recession

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Americans Ask: Is Anyone in Charge?
Americans Ask: Is Anyone in Charge?
OPINION
Feb 6, 2009 10:24 AM CST

Americans Ask: Is Anyone in Charge?

As Washington squabbles, citizens lose faith: Noonan

(Newser) - Americans are indulging in a strange disjunction between real life and the fate of the nation, Peggy Noonan writes for the Wall Street Journal: "Your long-term thoughts are pessimistic, and yet you're cheerful in the day to day." But as the recession gets worse and the threat of...

Pols Get Failing Grades on Economic Literacy
Pols Get Failing Grades
on Economic Literacy
OPINION
Feb 6, 2009 10:05 AM CST

Pols Get Failing Grades on Economic Literacy

Critics of stimulus spending reveal lack of economic literacy

(Newser) - Given all the "silly" arguments coming out of Washington these days, maybe we should pony up $50 million or so and let congressmen hire "economic trainers," writes Steven Pearlstein in the Washington Post. Those who complain that the stimulus has too much spending just don't get it....

Sarkozy Disses Brown, Vows to Avoid British 'Mistakes'

Paris tries to smooth over diplomatic rift after president's interview

(Newser) - Nicolas Sarkozy used a 90-minute TV interview last night to defend his handling of the global economic downturn—and swore to avoid the "mistakes" of his frequent ally, Gordon Brown. The French president claimed the Brit's decision to cut sales tax had "absolutely not worked." This morning...

Job Losses Hit 3.6M; Unemployment at 7.6%

(Newser) - Nonfarm payrolls plunged 598,000 in January, the Labor Department announced today, bringing the total job losses to 3.6 million since the recession began in December 2007. The drop was significantly worse than analysts anticipated, and the worst since December 1974, the Wall Street Journal reports. The jobless rate...

US Women Set to Surpass Men in Labor Force

Rise of working females may change office, family life

(Newser) - As unemployment rises, the US is on the verge of a surprising milestone: for the first time, more women than men will be on the nation's payrolls. As the New York Times reports, 82% of the people who have lost their jobs in the recession are men, who have substantial...

News Corp. Posts $6.4B Loss
 News Corp. Posts $6.4B Loss 
Feb 5, 2009 5:23 PM CST

News Corp. Posts $6.4B Loss

(Newser) - News Corp., the global media giant controlled by Rupert Murdoch, said today it lost $6.4 billion in its most recent quarter because of a massive write-down in the value of its assets. The company, which owns the Wall Street Journal and Fox, also forecast a 30% drop in operating...

Small Designers Try to Ride Out Recession

As downturn bites, young designers prepare for worst

(Newser) - The beginning of the decade seemed like a golden age for ambitious American fashion. New prizes, elaborate sponsorships, and an expanded New York Fashion Week made the early 2000s the age of the young designer. But now stores are reducing their orders or folding entirely, and money is drying up,...

Jobless Claims Set Another Record

626,000 claims filed last week, far more than expected

(Newser) - New jobless claims jumped far more than expected last week in an already dismal labor market, and there's no relief in sight for workers as mass layoffs persist. The Labor Department reports that the number of laid-off workers seeking jobless benefits rose last week to 626,000 from the previous...

Credit Freeze Hits High Fliers of Commercial Real Estate

Slowdown plus tough credit slams office market

(Newser) - When the commercial real estate market was hot, the sky seemed to be the limit, and increasingly complicated financing arrangements were common. Now the combination of economic crisis and credit freeze has exposed the market's precarious underpinnings, which resemble the pitfalls that brought the residential real estate sector to its...

Busted Fatcats Have Everything —Except a Clue

High-fliers fail to realize that national mood has turned against them

(Newser) - The real problem with Tom Daschle is the $5 million he made on the post-Senate gravy train, not his unpaid taxes, Steven Pearlstein writes in the Washington Post. Daschle, John Thain, and their fellow corporate and government high fliers have run afoul of an American public that's "no longer...

Economy Takes Bite Out of Girl Scout Cookies

Higher costs force Scouts to shrink cookies, boxes to keep prices steady

(Newser) - The stingy economy has forced the Girl Scouts to downsize their boxes of cookies, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Soaring prices of flour, oil and cocoa have forced them to sell smaller Samoas and thinner boxes of Thin Mints to avoid hiking prices. Shrunken household budgets are expected to hurt this...

Cobblers in Stitches Thanks to Recession

Dwindling trade gets boost as Americans pinch pennies

(Newser) - If this recession reaches Great Depression levels, there may not be enough cobblers to go around. There are only 7,000 of them left in the US—down from 120,000 in the 1920s—and their business is piling up faster than they can manage as strapped Americans repair shoes...

When Economy Gets Tough, the Tough Go Blond

Celebrity Brit hairdresser finds clients turning to the dye bottle for cheer

(Newser) - The grim economy is causing a gold rush in Britain's hair salons, a celebrity hairdresser tells the Daily Telegraph. His sales of blond hair products have jumped 67% since last year, and he credits the sales bombshell to women looking for a quick way to cheer themselves up amid the...

Struggling Airlines Pitch Clean(er) Planes

As customers become more valued, so does customer service

(Newser) - United Airlines used to give its planes’ interiors a thorough cleaning only every 6 months to save cash. But with carriers now fighting for every passenger, cleanliness has become a crucial weapon, the Chicago Tribune reports. Some United planes now get “heavy” cleans every two weeks. “People don’...

To Consume or Not to Consume, That Is the Question

(Newser) - As Americans cut back on spending, a certain dread creeps in—not of having less, but of what curtailed consumption could mean for the future, Douglas Coupland notes in the New York Times. Sure, “a big drop in consumption sounds like the advent of a new utopia where people...

Both Sides Wary of Blowback Over Stimulus
Both Sides Wary of Blowback Over Stimulus
analysis
Jan 27, 2009 2:00 PM CST

Both Sides Wary of Blowback Over Stimulus

Obama, Dems want GOP buy-in, Repubs seek constraints

(Newser) - As President Obama and congressional Republicans fight over the outline of an economic stimulus package, each side is wary of catching blame for a botched effort, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. Obama can’t guarantee the $825 billion plan will actually work and seeks public GOP buy-in; Republicans want to...

Consumer Confidence Finds a New Low in January

Conference Board's index at half its year-ago value

(Newser) - Americans' mood about the economy darkened even more in January, sending a widely watched barometer of consumer sentiment to yet another new low as people worry about their jobs and watch their retirement funds dwindle. The Conference Board said its Consumer Confidence Index edged down to 37.7 from a...

Tough Times Put Cheap Ads in Prime Time

Low airtime costs offer big audience to low-budget spots

(Newser) - The recession has pushed TV advertising rates to a relative pittance, and that’s great news for tools like the PedEgg—a callous remover—and the Snuggie—a blanket with sleeves. Though it may hurt shows’ profiles, “Act Now!” infomercial-style ads have recently broken into primetime, the Washington ...

Recession Hits Law Firms
 Recession Hits Law Firms 
Jan 26, 2009 2:18 PM CST

Recession Hits Law Firms

(Newser) - Law firms, once thought to be better able than most to weather sour economies, are finding themselves in a tough spot these days, the Wall Street Journal reports. While bankruptcy practices are holding steady, business in litigation has fallen off steeply as corporate clients settle instead of writing checks to...

US Biz Climate Worst in Nearly 3 Decades

Survey finds strapped firms are pessimistic about 2009

(Newser) - A deepening recession in the fourth quarter of 2008 has business conditions for US firms at their worst levels in 27 years, reports Reuters. A National Association of Business Economics survey also showed decreasing expectations for a turnaround in 2009, with most poll respondents expecting the recession to worsen and...

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