recession

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Hong Kong, Singapore Emerge From Recession

(Newser) - Hong Kong emerged from the recession with a bang last quarter, posting better-than-expected growth of 3.3% from April to June. The Chinese territory suffered four quarters of contraction but came out of the red thanks to a pickup in exports and increased private consumption. Singapore also blasted out of...

Sales of Men's Undies Rebound With Economy

Analyst sees hope in unusual indicator's promising numbers

(Newser) - Amid mixed reports about recession and economic recovery, here's a bright spot: Men’s underwear sales are on the rebound. Believe it or not, that's a reliable indicator, because selling unmentionables is “such a need-based business that it really is a good indication that the consumer hasn't checked...

Cash-Strapped Drinkers Spurn Bottled Water

(Newser) - A combination of penny-pinching and environmental concern has pushed bottled water sales off for the first time in at least 5 years, the Washington Post reports. In 2008, consumption of bottled water fell for the first time this decade. “It's an obvious way to cut back,” a researcher...

France, Germany Pull Out of Recession

(Newser) - The two largest economies in Europe pulled out of the recession last quarter, with Germany and France both posting 0.3% growth between April and June, reports the Wall Street Journal. The figures were far better than expected, and the French finance minister described the result as "very surprising....

Fed Holds Rates, Sees Economy 'Leveling Out'

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve has slowed its recovery-minded plan to purchase Treasury securities but said that "economic activity is leveling out," the Wall Street Journal reports. The Fed’s policy committee hopes to complete its $300 billion purchase of Treasury securities by October—originally slated for September—and also...

Recession? McDonald's Is Loving It
 Recession? 
 McDonald's 
 Is Loving It 
Analysis
Aug 12, 2009 1:42 PM CDT

Recession? McDonald's Is Loving It

(Newser) - Now that the recession’s supposed to be just about over, it’s time to survey the battlefield and pick out winners, and nobody was a bigger winner than the Golden Arches, writes Daniel Gross for Slate. McDonald’s sales grew more in 2008 than in 2006 or 2007, and...

Economy Is Only Recovering on Paper
Economy Is Only
Recovering on Paper
Analysis
Aug 12, 2009 9:03 AM CDT

Economy Is Only Recovering on Paper

(Newser) - If you’re the glass-half-full type, recent economic indicators look good: Unemployment fell last month, the savings rate is up, and productivity hit a 6-year high. But that same data proves that ordinary people aren’t likely to feel the good vibrations anytime soon, the Washington Post reports. “It's...

Recession Pulls Plug on Electricity Prices

(Newser) - Electricity prices across America have nosedived amid an almost unprecedented fall in demand, the Wall Street Journal reports. Market prices are down up to 40% from the historic highs of last year, and are on course to keep plummeting. The lower prices aren't always seen by consumers immediately because of...

Economists: Recession's Over, Bring Back Bernanke

(Newser) - Economists give Ben Bernanke a big hug in a new Wall Street Journal survey. Most declare that the recession is over and nearly all in the group of 53 think President Obama should keep Bernanke in charge of the Fed when his term expires in January. Twenty-seven economists say the...

Builders Are Building Again, Despite Risk
 Builders Are Building 
 Again, Despite Risk 
ANALYSIS
Aug 11, 2009 1:08 PM CDT

Builders Are Building Again, Despite Risk

(Newser) - A decrease in vacant housing inventory and an uptick in sales have home builders ramping up construction for the first time in months, Time reports. Currently, the number of new homes on the market would take an estimated 8.8 months to sell—a far cry from the standard of...

Only 2nd Stimulus Can Save US: Stiglitz
Only 2nd Stimulus Can Save US: Stiglitz
OPINION
Aug 10, 2009 7:12 AM CDT

Only 2nd Stimulus Can Save US: Stiglitz

But Wall Street bailout has made it a dirty word, writes economist

(Newser) - Pundits can't help but ask whether the winter's fiscal stimulus has failed, and for Joseph Stiglitz it has—because the Obama administration made "political compromises that caused it to be less effective than it could have been." For the Nobel Prize-winning economist, there is no option but a...

Attacks on Homeless Spark Hate-Crime Laws

(Newser) - A surge in vicious, unprovoked assaults on homeless people has put weight behind efforts to reclassify such attacks as hate crimes, the New York Times reports. Attacks have risen as more people have been pushed onto the streets by the recession, and researchers say the assailants are generally men or,...

Obama: Ignore Reform 'Rumors'

(Newser) - President Barack Obama asked Americans to put no stock in "outlandish rumors" that health care reform will "promote euthanasia, or cut Medicaid, or bring about a government takeover of health care," in his weekly radio and Internet address today. "That's simply not true." Politico noted...

Posh Resort Offers $19 Empty Room —With Tent

(Newser) - A chic San Diego hotel is offering rooms for only $19 a night—without toiletries, towels, sheets, or a bed, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. “It's our way of getting people here that might not normally come," says Rancho Bernardo Inn manager John Gates. Taken over by...

Brewers Relieve Recession With Cheap Beer

Natural Light, Busch, High Life see sales jump

(Newser) - With the recession drying up cash flow, thirsty Americans are seeking out “sub-premium” beers, and brewers are marketing accordingly, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Anheuser-Busch is creating its first-ever ad campaign for Natural Light, whose sales are up 4% this year; MillerCoors is pushing Miller High Life, whose sales...

Latest Victim of Recession: Larger Families

(Newser) - Families appear to be putting off that baby until economic conditions improve, the New York Times reports. The birth rate fell 2% in 2008 compared to 2007, and the trend looks to be continuing into 2009. “It’s the recession," a sociologist says. "Children are the most...

Stimulus Worked: Economists

 Stimulus Worked: 
 Economists 
Aug 7, 2009 10:14 AM CDT

Stimulus Worked: Economists

Good news for prez ahead of today's job-loss report

(Newser) - President Obama’s stimulus package appears to have helped the economy bottom out more swiftly, an economists’ report says. Analysts hold that the stimulus boosted economic growth by about a percentage point in the second quarter—not enough to keep the economy from shrinking but enough to slow the pace...

Credit Checks Trap Jobless in Financial Spiral

(Newser) - For many unemployed Americans, a new trend is keeping the prospect of a new job out of reach: detailed credit checks of prospective employees. Once used mostly for government positions, cheap credit checks are now routine at private employers seeking to cull huge applicant pools. Businesses say they're just...

Goldman Analyst Bullish on Stocks' Recovery

Cohen predicts S&P to gain 10% by Jan 2010

(Newser) - A top Goldman Sachs forecaster predicts the recovery in stocks that began in March should hold, Reuters reports. The S&P 500 could rise as much as 10% from its current level to top 1,050-1,100, says Abby Joseph Cohen, the chief of Goldman’s investment policy committee. "...

Cheaper Tide Rises in Hard Times

Procter & Gamble agonizes over risky move

(Newser) - A cheaper Tide is rolling in: The recession-friendly Tide Basic drops some of the high-tech cleaning components—like anti-pilling ability—contained in the detergent’s traditional form, in exchange for a 20% lower price tag, the Wall Street Journal reports. But the decision to release the new Tide was no...

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