recession

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Prepaid Cell Phones Are New Frugal Chic

Pay-as-you-go replaces contracts as consumers cut spending

(Newser) - More customers are turning to Tony Soprano-style, pay-as-you-go cell phones, and not just to avoid wiretaps. As the recession forces consumers to cut costs, all-inclusive prepaid plans are the new frugal option, reports the New York Times. "In today’s economy, it’s not cool to pay $120 a...

120K Protest 'Economic Treason' in Dublin

(Newser) - As many as 120,000 marched through Dublin today, enraged over a government plan to repair the economy by freezing worker pay and taxing pensions, the Irish Times reports. Calling the strategy "economic treason" in a speech to the crowd, union leader David Begg blamed "a business...

Cash-Poor? Hit the Blood Bank—and Get Career Advice

(Newser) - Blood and other bodily fluids are hot sellers these days as donors line up to pocket quick cash in a plunging economy, ABC News reports. Seeing an increase in traffic, blood banks are campaigning to boost it higher, one at Stanford University even offering resumé and job interview advice to...

Hey Big Spender, Flaunt Your Scrimping

Greed is good, as long as it's in the name of frugality

(Newser) - Recessions would be great for the rich—whose wealth insulates them from mercurial fluctuations in the economy—if it weren’t for the guilt they feel over rising poverty. But Chris Ayres has a solution for the loaded that may also revive the economy: “Flaunt your parsimony,” he...

California Has a Budget, but Trouble Looms in May

Critics say another crisis looms

(Newser) - California's budget fight is officially over. For now. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law yesterday a budget package that closes the state's $41 billion shortfall, but not before making $1 billion in line-item trims. The governor cut personnel budgets for state officials by 10%, $400 million in prison funding, and $510...

Dodd Backs Nationalizing Banks; White House Doesn't

Banking chair weighs short-term moves

(Newser) - Chris Dodd says the US may have to nationalize the most troubled banks for “a short time” to save the financial system, Bloomberg reports. The chairman of the Senate Banking Committee joined Ben Bernanke and Alan Greenspan in calling for serious consideration of nationalizing flailing institutions such as Bank...

At London Restaurant, You Set the Price

Customers offer diverse amounts at popular place

(Newser) - A London restaurant is letting customers pay what they think their meal was worth, and diners are packing the place, the Times of London reports. In the face of tough times, Little Bay owner Peter Ilic decided to run an experiment, writes Vincent Graff: “Will British reserve, and the...

Recession Hits the Oscars— Sort Of

Revenue is down, parties are scaling back

(Newser) - Even the Oscars are feeling the economic strain, People reports. Sure, there are still dozens of parties planned on the big day, but organizers are pumping up the “greenness” of the soirées and downplaying the extravagance—Vanity Fair is using decorations from past events. Even those not scaling...

Cheap Oil Keeps World Economy Off Balance
Cheap Oil Keeps World Economy Off Balance
ANALYSIS
Feb 20, 2009 5:18 AM CST

Cheap Oil Keeps World Economy Off Balance

With crude under $40, investment dries up, nations lose revenue

(Newser) - Oil surged 13% yesterday in New York trading—and still closed at less than $40 a barrel, reports the Washington Post. Cheap oil has been a boon for consumers in the recession, but the collapse in crude prices has contributed to further havoc in international markets from Canada to Kuwait....

Dentists Feel No Pain in Recession

(Newser) - Clenched jaws abound during this recession, and a combination of stress-related damage and layoff victims rushing to be treated before they lose their insurance is helping keep dentistry afloat as the economy dives. Dentist's offices last year reported the highest profit margins of any industry, including top moneymakers like accounting...

Fed Sees Little Relief for Jobless

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve warned today that the nation's economy is even worse than thought and predicted it would deteriorate throughout 2009. The Fed's bleak estimates indicated that unemployment could climb as high as 8.8 percent this year and that the economy would contract for a full calendar year for...

Fla. Gun Requests Spike in Recession

Jump attributed to burglary fears

(Newser) - Floridians are arming themselves, literally, against the recession and fears of being burgled. There's been a 42% jump in concealed weapons permit requests in the past 45 days, and the state office that issues them is buried under a 95,000-application backlog. It's seeking a $4 million budget transfer to...

UK Minister Rips Starbucks Over Economy Jibe

'How the hell are they doing?' exclaims furious politician

(Newser) - One of Britain's leading politicians laid into an unlikely adversary yesterday: the head of Starbucks. Company chief Howard Schultz said on CNBC that "the UK is in a spiral" and was causing Starbucks considerable grief, prompting business secretary Peter Mandelson to fire back: "Why should I have this...

Global Plunge Panics Economists

Markets dive worldwide as new figures point to intractable slowdown

(Newser) - The markets' global plunge yesterday was testament to a new, scary fact, writes the Washington Post: the world economic crisis is getting even worse. New figures show the economies of Japan, Britain and Germany contracting at their fastest in decades, while emerging markets like Russia and Brazil are tanking, and...

Firms Cut Pay Instead of Jobs
 Firms Cut Pay Instead of Jobs 
Feb 17, 2009 2:24 PM CST

Firms Cut Pay Instead of Jobs

(Newser) - Companies looking to cut labor costs are increasingly turning to salary reductions rather than further layoffs in an attempt to save employee morale, the Chicago Tribune reports. One extreme case is Acco Brands in Illinois, which imposed a six-week, 47% reduction for all workers instead of downsizing. "It's an...

Obama Signs $787B Stimulus
 Obama Signs $787B Stimulus 
Feb 17, 2009 1:54 PM CST

Obama Signs $787B Stimulus

Liberals grumble over President's compromises

(Newser) - President Obama signed the economic stimulus bill into law today, the AP reports. In a Denver science museum chosen to underscore the bill’s investments in green technology and science education, Obama said he hoped the bill "will ignite our imagination once more, spurring new discoveries and breakthroughs that...

Japan Economy Shrinks by Most in 35 Years

4th-quarter contraction of 3.3% was 3 times worse than US

(Newser) - Japan's economy contracted by a shocking 3.3% in the fourth quarter of 2008, three times worse than the US and the worst performance in 35 years. The Financial Times reports that a sharp drop in exports contributed to the slump—the third straight quarter of negative growth. The figures...

Oil Prices Plunge, Gas Not So Much

Refineries slashed production after demand for gas dipped

(Newser) - Gas is pumping toward $2 per gallon—a 22% increase since Dec. 30—even though oil prices have dipped 16% over the same period. What gives? When penny-pinched Americans cut back on fuel last fall, oil refineries were slow to ease production. Now they're overcompensating with production cuts to recover...

NASCAR Needs to Rev Up
 NASCAR Needs to Rev Up 
ANALYSIS
Feb 13, 2009 4:18 PM CST

NASCAR Needs to Rev Up

Sport cuts costs to keep fans at the races

(Newser) - The US auto industry is teetering on the brink of destruction—and NASCAR isn't too far behind it. The Daytona 500, NASCAR’s Super Bowl, takes place Sunday, but business is stalling, leaving the costly sport looking for a lift, Sean Gregory and Steve Goldberg write in Time. “We...

Strapped Networks Air Ads for Booze, Sex in Prime Time

(Newser) - The airwaves are getting a lot more mature. On Sunday, 15 cities saw an Absolut Vodka ad during the Grammy Awards, the first time in years that a liquor commercial has run in prime time on a network-owned station. Other ads not suitable for innocent ears (K-Y Jelly, anyone?) are...

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