recession

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China Loses Taste for Fast Food
 China Loses Taste for Fast Food 
Feb 12, 2009 4:25 PM CST

China Loses Taste for Fast Food

Chinese revert to cheaper, healthier options amid recession

(Newser) - The dollar menu thrives when times are tough in the US, but in China—where Western fast food is no bargain—the American chains are facing tough competition. Price is the main sticking point, but not the only one. "It's fast food," one diner in Shanghai told...

Celeb Books Only Safe Bet These Days
Celeb Books Only Safe Bet These Days
ANALYSIS
Feb 12, 2009 4:08 PM CST

Celeb Books Only Safe Bet These Days

(Newser) - Britney Spears is shopping a book to top publishers, and editors are lining up to meet her—a further sign of the strapped book industry's new mantra: "Only the sure-fire, big ticket, lowest-common-denominator bestsellers will survive," writes Sara Nelson in the Wrap. Spears’ book, no doubt with a...

Farmers Plucked by Chicken Slump

Foreclosures loom as chicken company cuts contracts

(Newser) - Hundreds of poultry farmers face foreclosures on their pricey chicken houses after poultry giant Pilgrim's Pride dropped their contracts. Some are suing in return, claiming the company encouraged them to take on hefty mortgages and vowed to keep their grandkids in business, the Wall Street Journal reports. Most farmers own...

Homeless Woman's Plea Brings Offers of Help

Homeless woman helped after asking Obama at rally

(Newser) - A homeless woman who raised her hand during President Obama’s visit to Fort Myers did so because she needed help. But Henrietta Hughes probably didn’t expect to become the “face of the economic crisis,” as one brand-new website dedicated to the 61-year-old’s plight declared, CNN ...

Governors Back House on Stimulus
Governors
Back House
on Stimulus
Feb 11, 2009 8:02 AM CST

Governors Back House on Stimulus

Senate version provides for half as much direct state aid

(Newser) - With the House and Senate reconciling their competing stimulus bills, governors are pushing for the House version to prevail, the Washington Post reports. States would receive billions in aid if that version goes through—or next to nothing if the Senate's legislation passes. "If the Senate version holds, there...

New Economic Saviors: Marc Cuban and You

(Newser) - Marc Cuban has some ideas about how to get the nation out of this financial mess, and they have a lot to do with—no surprise—Marc Cuban. The billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks says entrepreneurs can lead the way, so he's soliciting business plans at his blog, the...

Don't Expect Diamonds on V-Day

Americans to spend 15% less this year on holiday

(Newser) - This may not be the year you get that Tiffany necklace: Americans plan to cut back on lavish displays of love this Valentine's Day, MSBNC reports. One survey predicts that holiday spending will drop 15%, from, says another survey, about $123 to $103 per person. The plunge comes after nearly...

Downturn 'Worst for 100 Years': UK Minister

Brown ally says current crisis surpasses Great Depression

(Newser) - The current economic crisis will be the worst in a century, surpassing even the Great Depression, according to Gordon Brown's closest political ally. Ed Balls, a minister sometimes tipped as a future British leader, said that the downturn would be "more extreme and more serious than that of the...

Economy Takes Chomp Out of America's Top Dog Show

Westminster Kennel Club show empties out as economy goes to the dogs

(Newser) - America's top dog will be crowned at the 133rd Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in Manhattan tonight but the rough economy has thinned out the pack, reports AP. At $75 per entry, the event fell 14 pooches short of its usual 2,500 competitors. Human onlookers were also fewer than...

Will the Recession Drive Up Suicides?

We're better prepared now, but rates are still tied to cultural trends

(Newser) - America is reeling from the financial crisis, and the psychological strain has analysts carefully watching national suicide rates, Time reports. Though three high-profile European businessmen took their own lives recently, suicide rates have held steady at 11 per 100,000 people; during the Great Depression, they spiked at 17 per...

Saks' Deep Price Cuts Changed All the Rules

Even high-end shoppers have gotten a taste for bargains

(Newser) - When Saks Fifth Avenue slashed prices 70% in November to kickstart a stalled holiday shopping season, it changed the rules for the entire luxe market, reports the Wall Street Journal. Retailers like Neiman Marcus and Barney's followed suit, putting an end to the unwritten deal the stores had with designers:...

Blame Obama for Botched Stimulus
Blame Obama for Botched Stimulus
OPINION
Feb 9, 2009 7:27 AM CST

Blame Obama for Botched Stimulus

President's hunger for bipartisan support led to disaster: Krugman

(Newser) - Even if the Obama stimulus package had been enacted in its original $800 billion form, writes Paul Krugman, it wouldn't have plugged the hole in the American economy. Yet the "centrists" who cut it down have taken out some of its best provisions, like aid for state governments,...

Salmonella Scare Rattles Peanut County

Farmers report fewer contracts

(Newser) - A Georgia county that boasts a big peanut in its courthouse square is getting crunched by the salmonella outbreak, the Los Angeles Times reports. In Blakely-Early County, Ga.—the self-proclaimed "Peanut Capital of the World"—peanut plant workers are losing jobs and farmers are getting fewer contracts....

Credit-Addicted Family Faces Life on $550 a Month

On top of the list: no restaurants

(Newser) - His wife kicked him out for 9 months for overspending. Now W. Hodding Carter is helping his family try the unthinkable: living within their means. Saddled with credit-card debt after years of pricey counter tops and dreams of wealth, Carter’s family of six plans to make do with their...

It's Time for a Backup Plan
 It's Time for a Backup Plan 
Feb 8, 2009 2:50 PM CST

It's Time for a Backup Plan

Stay calm, be optimistic, or just go back to school

(Newser) - If you've gotten the ax or fear you're next, it’s time to prepare yourself without panicking, NPR reports. The American Psychological Association advises people to stay calm and make a financial plan to cope with tough times. "It's very hard, but try to stay focused in the present,...

Recession, Free Dating Sites Are Match Made in Heaven

Paid online dating sites see customers flooding to free upstarts

(Newser) - Traffic on free online dating sites has spiked, a trend fueled by the recession and by daters’ realization that finding love for free beats paying, reports BusinessWeek. “If it’s free, why would I go to Match?” asks a Florida woman who met her fiancé on PlentyofFish.com, which...

Reality Bites Starbucks Fantasy
 Reality Bites Starbucks Fantasy 
OPINION
Feb 6, 2009 3:41 PM CST

Reality Bites Starbucks Fantasy

(Newser) - Many Americans fantasized of tuning in, dropping out, and working at Starbucks, Mary Schmich writes in the Chicago Tribune, but that dream died with the economic slowdown. “Starbucks was the great American backup plan,” Schmich writes. “The emergency exit. The parachute,” fueled by the “promise...

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...

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