recession

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Disney-Marvel Deal Could Signal M&A Recovery

Monday deals push August volume up 40%

(Newser) - Two major deals finished on the last day of August—projected to be the worst month for deal making since 1995—have raised expectations that the mergers and acquisitions market is finally coming out of hibernation, the Wall Street Journal reports. Monday saw Disney buy Marvel for $4 billion and...

Jurors Dodge Duty Amid Financial Fears

Citizens point to recession, unemployment in bid for dismissal

(Newser) - Jury duty has always been a pain, but the tough economy is prompting more and more Americans to ditch their civic responsibility, the New York Times reports. While exact figures aren’t available, officials report that jurors increasingly cite financial worries in bids to get out of duty. “I...

Meet Wall Street's Most Shameless Failures

'Mulligan Club' keeps hustling disastrous securities

(Newser) - You'd think the men who hyped and traded the financial instruments responsible for the recession wouldn't be allowed to touch another dollar. Instead, they’re “charter members of Wall Street's Mulligan Club,” Steven Pearlstein writes in the Washington Post, buying and trading the same "crappy securities" like...

Manufacturing Drives Global Recovery

US production grows for first time since Jan. '08

(Newser) - The world may be manufacturing its way out of the global recession, with new figures showing a faster-than-expected recovery from the US to Europe and Asia. The Wall Street Journal reports that American factory output is growing for the first time since January 2008, while separate surveys showed expanded manufacturing...

Cut-Rate Hyundai Gets Major Mileage Out of Downturn

Once a joke, South Korean automaker is No. 4 in global sales

(Newser) - As the recession batters most automakers, onetime industry laughingstock Hyundai is riding high. The South Korean company just had its best retail month ever, the Washington Post reports. Its share of the US market rose from 3.6% to 4.6%, and it passed Ford to become fourth in global...

Penny Slots Bring In Big Bucks
 Penny Slots Bring In Big Bucks 
Aug 31, 2009 11:41 AM CDT

Penny Slots Bring In Big Bucks

(Newser) - Casinos are making big bank off the tiniest—and oft-most derided—denomination, USA Today reports. Gambling outfits have added penny slots at an amazing rate—in the last 2 years, Nevada has removed 12,000 more costly machines to make room for 7,000 penny slots—and the move has...

In Recession, Homes Become Hair Salons

Shaggy-headed cut their own locks to cut costs; results not pretty

(Newser) - Hair cutting is quickly becoming a “do-it-yourself” endeavor for the cash-conscious—and the results aren’t so pretty, the Wall Street Journal reports. Hairdressing “may look easy, but it's not,” said the head of a cosmetology group, who notes that mid-range and high-priced salons have taken a...

Investors Ditch Once Lofty Cerberus Fund

Failed investments in Chrysler, GMAC have clients pulling $5.5B

(Newser) - Hedge-fund investors are leaving once-vaunted investment firm Cerberus Capital Management in droves, the Wall Street Journal reports. The firm, whose acquisitions of Chrysler and GMAC turned disastrous, is seeing $5.5 billion in capital—or 71% of its hedge fund assets—walk out the door. "We have been surprised...

Credit Disparity Tells Tale of Two Recoveries

(Newser) - A fractured, polarized credit market is splitting America’s companies into the recovering and the desperate, the Wall Street Journal reports. For the mostly big companies with easy access to credit, the recovery is in full swing, but for the mostly small companies that can’t borrow, things seem as...

Penny Pinching May Linger Long After Recession

Lasting change for once-insatiable American consumers?

(Newser) - The Great Recession is loosening its grip on Americans, but the spirit of thrift it inspired isn't, reports the New York Times. Consumer spending, which until recently accounted for 70% of US economic activity, looks unlikely to return to full steam as consumers emerge from the recession cramped by lower...

Biofuel Boom Runs Out of Gas
 Biofuel Boom Runs Out of Gas 
Aug 27, 2009 12:49 PM CDT

Biofuel Boom Runs Out of Gas

(Newser) - Once considered a win-win for the environment and energy independence, America’s biofuel industry is sputtering to a halt, the Wall Street Journal reports. Thanks to the recession, lower oil prices, and government delays, two-thirds of American biodiesel refineries—dozens of plants—are idle, and companies across the country are...

For Boom-to-Bust Ireland, Another Great Migration

(Newser) - The collapse of the Celtic Tiger is prompting another mass exodus from Ireland's rural west, the Wall Street Journal reports, with young workers once again abandoning their hometowns for London or the US. After a rare decade in which emigrants were flooding back to the island, as many as 40,...

Law School Grads Scramble as Big Firms Slash Hiring

(Newser) - Top law school grads are competing this fall for just half the number of entry-level positions big firms offered last year, in what the New York Times calls the most difficult employment season in half a century. One of New York's biggest firms has cut its hires by more than...

Companies Use Recession to Stomp Hurting Competition

(Newser) - When the recession hit, Bed Bath & Beyond saw an opportunity. Chief competitor Linens ‘n Things was laden with debt, so Bed Bath & Beyond “decided to destroy them,” says one analyst. It matched every Linens’ discount, issued a barrage of coupons in Linens’ key markets, and,...

Obama Nominates Bernanke for 2nd Term

Prez: he 'approached a financial system on the verge of collapse with calm and wisdom'

(Newser) - President Obama has nominated Ben Bernanke for a second term as Federal Reserve chairman, saying Bernanke “led the Fed through the one of the worst financial crises that this nation and this world have ever faced,” the AP reports. “Ben approached a financial system on the verge...

Hotels Woo New Cash Cow: Kids
 Hotels Woo New Cash Cow: Kids 
Aug 24, 2009 4:41 PM CDT

Hotels Woo New Cash Cow: Kids

(Newser) - Families are traveling more often, and recession-battered hotels are ramping up their kid-friendly offerings, the Boston Globe reports. Rooms occupied by families with children accounted for 27% of the total in 2008, up from 25% in 2004, and lodgings are watching the trend. Whether it's free Wii, a dog to...

After Clunker Frenzy, Dealers Expect a Slump

(Newser) - Just as the "cash for clunkers" program sparked a boom in auto sales, its cancellation will likely depress the industry, CNNMoney reports. As of today, the last day of the government-funded incentive, rebate applications for 625,000 trade-ins totaling $2.58 billion had been submitted. “We're definitely going...

Recession Soon Over, but Here Comes Another
Recession Soon Over, but Here Comes Another
OPINION
Aug 24, 2009 7:02 AM CDT

Recession Soon Over, but Here Comes Another

Roubini: Unwinding rescue could produce 'W-shaped' recovery

(Newser) - The global recession is nearly over, but the recovery is far from certain, writes NYU professor and professional pessimist Nouriel Roubini in a Financial Times op-ed. The economist who predicted the financial crisis chides colleagues who foresee a V-shaped recovery, with a quick return to growth. Rather, the recovery will...

Here Comes the Cheap Wedding
 Here Comes the Cheap Wedding 
Aug 23, 2009 8:36 AM CDT

Here Comes the Cheap Wedding

(Newser) - With Vera Wang gowns and tropical honeymoons well out of budget reach, recession brides can turn to hand-sewn invitations, homemade cakes, and a general community "barn-raising" approach for a dream wedding on the cheap, writes Melissa Dalton for Salon. "Anyone with a good idea, and a willingness to...

DIY Projects Go Frugal
 DIY Projects Go Frugal 
Aug 22, 2009 7:26 AM CDT

DIY Projects Go Frugal

(Newser) - With the five-figure granite-countertopped kitchen overhaul now an emblem of prerecession excess, home-improvement chains are seeking a new niche for themselves in more frugal times, the New York Times reports. DIY projects these days have shifted from upgrades to maintenance—consumers won't redo the bathroom but will fix the leaky...

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