News

Recession Briefing 2.2

What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.

Gametime in the NFL: Super Bowl or Recession Bowl? (AP)
The stadium was filled with fans, but they didn’t buy the T-shirt. Big bashes were cancelled, but that didn’t stop the Boss from rousing the crowd with a nostalgic rendition of “Glory Days.”

In a Sole Revival, the Recession Gives Beleaguered Cobblers New Traction (WSJ)
Shoe repair gets a new shine as frugal customers opt to fix footwear rather than buy new. The recession breathes life into a dying industry.

Paris’ haute couture designers snub recession (AP)
Récession? Quelle récession? French designers turn out rhinestrone-encrusted frocks and sumptuous spring garments. The credit crunch is not a creative crunch, sniffs Dior.

Hollis man got all his investment money back (MSNBC)
RW salutes investor Dick Stahl, a retired car dealer, who is getting back the $650,000 he invested in securities with UBS. Under pressure from regulators, the Swiss-based company sucks it up by buying back risky auction rate security bonds.

Recession Has Landlords of Retail Tenants Extending Discounts of Their Own (NYT)
Leverage with the Landlord? Unheard of in flush times, this welcome new trend is helping small business, well, stay in business.

Trump Sounds Off On Economy, Bush, Obama (MSNBC)
The way The Donald sees it, the housing market hasn’t bottomed out yet. He calls the economy and George bush “disasters,” but seems more positive on Obama.

U.K. Food Crisis Is ‘Not Unthinkable,’ Chatham House Says (Bloomberg)
As the global food system feels the pinch, the days of cheap food may be finished in the UK. If demand outstrip supply, a crisis may be on the horizon.

Euro Falls as Inflation Report May Strengthen Case for Rate Cut (Bloomberg)
The euro falls and the British pound sinks along with it. Investors are getting a yen for safer currency in Japan. At least we can afford to go out in London.

Economy’s new plunge is worst in quarter-century (AP)
The downhill slalom continues as layoffs, debt, and spooked shoppers plague the economy. Analysts predict up to 3 million jobs will go up in smoke this year.

Handing Out the Pink Slips Can Hurt, Too (NYT)
Matt Cooper, a vice president of Accolo, a recruitment outsourcing company, talks about the woes of laying off workers. Most bosses have hearts, and many break when employees have to be let go.

Asian Stocks Fall on Deepening Recession Concern; Hitachi Drops (Bloomberg)
Data coming out of Asia is not pretty. Stocks drop, while shrinking factory output in Australia and declining corporate profits make for a gloomy global forecast.

Recession Can Change a Way of Life (NY Times)
Tyler Cowen, a professor of economics at George Mason University, touches on tectonic cultural shifts that happen during hard economic times. And they’re not all as bad as you think.

Stimulus may soften, not end, recession (CSMonitor)
A Big Ole Stimulus Plan may not do the trick for this Big Bad Economy. Is shaving two percentage points from unemployment rates by the end of 2010 the best we can expect?

Liquor Revenues Modest During Recession (MSNBC)
The current economic downturn has many Americans in low spirits — but they’re not rushing out to buy them. Hard liquor sales are taking a hit, even when we all could use a stiff one.