recession

Stories 341 - 360 | << Prev   Next >>

Japan Loses Its Taste for Luxury

From food to handbags, high-cost items are suffering

(Newser) - Hundred-dollar melons and pricey designer handbags used to sell so well in Japan that companies considered luxury goods a mass-market sector. But while the Japanese kept on shopping through previous recessions, this one has produced a sea change. The luxury industry has been hard hit, and the change may be...

Don't Let the Recession Rule Out Retirement

Save more, use 'catch-up' tax law provisions to turn things around

(Newser) - Retirement savers have been facing grim truths, like the fact that a 50% portfolio loss requires 100% in earnings to recover. But middle-of-the-road investors could recover in as little as 2 years if they make contributions, receive a company match, and see fair long-term portfolio returns, writes Linda Stern in...

New Recession Villain: Warren Buffett's Cell Phone

Oracle of Omaha missed message that may have saved Lehman Brothers

(Newser) - If Warren Buffett knew how to use his cell phone, the financial world might be in better shape, blogs Karen Tumulty of Time. Just before Lehman Brothers collapsed last year, a Barclays executive attempting to rescue the firm with an assist from Buffett left a message on the Oracle of...

NYC Unemployment Hits 10.3%
 NYC Unemployment Hits 10.3% 
Sep 18, 2009 7:10 AM CDT

NYC Unemployment Hits 10.3%

City given grant to help laid-off Wall Street workers retrain

(Newser) - The Big Apple's unemployment rate hit double digits last month for the first time since 1993, the New York Times reports. At 10.3%, the rate is now higher than the national rate of 9.7%. State officials say continuing layoffs on Wall Street are to blame for the rise,...

Supermarkets Slash Prices

 Supermarkets Slash Prices 
 
Sep 17, 2009 7:32 AM CDT

Supermarkets Slash Prices

Deflation stalks the aisles; Safeway cuts below profit point

(Newser) - Americans are getting a big break on the price of food, as the recession drives down the cost of wheat, milk, and other staples, and supermarkets fight feverishly for sales. After a year of dramatic increases, commodities are way down—the price of corn, for instance, is down 56% since...

Recession Crushes White-Collar Michigan

Layoffs, property price plunge leaves middle-aged workers in limbo

(Newser) - Tens of thousands of middle-aged white-collar workers have been left jobless and stranded in Michigan by the recession, the Wall Street Journal reports. Auto industry veterans laid off by the Big Three are finding themselves competing against against younger people for a smattering of job openings. With property prices down...

Euro Farmers Protest Falling Prices With Huge Milk Dump

800,000 gallons in Belgian field after recession takes big toll

(Newser) - European farmers today dumped 800,000 gallons of milk in a Belgian field, AFP reports, in a protest against a dramatic dive in prices. The group behind the scene says three French farmers committed suicide in the past week over prices, which have fallen by as much as half as...

iPhone Blew Your Budget? 'Recession Case' Is for You

Cardboard protection can be yours for just $1

(Newser) - Hard times no longer mean iPhone users who blew all their cash buying one can't afford a protective case for their new favorite toy, Mashable reports. Case-Mate has introduced the iPhone 3G Recession case, priced at just $1. The sturdy cardboard case, which assembles with locking tabs, will cushion your...

Wages Are Up—for Workers With Jobs

Avg. weekly pay hit $618 last month, up from $612

(Newser) - For those with the good fortune to have a job, wage growth has actually increased in recent months, government surveys show. From the fall of Lehman Brothers last September to this June, average weekly pay stayed at $612. But since June, the workweek has gotten longer and hourly pay growth...

UK Unemployment Soars to 14-Year High

Jobless rate expected to keep rising despite signs of economic recovery

(Newser) - The unemployment rate in Britain has climbed to 7.9% despite signs the economy is slowly beginning to pick up, the Wall Street Journal reports. The rate is now the highest since 1995, and analysts expect it to keep rising until well into next year. Unemployment remains especially high among...

Bernanke: Recession 'Very Likely Over'

(Newser) - Fed chief Ben Bernanke said today that the worst recession since the 1930s is "very likely over at this point." However, "it's still going to feel like a weak economy for some time," he warned, and unemployment will almost certainly rise. He spoke today to the...

Struggling Porn Industry No Longer Recession-Proof

Porn has become 'like potato chips,' frustrated actress says

(Newser) - Previous recessions have been kind to pornographers, but this one has been a knee to the industry’s groin, the Economist reports. Revenues have plummeted by up to 50%—from $6 billion in 2007, by one estimate—performers are being forced to lower prices, and production has been nearly cut...

Geithner Warns of Long, Hard Road Ahead

Administration a long way from saying 'mission accomplished' on financial crisis

(Newser) - The economy is no longer on the brink of the abyss but there's a long way to go before recovery takes hold, Tim Geithner warned yesterday. The Treasury secretary told a congressional committee that while the financial system is showing signs of better health, regulation of the financial system needs...

In Recession, NFL Blackout Rule Raises Ire

To fill seats, league holds local TV broadcasts hostage

(Newser) - High ticket prices and the recession are taking their toll on attendance at pro football games. But if you can’t afford the stadium, at least you can watch at home, right? Wrong. The NFL is sticking to its “blackout” policy—no local broadcast if the stadium doesn’t...

Forget Health Reform&mdash;We Can't Afford It
Forget Health Reform—We Can't Afford It
OPINION
Sep 10, 2009 8:50 AM CDT

Forget Health Reform—We Can't Afford It

The economy should be Obama's top priority: Henninger

(Newser) - Barack Obama makes health care sound like the most pressing issue in American life, but with unemployment at 10% and the country still officially in recession, Daniel Henninger wonders why he's "draining a dwindling reservoir of presidential capital." The cost of health care may be a problem for...

China May Invest in Bargain US Real Estate

Sovereign-wealth fund to ramp up spending after quiet 2008

(Newser) - China’s sovereign-wealth fund has its eyes on US real estate, the Wall Street Journal reports. China Investment Corp. laid low throughout 2008 as the global economy teetered but is now opening its coffers. And depressed US commercial property values—off 35% from their peak—coupled with cheap government financing,...

Florida's a Dying Ponzi Scheme, But I Love It

Tax base erodes as tourists, snowbirds dwindle

(Newser) - Florida resident Diane Roberts isn’t surprised—or even upset—that her state is collapsing. The Sunshine State's population is dwindling for the first time since World War II as tourists and snowbirds pull out, eroding the tax base that funded just about everything. "Our whole economy is more...

'European Model' Could Die: French PM

'Sluggish growth' may destroy safety net, job security

(Newser) - The prime minister of France, the country perhaps most associated with the cherished "European model" of job security and social safety nets, warned today that it may prove unsustainable because the region's economies are too stagnant. "With this sluggish growth, we cannot preserve the European social model or...

Pledge Boom Helps Public Stations Ride Out Recession

Loyal public help keep stations going as sponsorships, government funding vanish

(Newser) - Loyal viewers and listeners have stepped up to help their local public broadcasters make it through the recession, the Washington Post reports. Public stations say their appeals to the public are meeting a warm response despite the recession, with donations staying steady and, at some stations, even rising to record...

In Recovery, Business Will Profit at Workers' Expense

Short-term outlook 'great for business, terrible for households'

(Newser) - The economy is slowly improving, but companies will see the benefits long before the unemployed and underemployed will, Bloomberg reports. A Department of Labor report released yesterday found that the average workweek is at a near-record low of 33.1 hours. The lack of uptick in part-time hours is an...

Stories 341 - 360 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser