Recession Briefing 3.24

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

The stock market reacted exuberantly to the Obama Administration’s plan to buy up banks’ “toxic assets”, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average spiking more than 500 points yesterday. (New York Times)

World airlines will lose a staggering $4.7 billion as a result of the recession this year, according to a new report. Revenues will drop even more precipitously than the did after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. (Dow Jones Newswires via CNN/Money)

Some folks who are having a hard time selling their houses are shifting gears and swapping them with another house on the market. These swaps can be difficult, as they require the parties to have homes of comparable value, and often involve the resolution of mortgages. (Christian Science Monitor)

Screwed: 1,000 at Daily Mail Group

A daily review of the employment fallout around the country and the world.
Daily Mail Group plans to cut 1,000 positions, affecting its Northcliffe Media arm… Orange County Transportation Authority has voted to give 400 bus drivers the axe… The Charlotte Observer will be firing 82 employees, both full and part time, while cutting hours for others… Sacramento’s Sutter Medical Center will lay off 53 employees and cut the hours of 11 others, from nurse aids to case workers… Wisconsin’s Appleton School Board has cut 43 teaching positions for the coming school year…

Is Geithner the New Hamilton?

Defending Geithner on the South Lawn last Wednesday, Obama commented that Alexander Hamilton may be the only other Treasury Secretary to have so many hot potatoes to juggle. Yet Geithner is in danger of becoming the public face of the AIG scandal. Will Obama’s defense fly?

We’ve been reminiscing about Alexander Hamilton ever since visiting his birthplace in Nevis last month, and agree that Geithner has a tough act to follow. Hamilton was not only one of our most brilliant and forward-thinking Founding Fathers, he was also the #1 babe in the group (there’s a reason the delectable Rufus Sewell portrayed him in John Adams). The Recession has got us thinking about older men, and we have a not-so-secret crush on Hamilton. Sorry, Geithner…

Socialize Your Resume Experience

Looking for a job can be as time-consuming as a full-time job, but luckily, these days you can also be social about it. Mashable featured a great list of “Social Sites for Resume Building” from Me 2.0 author Dan Schawbel.

Some of them are literally for building your resume — Razume.com and ResumeSocial are two that let you create yours online and the community will give you feedback — while others…

Everything Old is New Again

As originally outlined, the government would have bought up toxic mortgage-backed securities at a premium over their current deflated values.

The New York Times, on the Bush Administration’s first bank rescue plan

The plan aims to remove the so-called toxic assets—many of them bad mortgage investments—from the banks’ balance sheets through a private-public partnership.

ABCNews, on the Obama Administration’s new bank rescue plan

Official details on Tim Geithner’s plan to get credit flowing in the financial industry are out today…

Screwed: 3,000 at ThyssenKrupp

A daily review of the employment fallout around the country and the world.
German Industrial Group, ThyssenKrupp plans 3,000 layoffs, cutting 1.5 percent of its workforce… TDK Fujitsu Philippines Corp. cut 2,000 jobs in its Laguna location…the U.S. Postal Service will close six district offices and give 1,400 employees the axe… Finnish airline, Finnair PLC announced 1,600 temporary layoffs…Lam Research is laying off 375 employees throughout North America, Europe, and Asia…Mayer Brown plans to layoff 55 lawyers and staff at its London office… Hanesbrand Inc. lays off 46 in its Virginia Service Center…

Recession Briefing 3.23

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

The Obama Administration is hoping to round up as much as $1 trillion from private investors to support its plan to buy up banks’ toxic assets. The government plans to offer subsidies like low-interest loans to coax the private funds to invest. (New York Times)

With cuts looming at many businesses, workers are using less and less of their “flex time” and other benefits that allow them to work at home sometimes, and take family leave or paid sick days. (Washington Post)

The recession has stalled the building of skyscrapers around the world. Globally, work has been halted on 142, or 11 percent, of 1,324 skyscraper projects, including 29 of 301 U.S. projects. (Reuters)

Barterpalooza

In New York, a caterer is offering services for free in exchange for new carpeting for her home. An Alaskan drywall laborer is looking for “what you got you don’t need” in return for his services. In hot, hot Phoenix, an air conditioning contractor is seeking services in auto repair, landscaping or carpet cleaning, for which he will barter his own trade.

Currency isn’t going out of style, but in the Recession, new old ways of trade are coming back…

Hollywood’s Great ‘Escape’ Plot

It’s conventional wisdom that during the Depression, people went to the movies, gathering together to escape the harsh realities by the communal fireplace. For a bit of spare change, folks could forget their troubles for a couple of hours.

Like most Hollywood tales, it involves a healthy dose of artistic license. Yes, movie theaters offered a welcome diversion, and 1930 was a hugely profitable year for the movie industry. But over the next four years, admissions were down by a third, some 8,000 theaters were shuttered…

At the End of Your Robe: Subtle Secrets

Stylist Julie Greene offers expert advice on looking fierce in a financial crisis.

It’s been said many times, many ways—it’s all in the details. You put thought into the layout of your resume, and wouldn’t send it out with a typo. Maybe you pair your wine carefully with your food. Consider applying the same principles to the way you dress.

Seemingly small things can create harmony in your look and add a subtle—but very real—polish. They show the world that you are thorough and always on the ball. During a time of uncertainty, that is the perfect message to be sending out.

Here are eight surprising concepts that will create balance and give your look a little lift, without spending big bucks on a personal stylist. The best part? Most are just using what nature gave you…