recession – News Stories About recession - Page 15

Cyber Monday
Sees 16% Jump
in Online Sales

Nov 30, 2009 5:50 PM CST

Cyber Monday Sees 16% Jump in Online Sales

Third-party Amazon merchants have a good weekend

(Newser) - Online retailers saw a big bump from "Cyber Monday" sales as consumers continued their Thanksgiving weekend shopping from their work computers. Internet retailers reported a 16% bump in sales over Monday a year ago, with sales at about the same level as on Black Friday. Analysts had predicted a...

Holiday Shoppers
Ditched Credit Cards

Nov 30, 2009 4:16 AM CST

Holiday Shoppers Ditched Credit Cards

Most used cash or debit cards to snag bargains

(Newser) - Recession-strapped Americans may have developed a plastic allergy—only 26% of Thanksgiving weekend shoppers used credit cards. Though consumers proved willing to spend over the holiday weekend, they seem to be changing how they spend: a whopping 39% used old-fashioned greenbacks, with debit cards making up the rest, according to...

As Food Stamp
Use Explodes,
Stigma Fades

Nov 29, 2009 7:14 AM CST

As Food Stamp Use Explodes, Stigma Fades

Americans 'who never thought' they'd use aid are relying on it

(Newser) - With one in eight Americans now using food stamps and 20,000 more signing up each day, "nutritional assistance" is becoming a normal part of American life rather than a shameful secret, reports the New York Times . In analyzing local data, the paper found that in 239 counties—as...

Employers Offer
More OT, Fewer New Jobs

green shoots

Nov 27, 2009 1:33 PM CST

Employers Offer More OT, Fewer New Jobs

Brightening economy results in more overtime, fewer new jobs

(Newser) - Manufacturers skeptical about economic improvement are hedging their bets and forgoing hiring in favor of scheduling overtime work to fill welcome new orders. The tactic may be working for now—employees surely aren’t complaining—but the phenomenon is likely to be short-lived. “Overtime is more costly,” an...

Black Friday Brings Out
the Shoppers

Nov 27, 2009 9:05 AM CST

Black Friday Brings Out the Shoppers

Consumers not too downtrodden for 5am campouts

(Newser) - Economic woes didn’t prevent shoppers from camping out outside stores across the country this morning, as retailers offered especially deep Black Friday discounts. Most opened early as well, with some, including Wal-Mart and many Old Navy stores, opening yesterday to get a jump on things. Toys R Us opened...

Give Thanks We're Not Thanking Wall St.

THOMAS FRANK

Nov 25, 2009 8:04 AM CST

Give Thanks We're Not Thanking Wall St.

Be grateful for new skepticism on financial industry

(Newser) - There won't be a lot of people thanking the financial industry this Thanksgiving, and that in and of itself may be cause to be thankful, writes Thomas Frank. There's been a shift in thinking and newly skeptical Americans no longer believe that the market is omniscient or that colossal Wall...

Q3 GDP Growth More
Like 2.8% Than 3.5%

FUZZY MATH DEPT

Nov 24, 2009 9:29 AM CST

Q3 GDP Growth More Like 2.8% Than 3.5%

Spending and home prices are up, but not enough to help jobs

(Newser) - The government’s optimistic reading of GDP growth in the 3rd quarter was distorted by a pair of rose-tinted glasses, it now says. The Commerce Department has revised its estimate down to 2.8% from 3.5% on evidence that stimulus programs like Cash for Clunkers and the homebuyers' tax...

Young Black Men Hit Hardest By Recession

34.5% unemployment

Nov 24, 2009 6:21 AM CST

Young Black Men Hit Hardest By Recession

Demographic's unemployment reaches Depression-era levels

(Newser) - The recession has sent the unemployment rate among young black men soaring to rates not seen since the Great Depression. The jobless rate among black males aged 16 to 24 hit 34.5% last month, more than triple the rate for the general population. The demographic has been especially hit...

Once-Profitable Services
Are Killing Local Budgets

Nov 23, 2009 11:52 AM CST

Once-Profitable Services Are Killing Local Budgets

Utilities, transport, even gambling, are now $3.5B drains

(Newser) - Municipally owned businesses like utilities, public transportation, and betting parlors used to bring in much-needed cash flow, but the recession has done its predictable work. State and local governments nationwide will likely hemorrhage $3.5 billion this year running these concerns which brought in upwards of $120 billion during the...

Suicide Rate Rising

Nov 23, 2009 4:49 AM CST

Suicide Rate Rising

Data shows uptick in suicides during recession

(Newser) - The suicides this year of a Freddie Mac boss overwhelmed by investigations into his company and a banker whose firm lost $1.5 billion in the Madoff scandal offer two high-profile examples of a trend confirmed by recent data: the US suicide rate is rising in the wake of the...

Millions Must Repay Part
of Stimulus Tax Credit

Nov 17, 2009 12:49 PM CST

Millions Must Repay Part of Stimulus Tax Credit

Withholding errors mean 15.4M will get smaller refund or owe money

(Newser) - An IRS tax credit designed to lighten the load on recession-addled taxpayers won't work out as well as hoped for about 15.4 million Americans. Because certain minutiae of the new Making Work Pay credit weren’t factored in to withholding tables, more than 10% of taxpayers who file individual...

It's About the Jobs, Stupid

paul krugman

Nov 13, 2009 8:20 AM CST

It's About the Jobs, Stupid

The US needs to create work for Americans

(Newser) - The US has to shake up conventional thinking and create jobs for out-of-work Americans, writes Paul Krugman . Our current misguided thinking—as evidenced by unemployment north of 10%—isn't so much a jobs policy as GDP policy. "If you grow it, they will come," goes the philosophy. Get...

Buffett:
'Financial
Panic Is
Behind Us'

Nov 12, 2009 9:14 PM CST

Buffett: 'Financial Panic Is Behind Us'

He sounds optimistic note at Columbia University forum

(Newser) - Warren Buffett says the worst is over. "The financial panic is behind us," he declared at Columbia University. The Berkshire Hathaway chief acknowledged that the US economy "still is sputtering some," but he sounded a bullish note on investment opportunities around the globe. While he gave...

9 Other States Have Calif.-Sized Fiscal Messes

Nov 11, 2009 8:14 PM CST

9 Other States Have Calif.-Sized Fiscal Messes

Ariz., Fla., Ill., Mich., and NJ among others facing crises

(Newser) - California has by no means cornered the market on enormous financial problems at the state level, with a report out today saying Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin are also at tremendous risk. The Pew Center sees widespread unemployment, huge budget deficits, and the...

Fast-Food Star of
Recession: $5 Footlong

analysis

Nov 7, 2009 11:34 AM CST

Fast-Food Star of Recession: $5 Footlong

Subway is rewarded for listening to franchisee

(Newser) - BusinessWeek has found what it calls the "fast-food success story of the recession"—the $5 footlong sandwich from Subway. The simple idea began with a franchisee who noticed slow sales on weekends and decided to knock down prices to bring in customers. After sales went through the...

Expect Unemployment
to Keep Rising

megan mcardle

Nov 6, 2009 11:33 AM CST

Expect Unemployment to Keep Rising

Companies still aren't sold on a long-term recovery

(Newser) - Anyone hoping that today's worse-than-expected news of 10.2% unemployment means we've hit rock bottom is going to be disappointed, writes Megan McArdle . "This figure is likely to get worse before it gets better." Companies need more proof of a long-term recovery before committing to new hires. In...

What Broke
Celebs Can
Teach Us

TIPS FOR THE MANSIONLESS

Nov 6, 2009 9:38 AM CST

What Broke Celebs Can Teach Us

Don't make the same mistakes as Nicolas Cage and Annie Leibovitz

(Newser) - Celebrities really are just like us: During these financially stressful times, they’re suffering, too. On Huffington Post, Manisha Thakor points out the takeaway from four high-profile meltdowns.

NBA Player Antoine Walker: Squandered away his $110 million fortune by age 33. The lesson? If you have a variable income, don’

...

Unemployment Jumps to 10.2%

Nov 6, 2009 7:50 AM CST

Unemployment Jumps to 10.2%

Companies cut 190,000 jobs last month

(Newser) - Unemployment cracked the 10% barrier last month, as 190,000 workers lost their jobs, according to Labor Department figures released today. The bigger-than-expected losses bring the rate to 10.2%, a 26-year high. And the underemployment rate, which includes would-be full-timers working part time and those who've given up looking...

NFL Scores Ratings Touchdown

Nov 6, 2009 7:41 AM CST

NFL Scores Ratings Touchdown

Recession keeps people on couch on Sunday

(Newser) - NFL ratings are through the roof this year, as the recession keeps fans on the couch on Sunday afternoons...and Sunday nights and Monday nights. Ratings are at a 20-year high, with an average 17.2 million watching each game. “The NFL and television are actually getting the so-called...

Dems Will Regret Not Being Bolder on Economy

PAUL KRUGMAN

Nov 6, 2009 6:48 AM CST

Dems Will Regret Not Being Bolder on Economy

Voter backlash is about failure to lower unemployment

(Newser) - Paul Krugman doesn't buy the GOP conclusion that voters Tuesday rejected the Obama agenda. The election just showed that American voters are worried about their jobs, he writes, and this time next year, with unemployment still high, Democrats will likely regret not having been bolder on the economy when...