recession

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20% of Americans Drop Landline for Cell: Study

20% of households only use cell phones

(Newser) - As Americans trim their spending, more are getting rid of landlines. In the second half of last year, 20% of households had only cell phones, outnumbering for the first time the 17% who had just landlines. The 3% jump from the first half of 2008 is the largest increase since...

Recession Chic: Quirky Out, Blond In

(Newser) - The economy is in freefall, which makes it a good time to be blond, the Times of London reports. Flip through the latest Vogue, and you’ll see page after page of blond-haired, blue-eyed beauties—a shift from the “quirky” faces sought after in recent years to grab the...

Hiring Healthy, Even During Downturn

Dire employment figures disguise huge amount of vacancies opening up

(Newser) - Grim unemployment figures are disguising the fact that hiring has stayed surprisingly strong in the midst of the worst postwar recession, economists tell the New York Times. In February—long before any hint of recovery emerged—4.8 million workers lost their jobs, but 4.3 million people were hired,...

Communists Rise in Japan
 Communists Rise in Japan 
May 5, 2009 3:57 AM CDT

Communists Rise in Japan

Young Japanese see red over lack of workers' rights

(Newser) - The recession has reversed a long slide in the fortunes of the Japanese Communist Party, the BBC reports. The party had been shrinking for decades, but membership is now growing at the rate of a thousand people a month. Young people—introduced to Communist ideology through efforts like a manga...

In Hard Times, Big Donors Don't Flaunt It

Some seek subtlety as neighbors struggle

(Newser) - In hard times, big givers are staying out of the spotlight, the Chronicle of Philanthropy reports. Some 19% of donations of $1 million or more in the past 10 months have been anonymous, compared with 3%-5% over the past 10 years. Donors often stay nameless to keep other charities from...

Falling Wages Compound Economic Woes
Falling Wages Compound Economic Woes
OPINION
May 4, 2009 8:00 AM CDT

Falling Wages Compound Economic Woes

Without new stimulus, US faces Japan-style slump: Krugman

(Newser) - From bailed-out automakers to newspapers facing cutbacks, companies across the US are slashing wages, and employees—even those with unions—are sitting still for it. While cuts may look like a good alternative to unemployment, but they're more harmful than they appear, writes Paul Krugman in the New York Times....

Stress Tests Expected to Show Confidence in Banks

Administration ready to say bailout worked

(Newser) - The top US banks may not be as deep in the mud as analysts fear, government "stress tests" out Thursday are expected to show. Officials seem ready to argue that the nation's financial system is recovering and won't require more bailout funds from Congress. "None of these banks...

Cure for Dead Lawns at Foreclosures: Green Paint

Recession has left entire neighborhoods in need of quick spray

(Newser) - California’s Riverside County is looking a little greener these days—just don't look too closely. The area has been so racked by foreclosures and unsold homes that parts of it look like a ghost town, complete with very dead grass. That’s where Insta-Green comes in. The start-up has...

Buffett: US 'Doing the Right Things'

(Newser) - Warren Buffett said today the US government is taking the correct actions to help the economy recover. "The government is doing the right things," Buffett said before the opening of Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting. "They're acting in a countercyclical manner." But he said he can't...

Financial 'Pearl Harbor' Is Past, Says Buffett

Oracle confident as he prepares to be buffeted by shareholders

(Newser) - The Oracle of Omaha still sees tough times ahead for the US economy, but he says he thinks the worst is in the past, CNCBC reports. “We’re at a war now to some degree, but Pearl Harbor was September,” Warren Buffett says. “There was a strike...

Rich Feel 'Guilty' Spending Now: Poll

(Newser) - Even the still-rich are unhappy in this economic climate, though their dolor is more likely to come from shame than anything else, USA Today reports. 54% of people who have $100,000 to spend after such mundane things like mortgage payments and taxes “feel guilty purchasing luxury goods” nowadays,...

US Benefits From China Stimulus

Construction in China boosts US business, from steel to fried chicken

(Newser) - While Americans await the fruits of their $787 billion bailout, China is moving ahead with public-works projects at a staggering pace, pumping up its own economy as well as America’s, the Wall Street Journal reports. US industrial-equipment makers, struggling with effectively zero domestic growth, are back near record levels...

Debit Cards Overtake Credit

 Debit Cards Overtake Credit 
Apr 30, 2009 8:35 AM CDT

Debit Cards Overtake Credit

A surge in debit-card usage reflects a shift from the days of easy credit

(Newser) - The recession has boosted the popularity of debit cards, the Wall Street Journal reports. In the last quarter of 2008, debit-card transactions processed by Visa were 50.4% of the company’s volume, surpassing credit cards for the first time. Rival MasterCard’s debit volume surged 13% last year as...

Jobless China Faces Grad Glut
 Jobless China Faces Grad Glut 
Apr 28, 2009 10:53 AM CDT

Jobless China Faces Grad Glut

(Newser) - In recent years, the sight of an unemployed college graduate in China was as rare as a panda. But up to one third of last year's 5.6 million college graduates remain jobless, the Wall Street Journal reports. After years of the country's mostly state-run universities upping enrollment by as...

Pontiac Dies, But Its Greats Live On
 Pontiac Dies, 
 But Its Greats Live On 
OPINION
Apr 27, 2009 3:57 PM CDT

Pontiac Dies, But Its Greats Live On

(Newser) - As General Motors' Pontiac line is phased out, Ben Wojdyla, on Jalopnik, remembers the truly great cars that bore the mark. If you've got one, keep your garage clean and await a payday.
  • 2009 G8 GXP: "GM should be saved for no other reason than to put the G8
...

Recession-Wary Teens Cut Back on Spending

Teens spend less on food, apparel while video games and DVDs still popular

(Newser) - The downturn is causing teens, who usually spend through recessions while parents absorb the pinch, to cut back, Advertising Age reports. Teenagers are spending about 14% less this spring than last, a “dramatic impact” from a demographic that spends an average of $125 billion each year. Unemployment is also...

GM to Cut 21K US Factory Jobs
 GM to Cut 21K US Factory Jobs 
Apr 27, 2009 8:53 AM CDT

GM to Cut 21K US Factory Jobs

Firm restructuring in bid for more government aid

(Newser) - General Motors will cut 21,000 US factory jobs by next year, phase out its Pontiac brand, and ask the government to take company stock in exchange for half of GM's government debt as part of a major restructuring effort needed to get more government aid, the firm said today....

Economy Forces 'Boomerang Kids' Back Home

Experts fear financial strain of dependent, adult kids

(Newser) - After losing their jobs and homes, some middle-aged adults are losing something else—independence from their parents, the Washington Post reports. The recession is forcing so-called “boomerang kids” back into their childhood homes, raising questions about how easily parents can accommodate refilled nests amid tough economic times. "It's...

UK Billionaires' Ranks Halved in Downturn

Wealthiest lose collective $228B

(Newser) - The number of UK billionaires has been almost cut in half by economic woes, from 75 to 43, with the country’s wealthiest having lost a collective $228 billion, the Times of London reports. The hardest-hit was steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, who remains Britain’s richest man despite having lost...

Cash-Rich Italian Mafia Grows in Recession

Mobsters prey on desperate consumers looking for cash, credit

(Newser) - In Italy, one man’s recession is a mobster’s paradise, the AP reports. Organized crime syndicates are taking full advantage of the economic slowdown, gobbling up businesses and flaunting an asset in short supply these days: liquidity. Money is no object to the syndicates, who scored $167 billion in...

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