of year again: young adults are schlepping off to college, many of them for the first time. How are parents handling the whole money conversation during this year’s tough economic times? (Marketplace)

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Wed, 02 Sep 2009 10:33:43 -0400

Recession Briefing 9.1

Recessionwire — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 10:24:25 -0400

“I think it’s kind of an exciting time,” says actress Natalie Portman of the recession. “All of a sudden, people are doing jobs that they hate and they’re not making as much money as they thought they would or they’ve lost their jobs entirely. I’ve started to see people looking more toward their own passions and what really excites them.” (Heeb)

Contrary to the common assumption that the stress of dealing with a recession is bad for your health, studies of population trends in developed economies have revealed that during economic downturns, mortality rates decline rather than increase. (Time)

PennyMac, a firm founded by the former president and COO of Countrywide — which is blamed for some of the loans which triggered the financial crisis — now stands to receive up to $6.2 million in taxpayer money to modify distressed home loans. (ProPublica)

“Day after day, economists, politicians and journalists repeat the trope that the current recession is the worst since the Great Depression,” writes Allan Meltzer. “Repetition may reinforce belief, but the comparison is greatly overstated and highly misleading.” (Wall Street Journal)

City finance officers say the picture remains bleak for city governments. This is chiefly because a top source of municipal income — property tax revenue — tends to lag behind changes in the market. (CNN)

Six months into President Obama’s Making Home Affordable Program, only 6 percent of the 4 million eligible homeowners have gotten help. A lot more say they’ve been frustrated with the runaround they’ve been getting from lenders. (CNN)

The U.S. economy does not need a second fiscal stimulus package, instead the government should cut spending over the next two years, according to a survey of business economists released on Monday. (Reuters)

The emerging economic recovery suffers from a great contradiction: Even as factories seem to be cranking out more stuff, the job market remains terrible. (Washington Post)

The global recession will increase infant and child deaths and cause more students to drop out of school in Africa, the U.N. children’s agency predicted Monday. (Associated Press)

The newly elected Japanese government is creating a special position for a minister in charge of overseeing the post-recession economic recovery. (Associated Press)

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Recession Briefing 8.31

Recessionwire — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 09:49:03 -0400

The recession is taking its toll on New York’s cocaine dealers: “You’re gonna find me at the post office if this goes on for much longer,” says one. (New York/Daily Intel)

Sales of men’s underwear typically are stable because they rank as a necessity. But during times of severe financial strain, men will try to stretch the time between buying new pairs, causing underwear sales to dip. (Washington Post)

To help pare their budgets, more Americans are bypassing the salon and opting to lop off their own locks. The results can be shear disaster — clogged drains, fresh cowlicks and crooked trims. (Wall Street Journal)

The Federal Reserve has made a $14 billion in profit on loan programs that have provided hundreds of billions of dollars in liquidity to the financial system since the start of the crisis two years ago. (Financial Times)

New and prospective college students are abandoning their “dream schools” in favor of more affordable options, forcing many colleges to work harder to justify their price of admission. (USA Today)

Unemployment for middle-aged workers is the highest it’s been since data was first collected 60 years ago. And while the middle-aged are still more likely to have jobs than younger workers, once they are laid off, finding a new job is harder. (New York Times)

Regulators closed three banks Friday, pushing U.S. bank failures to 84 this year amid continuing fallout from the economic crisis. (Bloomberg)

The nation’s economic gloom hasn’t affected the way working Americans feel about their own jobs. In Gallup’s latest poll, 87% reported being completely (50%) or somewhat (37%) satisfied with their jobs. (Forbes)

The recession’s legacy may be Americans’ newfound reluctance to spend. (New York Times)

Federal Reserve and Treasury officials are scrambling to prevent the commercial-real-estate sector from delivering a roundhouse punch to the U.S. economy just as it struggles to get up off the mat. (Wall Street Journal)

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Recession Briefing 8.28

Recessionwire — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 11:12:25 -0400

While it’s worrying that more and more Americans are considered miserable enough to warrant prescription antidepressants, there may be some solace in the fact that these drugs are in some ways good for the economy. (The Big Money)

The real US unemployment rate is 16 percent if persons who have dropped out of the labor pool those working less than they would like are counted, a Federal Reserve official said. (Agence France Presse)

“The whole image of America as a shiny land of big money, big cars, and big food on big plates is really played out and passé, at least since we can’t afford those things any more,” writes Hamilton Nolan. “Now it’s Indian chic! Manila magic! The ambiance of Bombay and the mystique of Lagos add up to make us a truly global nation!” (Gawker)

Is the recession fueling the UK’s rise in births? (Daily Mail)

Many analysts say growth likely returned in the current quarter. But with unemployment aid claims stubbornly high, Americans may benefit little from a recovery if jobs remain scarce and spending stays too low to fuel a strong rebound. (Associated Press)

The American farm, which has weathered the global recession better than most U.S. industries, is starting to succumb to the downturn. (Wall Street Journal)

The recession is speeding the decline of coal as the dominant U.S. fuel for generating electric power. (Reuters)

When the credit crisis struck last year, federal regulators pumped tens of billions of dollars into the nation’s leading financial institutions because the banks were so big that officials feared their failure would ruin the entire financial system. Today, the biggest of those banks are even bigger. (Washington Post)

The U.S. banking system will lose some 1,000 institutions over the next two years, said John Kanas, whose private equity firm bought BankUnited of Florida in May. (CNBC)

Consumer confidence is on the rise and home prices have rebounded slightly, but things are still pretty miserable for millions of Americans, according to the latest update of the Real Misery Index. (Huffington Post)

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Recession Briefing 8.27

Recessionwire — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 11:20:42 -0400

This fall, law students are competing for half as many openings at big firms as they were last year in what is shaping up to be the most wrenching job search season in over 50 years. (New York Times)

The federal government mistakenly sent out stimulus checks to 1,700 inmates, the Social Security Administration said Tuesday — a $425,000 error. (FoxNews)

Seventy-two percent of Americans say they have cut back the time they spend volunteering and performing other civic activities in the past year — largely as the result of the recession, according to a study. (Chronicle of Philanthropy)

Purchases of new homes in the U.S. jumped more than forecast and demand for long-lasting goods such as autos and computers climbed, reinforcing signs the economy is rebounding. (Bloomberg)

More than a half-million option adjustable-rate mortgages are scheduled to reset in the next four years, at rates many homeowners cannot afford. Economists say this is a looming threat to a housing recovery. (New York Times)

Hit by rising commodities costs amid the recession, America’s largest beer brewers are raising their prices. (Los Angeles Times)

Foreclosure guilt — where a home buyer feels bad for the family they replaced — is a little-noticed emotional byproduct of the financial devastation wrought by the housing and banking meltdowns of the past year. (USA Today)

Nouriel Roubini: “Governments have been spending and borrowing like never before. The question now is: how do they stop?” (Forbes)

The number of Americans traveling by car over the Labor Day holiday weekend is expected to drop 11.8% from a year earlier due to the weak economy and the lateness of the holiday in the month. (Wall Street Journal)

According to a survey taken earlier this year, almost six in ten respondents said that despite the recession their standard of living is much or somewhat better than their parents’ was at the age they are now. (U.S. News & World Report)

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Recession Briefing 8.26

Recessionwire — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 10:34:50 -0400

Thanks to the economic downturn and rising shipping costs, junk mail volume was down 16 percent in the nine months ending in June compared with the same period a year earlier. (Associated Press)

Karen Blumenthal writes about big-time booms and busts — and how she got caught up in the Beanie Babies bubble. (Wall Street Journal)

Build your own 360-square-foot home for less than $3000? Yup, if you’ve got a place to put it, here’s how to make one out of cob. (TreeHugger, The Year of Mud)

Researchers questioned 250 homeowners going through foreclosure and found that 47 percent showed symptoms of depression, with 37 percent exhibiting signs of major depression. (Washington Post)

The USA TODAY/IHS Global Insight economic outlook index predicts GDP growth starting in September, the first increase since July 2008. The index predicts future growth based on 11 leading economic and financial indicators. (USA Today)

U.S. unemployment will surge to 10 percent this year and the budget deficit will be $1.5 trillion next year, both higher than previous Obama administration forecasts, White House budget chief Peter Orszag said. (Bloomberg)

The FDIC wants to ditch a subsidy that has been helpful for small banks amid the recession, but withdrawing insurance on big checking accounts won’t be popular. (CNN/Money)

An interesting change the how small businesses are being financed in the poor economy: fewer business owners needed to obtain financial capital to start their companies. (New York Times/You’re the Boss)

How are pampered pets faring in the recession? Still pampered. (Chicago Sun-Times)

In this recession, there are struggling apparel retailers all across the country. Then there’s Abercrombie & Fitch. The upscale teen retailer has suffered 10 straight months of double-digit same-store-sales declines. (Time)

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Wed, 26 Aug 2009 10:34:50 -0400

Recession Briefing 8.25

Recessionwire — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 09:56:07 -0400

Cities nationwide have been logging fewer traffic fatalities since the current recession officially started in December 2007, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (Arizona Republic)

Beginning late this fall, a new Cash-for-Clunkers-type program will authorize rebates of $50 to $200 for purchases of high-efficiency household appliances. (BusinessWeek)

After spawning legions of victims, the recession is forging a class of winners. Downturns “are very fertile fields of opportunity,” says Nancy Koehn, a business historian and professor at Harvard Business School. (Wall Street Journal)

Penny-pinching Americans are getting cold feet at the checkout — thinking twice about spending and ditching items before they’re rung up. (Associated Press)

The signs are growing that there’s a new Wall Street gold rush under way — for the same complex bundles of mortgage loans that fueled banks’ profits between 2005 and 2007. (The Big Money)

Rhode Island will shut down its state government for 12 days and hopes to trim millions of dollars in funding for local governments to balance a budget hammered by surging unemployment and plummeting tax revenue. (Associated Press)

The Obama Aministration will issue national debt numbers today that show federal debt rising by $9 trillion over the next decade — significantly higher than the forecast earlier this year. (Financial Times)

Brian Wingfield writes that President Obama’s decision to retain Ben Bernanke as Federal Reserve Chairman sends a message that he doesn’t think the crisis is over. (Forbes)

The U.S. government’s popular “Cash for Clunkers” program officially ended last night, and auto dealers across the country are now bracing for a hangover. (Washington Post)

The Federal Reserve must for the first time identify the companies in its emergency lending programs after losing a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. (Bloomberg)

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Recession Briefing 8.24

Recessionwire — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 10:03:43 -0400

Financial fears and the recession are contributing to the rise in the number of men suffering from anorexia. (Sky News)

Obama administration officials are looking at 1937’s stalled comeback from the Great Depression for clues as to what this recession’s rebound might be like. (Wall Street Journal)

In the recession, there are a proliferation of scams that target job seekers. In addition to sham job-finding companies, perpetrators prey on the desperate by offering credit rating repairs, foreclosure rescues, and home-based businesses that aren’t legitimate. (Boston Herald)

For many workers who have been displaced by the downturn, who have seen their salary or retirement income slashed or who fear the worst is yet to come, going back to school is looking more and more appealing. (New York Times)

Economist Nouriel Roubini writes that the risk of a double-dip recession is rising, while European Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny says a double-dip is unlikely. (Financial Times, Reuters)

Could the tourism industry lose half a million jobs this year? (Daily Finance)

Coverage for repairs has grown amid the recession. So-called attachment rates, or the percent of people who add a service contract to their purchase, have increased by 10 percent this year. (Bloomberg News)

Call them accidental entrepreneurs, unintended entrepreneurs or forced entrepreneurs. A year and a half into the Great Recession, with the jobless rate hovering near double digits, many corporate refugees are trying to fend for themselves. (New York Times)

Millions of older people face shrinking Social Security checks next year, the first time in a generation that payments would not rise. (Associated Press)

An increasingly common situation in the recession: You accept a job offer, maybe even move to a new city to do so, but then the employer backs out. Do you have any rights? (CNN/Money) It’s called being pre-fired. (Recessionwire)

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Recession Briefing 8.21

Recessionwire — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 10:36:30 -0400

Elmo, Sesame Street’s most giggly spokesmonster, is going through some tough economic times. His mommy has lost her job. (Daily Finance)

Data is beginning to show that the rich, as a group, are no longer getting richer. Over the last two years, they have become poorer. And many may not return to their old levels of wealth and income anytime soon. (New York Times)

The rough economy is inflicting hardship on people even in death. Coroners and funeral directors in several cities say the number of people seeking government-paid funerals, cremations and burials is spiking. (USA Today)

Delinquency and foreclosure rates for U.S. mortgages continued to rise in the second quarter, with loans to the most qualified borrowers going bust at an unnerving clip, especially in hard-hit states such as Florida and California. More than one in every eight homeowners with a mortgage was behind on home loan payments or in some stage of foreclosure at the end of the second quarter. And there are worrying signs that the foreclosure crisis could be spreading to parts of the country that had previously been relatively unscathed. (McClatchyDC, Financial Times, NPR)

In the aftermath of a layoff, style is critical. And it’s about more than the decision to polish a wardrobe. The way people comport themselves after losing a job can make all the difference in what comes next. (Wall Street Journal)

Car dealers and consumers have just four days left to take advantage of Uncle Sam’s $4,500 cash-for-clunkers rebate. Ironically, American cars have represented only 42 percent of vehicles purchased under the $3 billion U.S. government-funded program. The program has prompted a new entry into our Recession Lexicon: Clunkerf*ck. (USA Today, Newsweek, Recessionwire)

An index of economic indicators — “The Leading Economic Index” — rose in July for a fourth straight month, in another sign that the recession is bottoming. (CNN/Money)

“Nouriel Roubini has disingenuously promoted himself as nailing the crisis, when truthfully he was wrong until other hard working analysts fixed his broken crystal ball,” writes Damien Hoffman. (Wall St. Cheat Sheet)

Morgan Stanley is planning to hire as many as 400 traders and salespeople, a hiring spree that comes as the firm tries to dig its way out of three straight quarters of losses. (Reuters)

The BBC is producing The Last Days of Lehman Brothers, a TV movie “inspired by the real events” of that September weekend last year. (New York Times/Dealbook)

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Recession Briefing 8.20

Recessionwire — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 12:13:30 -0400

What does the recession smell like? It has created scents as varied as those produced by the overheated Wall Street shell game that gave birth to it. The mix is different. There’s less perfume, for one. Fragrance sales have fallen 7 percent this year.( New York Times/T)

A man is driving across the U.S. asking people to write stories of how the financial crisis has affected their lives on the side of his orange van. (Washington Post)

JetBlue suspended sales of its recession-friendly unlimited-flight pass Wednesday, saying it had to do so because of strong demand. (USA Today)

The hypnotic, gyrating, seizure-inducing happy lender Flash ads are showing up again online. Could they be a possible sign of the thawing of credit markets? (New York Times/Economix)

The numbers of poor and uninsured Americans are likely rising — with more than 38.8 million believed to be in poverty. (CBS News)

Everyone should stop asking when the recession is going to end, writes Nouriel Roubini. (Forbes)

What are some of the principles to consider when you are hiring during the recession? There are some very good people out there looking for jobs — but there are many more less-than-good people. (New York Times/You’re the Boss)

College students are appealing financial aid decisions this summer in unprecedented numbers, an outpouring of need that underscores how layoffs and pay cuts have battered household budgets in the past year. (Washington Post)

More Americans are moving away from material frivolities and taking pleasure in a simpler lifestyle, writes John Zogby. Now that a recession is forcing many others to also live within limits, how many will discover that they never really needed all those material things to be happy in the first place? (Forbes)

While the private sector has shed 6.9 million jobs since the beginning of the recession, state and local governments have expanded their payrolls and added 110,000 jobs, according to a report to be issued today. (New York Times)

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Recession Briefing 8.19

Recessionwire — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 10:06:56 -0400

The lowly penny is making a comeback as the recession puts a crimp in back-to-school sales. Spiral notebooks, batteries, markers, crayons, pencils and even some clothing are just a few of the items going for 1 cent these days. (Los Angeles Times)

How hard is it to find a job in your city? Here’s the number of unemployed per job posting for the 50 most populous metropolitan areas in the U.S. (Indeed)

“The United States economy is now out of the emergency room and appears to be on a slow path to recovery,” writes Warren Buffett. “But enormous dosages of monetary medicine continue to be administered and, before long, we will need to deal with their side effects.” (New York Times)

Want to save a few bucks on fresh eggs? Get yourself a chicken. Many cities, including San Francisco and Indianapolis, are allowing residents to raise chickens in their homes. (Indianapolis Star)

Major retailers reported that American consumers are continuing to hunker down, casting a cloud over the durability of the U.S. recovery. (Wall Street Journal)

Over the past year, mutual fund fees have risen in nearly every category. According to Russel Kinnel, director of Mutual Fund Research at Morningstar and author of Fund Spy, the rising fees are actually a result of last year’s market plunge. (CBS Moneywatch)

As all burned investors now know, an economy mired in a deep recession acts like a powerful depressant on the stock market. But there is an antidepressant with the power to fix this financial mood disorder: an economy showing signs of recovery. (USA Today)

The country’s growing unemployment is overtaking subprime mortgages as the main driver of foreclosures, according to bankers and economists, threatening to send even higher the number of borrowers who will lose their homes and making the foreclosure crisis far more complicated to unwind. (Washington Post)

The housing market showed further signs of stabilization in July, but weak demand dragged down prices for both raw materials and finished goods by a record margin. (Washington Post)

During the current economic crisis, high-flying women have been overlooked for promotion, according to a study by Catalyst. (CNN)

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Wed, 19 Aug 2009 10:06:56 -0400

Recession Briefing 8.18

Recessionwire — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 11:02:17 -0400

High gold prices, combined with increasing economic uncertainty, means that more families are including gold panning in their vacation plans. Gold panning for some people is more than a hobby: It’s a source of much-needed income.( USA Today)

91,100 Manhattan households feel more comfortable hiding their savings in closets, in pillows — even in brown paper lunch bags — than in banks. (New York Times)

As a result of the recession, visits to national parks were up about 4 percent in the first half of the year. (Deseret News)

Some economists expect a powerful recovery, others a sustained but muted one. Some even say it will be neither: a fleeting rebound quickly followed by a second slump. (Wall Street Journal)

Women with M.B.A.s have fared during the recession as well as their male counterparts, according to a new study. (Wall Street Journal)

Many economists who were caught off guard by the brutality of the downturn are accentuating the negative, bracing for head winds that could cause the recovery to be weak. (Washington Post)

Many professionals are leaving corporations for classrooms as the economy continues to wallow and frustrated employees reconsider career trajectories. School districts nationwide are seeing a rise in these applicants. (Dallas Morning News)

The U.S. economy isn’t giving dentists many reasons to smile yet. 84 percent of dentists said the economy was having a negative or strongly negative impact on their practices. (Reuters)

The delinquency rate on U.S. mortgage loans hit an all-time high in the second quarter, but the pace of growth for the rate slowed, a possible sign the mortgage crisis may be beginning to turn the corner. (Associated Press)

While easy money can be thought of as a temporary positive (a sugar high), the end of panic and changes in mark-to-market accounting are more fundamental, write Brian Wesbury and Robert Stein. What they do is take Armageddon off the table. (Forbes)

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Recession Briefing 8.17

Recessionwire — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 10:44:03 -0400

Brian Redzikowski, executive chef at Bond Street Beverly Hills serves up a blueberry cocktail these days called “Is the Recession Over?” Here’s the recipe. (Vanity Fair)

The recession, tight job market, depressed stock portfolios and mounting bills have prompted a growing pool of new game show hopefuls: unemployed white-collar professionals seeking quick-fix stimulus packages to keep afloat in turbulent times. (USA Today)

How has the recession been affecting one affluent Westchester suburb? One resident describes how she’s now “squeaking by” on just $300,000-a-year. (Washington Post)

The world may be slowly emerging out of recession, but the global financial crisis appears to have gone unnoticed to a whole swath of people: teenagers. (Reuters)

Emily Bazelon asked readers what they definitely wouldn’t give up, despite the downturn. “I’m not giving up my Corvette or selling my diamond,” writes Susan, who is suffering with her husband through a three-year drought of underemployment. (Slate)

Japan has joined the growing number of major economies that are back in black. Japan’s economy grew 3.7 percent on an annualized basis from April to June this year. (CNN)

Asian economies, increasingly decoupled from Western shopping habits, are growing fast. (Economist)

There has been some muted — albeit exhausted — cheering from homeowners in recent weeks. But before we break out the champagne, look out for further potential problems just down the road. (Wall Street Journal)

According to a new poll, 57% of Americans think the avalanche of new federal aid has cost too much and done too little to end the recession. (USA Today)

Kimberley Palmer has some ideas for coming up with a “post-recession prosperity plan.” (Chicago Tribune)

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Recession Briefing 8.14

Recessionwire — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 11:18:24 -0400

Sales of bottled water have fallen for the first time in at least five years, assailed by wrathful environmentalists and budget-conscious consumers who have discovered that tap water is practically free. (Los Angeles Times)

With Washington bickering over how to reform the health care system, many Americans are simply head to Mexico to get care they can afford. (Reuters)

Unemployed Americans are so discouraged about the prospect of finding a new job that they’re checking out of the labor force at the highest and fastest rate in nearly 10 years. Further, the recession has forced more full-time workers into part-time slots than at any time over the past 15 years. (Washington Post/The Ticker)

New public, private and college-based programs are targeting a grim and growing market: unemployed college graduates who can’t afford to repay their student loans. (USA Today)

A bleak report on retail sales Thursday reinforced a nagging worry of economists: Shoppers won’t spend enough to help a recovery take hold. (Associated Press)

The United States Census Bureau reports that for the first three months of 2009, new homes shrunk by 7% over the same period of 2008. The last time home sizes fell was in 1994. (WalletPop)

Does higher unemployment lead to more drug use? (New York Times/Economix)

More employers are planning to reverse pay cuts and other employee cutbacks, another sign that the employment picture is improving. (CNN/Money)

A government program that allows borrowers with little or no equity in their home to refinance has helped about 60,000 homeowners so far, according to government data released Thursday. (Washington Post)

Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch unit is offering signing packages greater than those handed out in the bull market of 2006 and 2007, as it ramps up its recruitment programme to replace many financial advisers who have left its “thundering herd” in the past year. (Financial Times)

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Recession Briefing 8.13

Recessionwire — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 10:42:20 -0400

JetBlue is planning to offer an “all-you-can-jet” pass for $599 in which passengers can book an unlimited amount of flights within a one-month span. (CNN/Money)

The Federal Reserve says the recession looks to be coming to a close, and so it’s starting to return to business as usual. (NY Times)

The French and German economies both grew by 0.3% between April and June, bringing to an end year-long recessions in Europe’s largest economies. (BBC)

Florida’s gator hunters are hurting as demand for high-end alligator skin purses, wallets, and belts has slackened due to the recession. (Tampa Tribune)

Should a college pay when a grad can’t find a job? Monroe College should, writes Mark Gimein. (The Big Money)

When it comes to the “Cash for Clunkers” program’s twin goals of stimulating the economy and reducing emissions, the results, many say, are mixed. (U.S. News & World Report)

Once unabashedly focused on the perks of wealth and fame, a spate of new “chick lit” is tackling the recession and its attendant woes. (New York Times)

Anxious workplace investors are easing back into their 401(k) plans, and many companies that have slashed 401(k) benefits plan to reverse those cuts within the next six months. (Wall Street Journal)

Debit card use was growing rapidly before the economy tanked, but the recession appears to have made them the preferred form of plastic. (Associated Press)

Even as the ranks of unemployed and underemployed have grown, career counselors, therapists and other experts say a certain segment is determined to suffer in silence, keeping details of job losses and financial pressure secret from all but close family and friends. (Washington Post)

Median home prices fell a record 15.6% during the three months ended June 30, compared to the same period in 2008. (CNN/Money)

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Recession Briefing 8.12

Recessionwire — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 10:34:00 -0400

Spain’s steep recession has led dozens of cash-strapped local councils to scrap their annual bullfighting fiestas to save public money. (Agence France Presse)

Women on food stamp programs weigh an average of almost six pounds more than those who aren’t, and gained weight faster when on food stamps than when they were not. (New York Examiner) Who should take food stamps. (Recessionwire)

In the midst of nationwide aquatic budget cutting, drownings are on a dramatic upswing this summer. Data is still being compiled, but researchers say the most likely victims are still toddlers and young people. (Aquatics International)

Can political upheaval protect against recession? That seems to have been the case for Lebanon. (Recessionwire)

The Energy Information Administration projects a 5 percent drop in carbon dioxide emissions from fuel burning in the United States this year, partly due to the economic downturn. (New York Times/DotEarth)

The pile of economic data indicating that the worst of the recession is over just keeps growing. But the same data also explain why any recovery isn’t going to feel like one anytime soon for millions of Americans. (Washington Post)

Productivity, the key ingredient needed for rising living standards, made a huge jump in the spring. In the worst recession in generations, that gain was a decidedly mixed blessing. (Associated Press)

The national recession is taking its toll on what had been one of the fastest-growing areas of state government spending: prisons. Many states are wringing savings from their correctional systems by trying to reduce the huge operational costs of running prisons. (Stateline)

The majority of economists surveyed during the past few days said the recession that began in December 2007 is now over. (Wall Street Journal)

The U.S. economy has hit bottom and the current quarter will see positive growth due to the government’s stimulus spending, billionaire financier George Soros said on Tuesday. (Reuters)

New research shows the UK’s lowest paid workers are being hit hardest by the recession. (Guardian)

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Wed, 12 Aug 2009 10:34:00 -0400