financial crisis

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Jobless Claims Hit 26-Year High

338,000 more people claimed benefits last week

(Newser) - Some 58,000 jobless Americans filed their first request for unemployment benefits last week, pushing both the number of first-time filers (573,000) and number of people collecting benefits (4.43 million) to 26-year highs, MarketWatch reports. The post-Thanksgiving week is traditionally high in first-time claims, but rapid layoffs and...

Sound the Chrysler Death Knell: Analysts
Sound the Chrysler Death Knell: Analysts
Analysis
Dec 11, 2008 8:33 AM CST

Sound the Chrysler Death Knell: Analysts

Unprofitable lines are likely to kill automaker despite bailout

(Newser) - Chrysler’s lack of profitable vehicle lines will lead to its demise, reports the Detroit Free Press, regardless of whether the feds jump in with a bailout. With bad market conditions predicted to worsen next year, the struggling automaker will downshift its production on some lines and eliminate others, prompting...

Poll: Americans Back Economic Intervention

A growing majority blames financial crisis on deregulation

(Newser) - A clear majority of Americans approve of Washington taking firm steps to intervene in the nation's struggling economy, a Los Angeles Times poll finds. Two-thirds favor tighter restrictions on financial institutions and 60% back help for homeowners facing foreclosure. A huge 87% blamed deregulation for the economic crisis—up 25% ...

73% of Americans Back Obama
 73% of Americans Back Obama 
Dec 11, 2008 4:19 AM CST

73% of Americans Back Obama

Poll reveals reservoir of national goodwill for prez-elect

(Newser) - President-elect Barack Obama will begin his term of office with an enormous reservoir of goodwill among American voters, according to a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll. The poll found 73% of adults approve of his preparations to take over, with even 29% of John McCain voters now viewing Barack Obama...

Factory Sit-In Ends in Victory
 Factory Sit-In Ends in Victory 
Dec 11, 2008 2:44 AM CST

Factory Sit-In Ends in Victory

Workers win severance and benefits

(Newser) - Laid-off workers who occupied a Chicago factory have agreed to end their sit-in after winning severence pay and benefits, Reuters reports. Each of the 200 workers at shuttered Republic Windows and Doors will receive two months pay, accrued vacation and two months health care coverage. The $1.75 million cost...

Forget That Stimulus Bill: 5 Things Obama Should Fix

Obama shouldn't rely on a stimulus package for a cure-all

(Newser) - Barack Obama and his team are devoting much effort to a proposed stimulus package for 2009, but that is simply a superficial fix, writes James K. Galbraith in Mother Jones. “The effect ends when the stimulus does, when the sugar shock wears off,” says Galbraith, who suggests five...

Nervous Dow Rises 70
 Nervous Dow Rises 70 
MARKETS
Dec 10, 2008 3:24 PM CST

Nervous Dow Rises 70

Commodities, financials move in opposite directions

(Newser) - Markets ended with modest gains today as commodities got a boost and financials dropped, the Wall Street Journal reports. Meanwhile, fears over the struggling auto bailout spurred some flip-flopping, Bloomberg notes. The Dow rose nearly 190 points before settling down to finish up 70 points. The S&P climbed 11...

Couples Rattled by Recession Delay Kids

Babyies too expensive in shrinking economy

(Newser) - Baby booms and busts have long been reliable economic indicators, so it's no surprise that couples facing layoffs and a tough housing market are holding off on pregnancies. Pricey fertility clinics are the first to feel couples' hesitation to reproduce. The magnitude of the economic affect on the American population...

JPMorgan to Pay Chicago Protesters

Creditors respond to sit-in with loans, severance offer

(Newser) - JPMorgan will pay $400,000 toward the severance for 240 laid-off workers occupying a Chicago factory, and Bank of America will extend the bankrupt manufacturer a new loan, Reuters reports. Both banks are creditors of Republic Windows & Doors, which shut down after, BOA says, it "maxed out" on...

Chinese Exports See First Drop in 7 Years

Unexpected 2.2% fall has analysts fearing major crisis for powerful economy

(Newser) - China’s exports have taken a sudden, unexpected hit from the global economic crisis, possibly an early indication that the world’s fourth-largest economy is on the verge of crisis. Exports, expected to rise at least 15%, shrunk instead by 2.2%, marking the first such fall in 7 years...

Bailout Would Help German Giants, Too
 Bailout Would Help 
 German Giants, Too 
ANALYSIS
Dec 10, 2008 2:20 PM CST

Bailout Would Help German Giants, Too

Detroit bankruptcies would ripple through entire industry's supply chain

(Newser) - German giants BMW and Daimler are rooting for a bailout of the Big Three, since a bankrupt Detroit would devastate sales and cripple parts-makers they all share, Bloomberg reports. The US is the top market for BMW, No. 2 for Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz. Meanwhile, Fiat, Peugeot, and Renault—which compete...

Downturn Naughty, Not Nice to Seasonal Santas

Recession killing to holiday cheer

(Newser) - If you dress up as Santa Claus for extra holiday holly, you may need a miracle on 34th Street to make it through Christmas. The recession has spread to the North Pole, reports the Boston Globe, as Santas-for-hire find less work due to scaled-back Christmas party budgets and report rising...

Italy Bails Out Parmesan Makers
Italy Bails Out Parmesan Makers 
Dec 10, 2008 1:10 PM CST

Italy Bails Out Parmesan Makers

Government spending $64M to save storied cheese industry

(Newser) - While the US bails out the auto industry, Italy is spending $64 million to save the makers of other wheels: parmesan cheese. Producers of the popular pasta topping have struggled for years to turn a profit, despite strong national and regional appetites. “It’s a tragic situation,” one...

UN Report Finds Nearly 1B Are Hungry
UN Report
Finds Nearly
1B Are Hungry
Dec 10, 2008 12:54 PM CST

UN Report Finds Nearly 1B Are Hungry

Cost of basics is down, but still 28% higher than just 2 years ago

(Newser) - Rising food prices have pushed the number of people going hungry to 963 million, or 14% of the world's population, says a UN report published yesterday. Though costs have dropped from historic peaks, basics still cost 28% more than in 2006. That's left 40 million more people undernourished this year,...

Jittery About Loss, Investors Stuff Cash In 0% T-Bills

Willing to take nothing for their money

(Newser) - The results of yesterday’s short-term bond auction were staggering. Investors snapped up $30 billion worth of Treasuries at a 0% yield—essentially lending the government money for free, the New York Times reports. Earlier, some investors even accepted a negative yield to park their cash in three-month Treasury bills....

At Deep-Sixed Prices, Consider the Lobster

Cost of crustaceans hits 25-year low

(Newser) - Prices are dropping on all sorts of luxury goods—and lobster, now less than $10 a pound, is no exception. It’s the lowest price in 25 years, and might not last as fishermen give up on the trade. Spending $30 for the star of a weeknight dinner at home...

Eateries Cut Jobs as Diners Tighten Belts

The industry has shed 66,500 jobs over the past five months as consumers spend less

(Newser) - Restaurant workers are losing their jobs in record numbers as consumers rein in spending and the industry contends with rising ingredient prices, reports the Wall Street Journal. One of the largest US employers, the restaurant industry has been a haven for the unemployed and immigrant workers. Over the past five...

Miner Rio Tinto Cuts 14,000 Jobs

Plan to reduce debt $10B also means cuts in spending on exploration

(Newser) - Global mining firm Rio Tinto will cut 14,000 jobs and scale back spending on exploration, reports the BBC, in a bid to slash its $40 billion debt 25% by 2010. The miner, the third largest in the world, said the “rapidity and severity of the global economic downturn"...

AIG Looks for $10B More to Pay Bad Bets

Struggling insurer gambled billions of its own money on risky derivative trades

(Newser) - Insurance giant AIG, already the recipient of a $150 billion government bailout to cover soured credit-default swaps, now admits it owes some $10 billion more for speculative trades it made with its own money, reports the Wall Street Journal. Those deals aren’t covered by the bailout, leaving the struggling...

Fed Looks to Raise Cash With Its Own Debt Issue

Economy's dive prompts central bank to get more creative with financing programs

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve’s balance sheet has more than doubled to $2 trillion since August as it’s financed new programs and bailed out ailing businesses, prompting the central bank to weigh issuing its own debt for the first time, reports the Wall Street Journal. The Fed, looking for new...

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