recession

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Recession Creates Nation of Potty Mouths

F-bombs a popular way to react to your 401(k) statement

(Newser) - The state of the economy has made for a lot of bad news, and bad news makes for a lot of cussing, MSNBC reports. “I’ve been dropping the F-bomb every time I look at the Dow,” said one 35-year-old writer. “You see that number and you...

French Demand for Sex Toys Fizzles

Worried consumers cutting kinky goods from their budgets at exotic fair

(Newser) - The economic downturn has thrown cold water on France's usually robust demand for sex toys, lingerie, and other naughty goods, Reuters reports. Organizers of the world's largest erotic fair, which opened near Paris last week, say that while attendance is still healthy, sales of kinky products are down around a...

Recession Lifts Auto Repair Shops

People aim to keep cars running rather than buy new ones

(Newser) - For car mechanics, the recession has its perks: Americans are flocking to repair shops to ensure their vehicles run longer in tough times, CNNMoney reports. Automotive Service Association members have seen a 16% boost in sales compared to last year. “In relative terms, that $1,000 repair to keep...

'Massive' Asset Purchases Likely Loom for Bernanke

Fed expected to step up purchase of mortgage securities

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve is expected to step up its buying of mortgage securities after policymakers meet today and tomorrow, Bloomberg reports. The outlook for the economy and job market has gotten bleaker since the Federal Open Market Committee last met 6 weeks ago and analysts believe Ben Bernanke is likely...

Boob Jobs Latest Aids in Boom, Bust Cycle

Breast jobs balloon as workers try to catch employer's eye

(Newser) - When the going gets tough, the tough get boob jobs. That's the theory from some British experts who point out that breast augmentation surgery has ballooned 30%. Laid-off female employees have time for recuperation—and apparently hope to capitalize on the boost bigger breasts appear to give women workers when...

Amid Recession, Obama to Prod Weary DNC Donors

(Newser) - President Obama is set to address a Democratic fundraiser later this month—the first such event of his presidency—but the money might not flow from donors cowed by recession and overextended after the recent election, Bloomberg reports. “Nonetheless,” said a White House deputy press secretary, “the...

Foreclosure Crisis Stings Renters, Too

(Newser) - You probably don’t want to live in the Chandler, Ariz., housing complex known as Alante on the Islands, MSNBC reports. The development was once owned by a California company, but entered receivership when the overextended firm went under. Now maintenance is spotty, the pool has turned green, residents don’...

In Credit Crisis, Italians Turn to Mafia

Uncle Tony will be happy to lend you this money you need for a very reasonable APR

(Newser) - In Italy, there’s one industry profiting from the credit freeze: Organized crime. Thanks to its unparalleled liquidity, the mafia has become the lender of choice for many small Italian businesses, NPR reports. An estimated 180,000 have turned to so-called “stranglers,” or loan sharks, who charge annual...

Recession Blues Rot Big Apple
 Recession Blues Rot Big Apple 
OPINION
Mar 16, 2009 11:45 AM CDT

Recession Blues Rot Big Apple

(Newser) - Sure, people everywhere are suffering from the recession, but most of the country is managing to deal with it. Not New York. The Big Apple is “perpetually freaked out,” writes Hugo Lindgren in New York. The city is so packed with people, Lindgren theorizes, that it’s “...

Spend, Baby, Spend &mdash;or We're Sunk
 Spend, Baby, Spend 
 —or We're Sunk 

OPINION
Mar 15, 2009 6:38 PM CDT

Spend, Baby, Spend —or We're Sunk

(Newser) - Our massive economy will remain stuck until hoarders open their wallets and "roll the dice" once again, Daniel Gross writes in Newsweek. Investors and consumers alike must regain their "penchant for gain and risk... some of the essence of what makes us American." Until that caffeinated, delirious...

US Drilling Boom Stalls for Oil, Gas

(Newser) - It doesn't pay to drill, baby, drill anymore. Falling world prices have brought an end to the boom in domestic drilling for oil and natural gas, the New York Times reports. Last summer, 2,400 gas and oil rigs were deployed in the hunt for energy. Today, that figure is...

G-20 Vows to Spur Lending
 G-20 Vows to Spur Lending 
Mar 14, 2009 1:53 PM CDT

G-20 Vows to Spur Lending

(Newser) - The world's top financial officials promised a three-tiered approach to battling the global economic slowdown today, the Wall Street Journal reports. At the G-20 summit in England, finance ministers vowed to inject money into the IMF and other institutions to lend to struggling countries, while tackling banks' toxic assets and...

Recession Harbinger: Less Trash

(Newser) - The current recession was fairly clear to a certain segment of the population as far back as late 2007, the Washington Post reports—landfill operators. Since then, dumps and garbage collectors have seen a steep drop-off in trash—in some cases up to 30%—along with their own jobs. It's...

Bartering Makes a Comeback
 Bartering Makes a Comeback 
Mar 14, 2009 12:28 PM CDT

Bartering Makes a Comeback

(Newser) - Around the world, websites that enable users to trade goods and services for the same are thriving in the down economy, the Washington Post reports. Craigslist, for instance, says bartering on the site has doubled in the past year. One Washington man got a plumber in exchange for a ride...

In Barren Job Market, to Get a Job, Create One

Recession becomes the mother of invention for would-be businesspeople

(Newser) - New businesses are sprouting up across America as unemployed people running out of time and money decide that the only way to get a job is to create one, the New York Times reports. Economists say now is the time in the downturn cycle when "forced entrepreneurship" starts,...

Marketers Bank on Women in Recession

(Newser) - Some recession-wary companies are marketing more to women these days, the Economist reports. After all, women make more than 80% of discretionary buys in America, and are more loyal, product-plugging (or bashing) customers. But one expert says the strategy could turn off male buyers in traditionally masculine marketing areas like...

18% of US Wealth Up in Smoke Last Year

Fed figures show $11 trillion was wiped out Americans' net worth last year

(Newser) - Last year's stock market and housing slumps wiped out nearly a fifth of the wealth of American families, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Federal Reserve announced yesterday that  $11 trillion—more than the output of Britain, Germany and combined—was erased from the net worth of households in 2008,...

Texas Gov. Rejects $556M Stimulus for Jobless

Perry says coverage for unemployed would 'drown' businesses

(Newser) - The governor of Texas has rejected $556 million in federal stimulus money for the state's unemployed, saying yesterday it had too many strings attached, reports the Dallas Morning News. Rick Perry, a Republican, said that the federal rules would burden Texas businesses with new commitments; instead they should be able...

Summer Camp on the Rocks in Tough Economy

Tradition shaken as families' plans up in the air

(Newser) - As recession hits parents’ wallets, it’s forcing many to debate whether they can afford to send kids to summer camp, the Wall Street Journal reports. Camps are expecting more financial-aid requests, while parents look to day camps and cheaper nonprofit alternatives. “A number of camps say families are...

Europe's New Temp Worker Class Bears Recession Brunt

(Newser) - The new class of temporary workers created by European labor reform is suffering most in the current wave of job cuts, the Wall Street Journal reports, testing the new policies amid the threat of backlash. Short-term employees—easier and cheaper to fire than permanent ones—also get fewer unemployment benefits,...

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