recession

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Consumer Confidence Hits All-Time Low

Economists expected a rise this month after dreary November

(Newser) - US consumer confidence hit an all-time low this month, dropping unexpectedly in the face of layoffs and deteriorating investment markets. The Consumer Confidence Index, expected to rise incrementally to 45, fell to 38 in December from a revised 44.7 last month. The Present Situation index, which measures how respondents...

Recession Shutters Famed Yale Club

Mory's has closed until further notice

(Newser) - Mory's, a legendary Yale University eating and drinking club that traces its roots to the Civil War—and whose membership includes two presidents named Bush—is the latest victim of the recession. A list of patrons that has included the likes of Al Pacino, Tom Hanks, and Jodie Foster hasn't...

Keep State's Woes From Dragging Down Economy
Keep State's Woes From Dragging Down Economy
OPINION
Dec 29, 2008 10:13 AM CST

Keep State's Woes From Dragging Down Economy

Now is no time to require balanced budgets

(Newser) - When the economy goes south, the government has no business aiming for a balanced budget. But all 50 governors are faced with slashing spending to do so, and “at the expense both of their most vulnerable constituents and of the nation’s economic future,” Paul Krugman writes in...

Amid Recession, Visitors Flock to National Parks

Every dollar spent on parks generates $4 in spending

(Newser) - Local economies enjoyed a federal bailout of sorts from National Parks visitors, who spent $11.8 billion in businesses surrounding parks and monuments last year. For every government dollar dispensed on upkeep and some 200,000 workers, $4 were generated in local spending, reports the Washington Times. Sales were up...

Amazon Has 'Best Ever' Holiday Season

Online retailer beat the market with HDTVs, iPods, and Wii

(Newser) - The Grinch apparently didn’t sour shoppers on Amazon this year: The company said today the 2008 holiday season was its “best ever,” MarketWatch reports. Amazon sold more than 6.3 million items worldwide on Dec. 15, its peak day, amounting to “a record-breaking 72.9 items...

Recession-Battered States Slash Medicaid

Governments lower payments, cut add-ons to health program

(Newser) - As states across the country struggle to cope with staggering budget shortfalls, 19 of them have cut back on Medicaid, reports the Washington Post. The states, along with DC, are lowering payments to hospitals and nursing homes, ending coverage for less common treatments, and booting some citizens out of the...

No Christmas Miracle for Retailers
 No Christmas  
 Miracle for Retailers 


RETAIL SALES
Dec 26, 2008 1:57 AM CST

No Christmas Miracle for Retailers

Even luxury sector sales in free fall

(Newser) - It was a bleak Christmas and promises to be a less than prosperous New Year for retailers with consumers tightening their belts and spending less, reports the Wall Street Journal. Retail sales dropped 5.5% in November and 8% in December, compared with the same months last year. Luxury goods,...

US Students Flock North for Cheap Tuition

Canadian universities appeal to Americans in tough economy

(Newser) - Cash-strapped Americans with their sights set on college see Canada as an affordable alternative to domestic institutions, the Boston Globe reports. Low tuition fees and a stronger US dollar—it’s worth $1.21 in Canada right now—are luring more high school students in the northeast across the border,...

Strapped? Sell Your Gold—at the Mall

(Newser) - Up and down the East coast, cash-strapped shoppers are trading in gold and silver, not at pawn shops, but at the mall, the Boston Globe reports. Merchants at kiosks buy the precious metals for less than half of market value, but customers are still pouring in. “It's certainly something...

Chocolate Sales Are Bittersweet

 Chocolate Sales Are Bittersweet 

Dec 24, 2008 9:03 AM CST

Chocolate Sales Are Bittersweet

Battle to elevate taste to expensive brands proves bittersweet as economy sours

(Newser) - Chocolate sales, reputed to be recession-proof, are taking a hit in this downturn as consumers’ taste for more expensive brands has soured, reports the Financial Times. Companies that jumped into premium candies have been hurt by the downturn, and analysts say the market has been “trading down” from premium...

Recession? Not for Botox Docs
 Recession? Not for Botox Docs 

Dec 23, 2008 2:14 PM CST

Recession? Not for Botox Docs

For some, it's the cheaper alternative

(Newser) - Botox, apparently the poor man's plastic surgery, has not taken a hit in this recession, according to a recent survey. In fact, some doctors say demand for the pay-as-you-go treatment has increased as patients put off pricier surgeries, the Wall Street Journal reports. A lip plump or wrinkle-smoothing costs a...

Plunging Exports Roil Asia
 Plunging Exports Roil Asia 
Dec 23, 2008 9:12 AM CST

Plunging Exports Roil Asia

Declining global demand sends shock across the continent.

(Newser) - Asia, the manufacturing powerhouse of the last few decades, is experiencing a plunge in exports unprecedented in modern history, the Washington Post reports. Japan, the world’s second-largest economy, reported yesterday that exports dipped 27% in November, while Thailand’s exports shed 19%, the most in 17 years. Taiwan’s...

Krugman: Obama Can't Take Crutches Away Too Soon
Krugman: Obama Can't Take Crutches Away Too Soon
OPINION
Dec 22, 2008 12:54 PM CST

Krugman: Obama Can't Take Crutches Away Too Soon

Government must remain involved for economy to gain new footing

(Newser) - The Obama administration must resist the temptation to leave the economy to its own devices too soon, Paul Krugman writes in the New York Times. “Getting to the point where our economy can thrive without fiscal support may be a difficult, drawn-out process,” he writes, with no bubble...

Firms Shave Costs Without Layoffs

Some workers willingly take wage cuts to save their jobs

(Newser) - Some companies are finding creative ways to cut labor, and keep it, too. Brandeis University, for example, convinced 30% of its instructors to forgo 1% of their pay. "It can save a few jobs," reasons an English prof who's hardly alone. Many workers have accepted reduced hours, unpaid...

Shoppers Turn to Funny, Useful Gifts

Boots, joke books, comfort clothes score big in recession

(Newser) - Christmas shoppers are thinking small this year, and the gifts they're buying reveal how Americans are coping with recession, USA Today reports. Here's a list of today's trends:
  • Practical: Nearly half of the most popular items searched for online were boots, according to one mall inventory service. Gifts that help
...

Jobless Whites, Blacks Push Out Immigrant Workers

Tough job market sends foreign-born workers home

(Newser) - Tens of thousands of Hispanic immigrants are leaving the US as out-of-work Americans compete with them for manual labor jobs, the Wall Street Journal reports. Even farms, which once struggled to fill positions, are turning people away because white and black Americans need work. "There is definitely a lot...

Bank of Japan Follows Fed, Cuts Rates to Near Zero

It drops key interest rate to 0.1%

(Newser) - The Bank of Japan cut interest rates from 0.3% to to 0.1%, within the historic zero- to quarter-percent range that the Fed chose earlier this week. Central bankers were responding to a deep recession as well as a soaring yen, which recently hit a 13-year high against the...

Fed Hangs Recovery Hopes on Nothing
Fed Hangs Recovery Hopes on Nothing
ANALYSIS
Dec 18, 2008 11:42 AM CST

Fed Hangs Recovery Hopes on Nothing

Cutting benchmark rate to zero points up risks of plenty of nothing

(Newser) - Nada. Naught. Zip. Zero, as in the 0% interest the Federal Reserve is asking banks to pay—or, rather, not pay—for short-term loans. What does getting zero back for loaning money mean, wonders Paul Farhi of the Washington Post. "The strategy is to hose down America's sclerotic financial...

4 Financial Doomsday Scenarios
 4 Financial Doomsday Scenarios 
ANALYSIS
Dec 17, 2008 11:20 AM CST

4 Financial Doomsday Scenarios

(Newser) - James Rickards is far more pessimistic about the economic crisis and its global implications than most of his analyst colleagues, Politico reports. But he’s also well respected by US intelligence and defense services. Here are four of his nightmare scenarios.
  • Terrorism: Al-Qaeda has long sought to disrupt the US 
...

OPEC Slashes a Record 2.2M Barrels

(Newser) - OPEC has approved a cut in output of 2.2 million barrels of crude a day, the largest reduction ever, MSNBC reports. The consortium believes that stabilizing prices now by decreasing supply will guard against a price spike when consumer confidence increases. OPEC’s monthly report predicts that demand will...

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