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Recession Briefing 2.24

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

U.S. Is Pressed to Add Billions to Bailouts (NYT)
The government faced mounting pressure on Monday to put billions more in some of the nation’s biggest banks, two of the biggest automakers and the biggest insurance company, despite the billions it has already committed to rescuing them.

Man Living in Cave Hit by Recession (ABC)
That’s right. For nearly five years, Curt Sleeper and his family have lived in a cave. His mortgage is about to come due and he can’t refinance. So now, the 17,000-square-foot, subterranean home is being auctioned off on eBay.

Recession Weighs on Web-Address Growth (WSJ)
Domain registrar VeriSign’s latest report on the state of the industry shows that while more than 10.1 million new Web addresses were registered in the fourth quarter, this was a 17% drop from the year-earlier period.

A 3rd Rescue Would Give U.S. 40% of Citigroup (NYT)
Nationalization, at least a partial one, seems inevitable for Citigroup. As Washington prepares to tighten its grip on the struggling company, the implications — for the troubled financial giant and the rest of the industry — are starting to sink in.

Economist Zandi says 42 U.S. states in recession (Reuters)
Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Economist.com and adviser to former Republican presidential candidate John McCain, said on Monday 42 U.S. states were in recession. Zandi said job losses in all regions and all occupations were contributing to the states’ economic woes.

Health-Care Spending Slows in U.S. as Recession Curbs Coverage (Bloomberg)
Health-care spending in the U.S. this year will grow 5.5 percent, the least since 1997, as the recession erodes incomes and leaves fewer people with private health insurance, government economists said.

SC governor OKs $25 a week increase for jobless (AP)
The governor of South Carolina, a vocal opponent of federal bailouts in a state beset by one of the nation’s highest jobless rates, has decided to take stimulus money to increase weekly unemployment checks by $25, officials said Monday.

Heading to church for money advice (CNN)
Throughout the country, places of worship are not just offering prayers for the improvement of their members’ finances. They are offering help in the form of classes, seminars and workshops.

Dumb Money (Slate)
Daniel Gross has a new eBook in which he argues that the villains of the financial catastrophe aren’t criminals, but self-deluded morons. They were, he says, members of the club: central bankers and private-equity honchos, hedge-fund geniuses and Ph.D. economists, CEOs and investment bankers.

Dow and S&P 500 at ’97 lows (CNN Money)
The Dow and S&P 500 tumbled to levels not seen in nearly 12 years Monday, as investors continue to worry that the government’s efforts to slow the recession won’t be sufficient. The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost 250 points, or 3.4%, ending at the lowest point since May 7, 1997.

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