recession

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Ad Vets Sit Out Super Bowl in Tough Year

Amid layoffs, some worry pricey publicity could backfire

(Newser) - The recession has loyal Super Bowl advertisers hesitating to buy spots, worried the $6 million-a-minute publicity could backfire. FedEx is concerned it looks “wrong” to drop the dollars while “asking employees to do more with less,” the Wall Street Journal reports. NBC sold most ad spots by...

Short-Term Solutions to Crisis Won't Cut It: Sachs

Economist argues for systemic adjustment

(Newser) - The financial crisis can't be averted, and the Obama administration would be wise to accept that and concentrate on "a steady policy that will steer us through an unavoidable short-run recession to arrive at a much healthier economy within three to five years," writes Jeffrey Sachs for the...

Staggering Slowdown Hits Retail Sales

Ominous sign of dismal holiday season

(Newser) - Retail sales plummeted last month ahead of the holiday shopping season—which threatens to be the worst in decades, the New York Times reports. The downturn ran the gamut from upscale department stores to shops like the Gap. Neiman Marcus saw a 28% drop compared with the same month last...

Oil Dips Below $60 a Barrel
 Oil Dips Below $60 a Barrel 

Oil Dips Below $60 a Barrel

(Newser) - Oil prices dipped below $60 a barrel tonight for the first time in about a year and a half, as a growing number of economic reports point to a long and painful recession. Light, sweet crude for December delivery fell to $59.97 in New York trading, the lowest level...

Wal-Mart May Launch Own Credit Card

Retailer in talks; low rates, few fees could rattle lending industry

(Newser) - Wal-Mart sees an opening in the consumer credit market and is trying to start up its own credit-card operation, BusinessWeek reports. The retail giant is in talks with a veteran financial services firm to launch a card with low interest rates and few fees. It's not clear how far along...

Brothels Screwed by Economy
 Brothels Screwed by Economy 

Brothels Screwed by Economy

Even sex isn't selling as truckers losing 'play money' bypass Nevada brothels

(Newser) - The flagging economy is threatening to send Nevada's whorehouses to the poorhouse, the Los Angeles Times reports. Managers of some of the state's 25 legal brothels say they have no shortage of newcomers—some as old as 74—wishing to enter the world's oldest profession, but food and fuel prices...

Is She the Last Culture Warrior?
 Is She the Last 
 Culture Warrior? 
OPINION

Is She the Last Culture Warrior?

With bigger problems on our minds, accusations of 'elitist' don't stick

(Newser) - Although Sarah Palin says she would be a fresh face in Washington, she really represents the end of a long line of Republican culture warriors, writes Peter Beinart in the Washington Post. "She's depicting the campaign as a struggle between the culturally familiar and the culturally threatening, the culturally...

Spending Dive Sends GDP Down

Economists fear prolonged recession inevitable as numbers erode

(Newser) - The US economy shrank less than expected in the third quarter but still suffered the biggest contraction since the 2001 recession, reports Bloomberg. The gross domestic product fell 0.3%, led by the first fall off of consumer spending in two decades. The figure, out from the Commerce Department this...

Web Eats Hollywood's Hedge Against Recession

Free online content elbows out movies, TV as consumers trim expenses

(Newser) - The rise of free online content threatens to tarnish Hollywood's long-held belief that it is recession-proof, the Los Angeles Times reports. Tinseltown thrived in previous downturns, but with escapism now just a click of the mouse away, thrifty consumers are cutting cable subscriptions and movie tickets from their budgets.

Chill Out: It's a Recession, Not the Apocalypse
Chill Out: It's a Recession, Not the Apocalypse
OPINION

Chill Out: It's a Recession, Not the Apocalypse

London's mayor has some advice for the queen: Buy a dress

(Newser) - If you’re fretting, panicking, or just plain moping about the economy, Boris Johnson has some advice: Wake up and go shopping. “This isn’t some disaster movie about a virus from Mars. It’s a recession,” the mayor of London writes in the Daily Telegraph. “It...

Stocks Dip Amid Global Selloff
 Stocks Dip Amid Global Selloff 
MARKET opener

Stocks Dip Amid Global Selloff

It's deja vu, all over again

(Newser) - Stocks pointed downward this morning, as big overseas selloffs spooked investors, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow dropped 134 points shortly after its open, while the S&P dropped 1.7% and the Nasdaq 1.6%. There were positive signs overseas, including an IMF rescue plan for Hungary and...

World Stocks Crash Again
 World Stocks Crash Again 

World Stocks Crash Again

Nikkei dives to 1982 levels, Hang Seng plummets 12%

(Newser) - Japanese stocks hit a 26-year low as markets in Asia and Europe plunged again amid tenacious fears of a prolonged global recession. The Nikkei fell 6.4% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped a staggering 12%—its biggest single-day tumble since 1997. In London the FTSE opened down more...

Everything Must Go: Hard Times Create Yard Sale Boom

'Thrift economy' thriving as households struggle to meet mortgage payments

(Newser) - Yard sales are on the rise nationwide as the economy heads for the cellar, the New York Times reports. Flyers for sales cover lampposts in formerly booming communities as struggling homeowners seek to raise cash from selling off all the non-essentials—even children's toys. Many of the bargain-hunters are in...

Stocks Take Early Plunge
 Stocks Take Early Plunge 
MARKET opener

Stocks Take Early Plunge

(Newser) - Stocks took a big plunge at the open today, with the Dow down 411 points, after a morning that saw Dow and S&P futures fall so far that trading was halted. Driving the pessimism were similar plunges overseas, with the Nikkei down 9.6%, and London’s FTSE down...

Pound Craters After Latest Grim Stats

British currency falls to $1.56 amid recession fears

(Newser) - The British economy shrank by 0.5% last quarter, all but confirming that the UK is in its first recession since 1991, reports the Times of London. The decline is greater than expected, and this week both the prime minister and the head of the Bank of England acknowledged that...

Amid Crisis, China Faces Its Own Slowdown

Decline in exports poses huge challenge to Communist Party

(Newser) - For three decades now, China has established itself as a global economic powerhouse by providing cheap exports to the rest of the world. But as demand for Chinese goods slumps in a global recession, the ruling Communist Party, which owes its popularity to expanding prosperity, faces new tests: slowing growth,...

Airfares May Sag in '09: Report

Declining demand, dropping oil prices likely to bring prices down

(Newser) - The slumping economy may bring some good to the travel industry: Domestic airfare and hotel rates could fall next year as strapped individuals and companies think twice about globetrotting. A slash in oil prices, down to half of summer’s record high, has also brought airlines relief, Reuters reports. In...

Sour Earnings Sink Stocks
 Sour Earnings Sink Stocks 
MARKET opener

Sour Earnings Sink Stocks

Recession fears keep bears growling

(Newser) - Recession fears kept bears roaring today, as the Dow shed 230 points at the open on a spate of lousy third-quarter results. Wachovia posted a staggering $23.9 billion loss to lead a group of five gloomy blue chip reports, the Wall Street Journal reports. “We’ve seen a...

OPEC Panics as Oil Plunges
 OPEC Panics as Oil Plunges 

OPEC Panics as Oil Plunges

Cartel plans emergency meeting this week to cut production

(Newser) - Earlier this year the nations of OPEC were riding high as booming economic growth and tight supplies buoyed crude above $100. But now a barrel of oil is $70 and dropping fast, and frightened petroleum producers are holding an emergency meeting this week to discuss a production cut. As the...

Crisis May Cost World 20M Jobs
 Crisis May Cost World 20M Jobs 
ANALYSIS

Crisis May Cost World 20M Jobs

Analysts see 'equal-opportunity recession'

(Newser) - The financial sector is slashing workers, and Silicon Valley employees are dropping like prices on last year's iPod. What industry is next? All of them, Moira Herbst writes in BusinessWeek. Every company relies on credit and consumer purchasing power, making this an “equal-opportunity recession,” a staffing agent says....

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