recession

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Ho-Ho-Hold on a Minute, Xmas in July?

Stores launch summer promotions to snag holiday dollars early

(Newser) - It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in malls across the country as stores angle for some extremely early holiday dollars, the Wall Street Journal reports. Retailers like Toys'R'US, Sears and Kmart have dragged Santa away from his summer break and launched July Christmas promotions, hoping to boost sales...

Tiffany's Little Blue Box Keeps Recession Out

Although new cases tout "Items for under $750"

(Newser) - Amid the global economic downturn, one American institution stands strong: Tiffany & Co. “Tiffany is as American as guns,” writes Cintra Wilson for the New York Times. “Tiffany has always managed to navigate the dark spells of the economic cycle. It has survived the Civil War, two...

Older White Men Take Big Hit From Recession

Middle-aged workers hurt as unemployment hits 70-year high

(Newser) - Typically it’s the young who lose their jobs in a recession, but not in the current slowdown. Aging white workers at the theoretical peak of their earning power are losing their jobs this time around—and they can’t find new ones, USA Today reports. The jobless rate for...

Fed Sees More Signs of Recovery

(Newser) - The economy is finally beginning to show signs of stabilizing in some parts of the US, bolstering hopes of a broader-based recovery this year. A Federal Reserve snapshot of economic conditions issued today finds that most of the Fed's 12 regions indicated either that "the pace of decline has...

Get a Thumbs-Up in Hitchhiking
 Get a Thumbs-Up in Hitchhiking 
TRAVEL
Jul 29, 2009 11:41 AM CDT

Get a Thumbs-Up in Hitchhiking

Expert hitcher talks safety

(Newser) - Hitchhiking, though controversial, remains the epitome of frugal traveling. Ben Bachelder, who has thumbed his way through 35 countries and six continents—including Antarctica—gives the New York Times tips on how to do it right:
  • Start slow: “First-time hitchhikers should go with a friend, just for a little
...

Even in Recession, NYC Best for Singles
 Even in Recession, 
 NYC Best for Singles 
OPINION
Jul 28, 2009 3:48 PM CDT

Even in Recession, NYC Best for Singles

(Newser) - New York may be expensive and unemployed, but high marks for “coolness” and online dating participation have it atop this year’s Forbes list of best cities for singles. As the economy stifles ambition, the dating number has become more significant. “When things are tough, core needs are...

In Recession, Homeowners Nail Contractors

As many vie for projects, consumer gains the upper hand

(Newser) - Hiring a contractor to remodel a kitchen or resurface a floor once meant a lot of hassle and some serious cash. But the recession has changed all that: Contractors these days are ready and willing to work on the cheap, Time reports. Projects are smaller, and spending on remodeling is...

Rolls-Royce Unveils Budget Limo

(Newser) - Rolls-Royce has good news for cash-strapped millionaires: They won’t have to condescend to buy a Bentley, Time reports. The automaker, known for its gigantic limousines, is about to release the Ghost, a short, sleek four-door sedan priced at a mere $245,000. That’s a sight lower than the...

Fall-Back Job for Japanese Women: Flirting

Recession sends women into night clubs to sexily serve drinks

(Newser) - Jobs are scarce in Japan, so women are turning to a once-shunned profession: “hostessing.” They’re paid handsomely to serve drinks to, and, more importantly, lavish attention on, the patrons of gentlemen’s clubs, the New York Times reports. A good flirt can easily earn $100,000 a...

Horses Laid Off as Cop Budgets Trimmed

Police, locals 'heartbroken' to see them go

(Newser) - It’s not just humans facing unemployment these days: horses are seeing their jobs disappear as police in Boston, Toledo, and other cities cut their mounted units, the Wall Street Journal reports. The units are said to bolster crowd control, with one mounted cop worth 15 on foot. And “...

Risk Aversion Keeps Loans Shrinking

Trend suggests economy has a long way to go

(Newser) - Lending is still on the downswing, the Wall Street Journal finds, as an analysis of 15 banks' total loans on offer in the second quarter shows another 2.8% decline. What's worse, more than half of April and May’s loan volume was tied to refinanced mortgages and renewed credit...

Recession Is Kaput; Now for the 'Smart Economy'
Recession Is Kaput; Now
for the 'Smart Economy'
ANALYSIS
Jul 26, 2009 4:23 PM CDT

Recession Is Kaput; Now for the 'Smart Economy'

(Newser) - The Great Recession is cooling off, but Americans will feel the heat for a while—because recovery is tricky this time, Daniel Gross writes in Newsweek. Another economic bubble inflated by consumption would be a mere Band-Aid. That's why President Obama is trying to create a four-sided "smart economy"...

Biden: Recovery Act Is Working
 Biden: Recovery Act Is Working 
OPINION
Jul 26, 2009 10:07 AM CDT

Biden: Recovery Act Is Working

Critics attacking 'pet programs' have 'misconstrued' the effort

(Newser) - Those who dismiss the Recovery Act as “being spent on pet programs” are wrong, writes the man tasked with administering it. Writing in a New York Times op-ed, VP Joe Biden contends that the stimulus has “brought us back from the precipice.” Two-thirds of it “goes...

Barnes: Obama's an 'Economic IIliterate'

(Newser) - President Obama has big plans for the economy, and that’s too bad because he knows nothing about it, Fred Barnes writes in the Weekly Standard. All of his proposals and angry jabs at Wall Street are counter to his professed interest in growth and job creation. “Obamanomics pays...

Recession Sparks Efforts to Legalize Pot

Full-scale regulation and taxation on the table in Calif.

(Newser) - The recession has given marijuana-legalization advocates an unexpected boost, Time reports, as cash-strapped states are tempted by possible revenues from pot taxes. With an existing medical-marijuana market and cuts to education and health services pending due to a huge budget deficit, California advocates are preparing both legislation and ballot initiatives...

Minimum Wage Rises to $7.25
 Minimum Wage Rises to $7.25 
Jul 24, 2009 11:45 AM CDT

Minimum Wage Rises to $7.25

Some say hike will hurt small business; others hold it'll boost economy

(Newser) - The minimum wage today jumps 70 cents to $7.25 an hour, a move that rekindles a debate as old as the wage itself, notes the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Some worry that the increase puts an unfair burden on small businesses, especially with times so tight; others say low-wage earners will...

Strapped States Fall Behind on Unemployment Checks

(Newser) - Years of tax and budget cuts have left the nation's unemployment system badly weakened just as it's most needed, the New York Times reports. At least a million applications are still stuck in the system and many applicants have to wait months for their first check. Sixteen states have...

Holdouts, Converts Swelter Through Recession Without AC

Unit shipments down as Americans find other ways to keep cool

(Newser) - This summer, some Americans are more concerned about their wallets than their comfort—so they’re turning off the air conditioning and putting up with the heat, the New York Times reports. Window air conditioner shipments from manufacturers to distributors dropped 39% the first half of the year versus the...

Things We Want, and Don't, in Odd Recession

Hard-times staples fall by the wayside

(Newser) - The current economic crisis is breaking the recessionary mold, Time reports, with American purchases running counter to expectations. A few surprises:
  • Soup isn’t selling. Typically, the cheap, decent food is a recession staple, but health concerns and rising prices may be driving us away from it.
  • Organic food sales
...

Mexican Immigrants Stay Put, Despite Recession

Fewer entering US, report finds

(Newser) - The recession hasn’t sped the return of Mexican immigrants home from the US, a Pew report finds, though the number of Mexicans entering the US has continued to decline. Some 433,000 people returned to Mexico last year, versus 479,000 two years before, the Washington Post reports. But...

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