Why You’re Not Feeling the Recovery

The market is up. Home foreclosures are down. Unemployment rolls have shrunk, and some people think the downturn is winding up. So how come you’re not seeing it?

You picked the wrong city.

If you live in Austin, Dallas or—amazingly—Pittsburgh, you have a better chance of being on the upswing. Out of the biggest 100 metropolitan areas, they’re among those with the strongest economies right now, according to the Brookings Institution, a non-partisan think tank in Washington, D.C. People who live in Fresno, Las Vegas or Providence: you’re screwed.

Lemonade Makers: The Lawn Painters

Southern California was a greener, lusher place before the downturn. Homeowners worked to keep their lawns verdant—but with recession came thousands of foreclosures, and acres of brown grass. Last summer, T.J. Davis, who is retired from the fire department, and his brother-in-law, Mike Patino, who had been laid off, saw a news story about a company in drought-plagued Northern California that painted dry lawns using an eco-sensitive dye. In October, they launched Green Genie Lawn Service in Winchester, Calif. Davis talked to Recessionwire about the opportunity they saw in making grass greener for 25 cents a square foot.

What did it take to start this up?
It wasn’t a cheap investment. We spent almost $9,000. We bought a tank for $2,500 and a trailer we got through Craigslist. The dye itself is $99 a gallon and comes in two-and-a-half gallon containers, so if you want to buy several of them, it’s expensive…

Love in the Time of Layoff: Money, Money, Money Talk

Carol M. knew she had a good thing in her boyfrirend, Eric. But earlier this year, when she lost her job as a schoolteacherand faced default on her subprime loan, it showed her just how caring and committed he was.

“We recently talked about being in a relationship, and one of the benefits of being in a relationship is you have someone on your side no matter what,” she says. “We sit down and we talk about things. Last week we talked about having to file for bankruptcy.”

Talking about money with a significant other can be a painful, awkward situation—especially when you’re in a dating phase. You’d think it would be easier in good times, but some are saying that the downturn has made it easier to both talk about finances and to learn about a significant other’s situation. Money is top of mind for many of us and a common topic of conversation. If someone is furloughed, laid off or had a salary slashed, their relationship to money becomes more apparent…

Screwed: 650 at Ryanair

A review of the employment downturn around the country and the world.

Today’s partial total: 1,420

Irish airline Ryanair plans an additional 650 job cuts in Ireland… Washington State University will eliminate 359 jobs as well as three academic programs… CDI Marine Co. might lay off 167 employees, depending on whether or not it will successfully transition a contract… Up to 90 jobs will be lost in the City of Portland Bureau of Development Services… Bank of America plans to lay off 81 employees at its consolidated processing center in Tampa… Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. will be cutting 59 jobs in August… Modesto Police Department may be laying off 14 positions unless officers agree to wage concessions…

Are you among the screwed? Check out Recessionwire’s Laid Off 101. Read more about layoffs at the sites compiled on our layoff tracker page.

Recession Briefing 6.18

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

Want to hedge against the downturn by investing in precious metals? In Germany, shoppers will soon be able to buy gold from vending machines. (Daily Telegraph)

More than 40 communities across the country have canceled their Fourth of July fireworks, conceding that shooting off a colorful array of explosives is now a luxury that borders on wasteful. (Washington Post)

Cash-strapped and unemployed New Yorkers are meeting job contacts on the fly, in nontraditional settings, outside of their professional networks. (New York/Daily Intel)

New Blog with Tips for Self-Employed

Did you know that you can get free legal work from a Harvard-educated attorney? (Well, almost-attorney.) Or work from home for $16/hour? (Hey, it’s better than unemployment.) Nice little tidbits like these can be found on a smart new blog, Create a Gig, which focuses on “career reinvention and low-cost entrepreneurship.” We like the sound of that: Cheap + empowerment. What could be better? The site is run by an acquaintance, marketing exec Jonathan Cropper, who’s got a good eye for leads that will help you in the new world of work. We hope he keeps at it. Check it out:

This blog is for people who want or need to reinvent themselves professionally and personally.

Everyday, we post new ideas for people who are dislocated and are looking for new ways to use their skills to generate income.

A few key blog entries:

• Start a Business in China
• Excellent Blog on Microfinance
• Inspiring Wall Street Journal Article

Obama Financial Oversight Plan mini-FAQ

President Obama has just released plans for regulatory oversight of the creaky financial system. The bulk of it focuses on bringing more of the system under fewer agencies, and on requiring less-regulated or unregulated entities like hedge funds to adhere to new rules and regulations. All are important proposals aimed at creating a more sound financial framework that keeps everyone’s money safe and capital flowing through the economy. But in the short-term, it will mainly be high-level, focused on whupping Wall Street’s excesses into shape. Here’s a little FAQ on a few of the plan’s key points. (We recommend this package at the Wall Street Journal for more in-depth look at the proposal.)

* Abolish the Office of Thrift Supervision. What’s this about? One argument for its abolishment was the oversight for the savings and loan industry, which had troubles since the 1980s. So it transforms, more like, into the National Bank Supervisor. It follows, given all the consolidation in the financial sector in the last two decades.

* Create a Consumer Financial Protection Agency. What the heck is this? This is the stuff that matters. This agency would work with state regulators to better control swindling by mortgage lenders and credit card companies.

* Give the Federal Reserve broader oversight. What does that mean, exactly? Will they be printing personalized money? Almost, but no. The Fed will now oversee parent companies, bank holding companies, as well as economic and monetary policies. But we can safely assume that we’ll all trade in the same currency, for now, and that the faces will remain the great presidents, not BSB (Ben S. Bernanke).

But it’s all just a plan, for now, and some of it over-broad and ambitious. Next up, it will be worked up into legislative language and put before Congress. By then, who knows where the financial system will be. Ah, government.

Here’s Barack Obama talking about the plan on Bloomberg:

How to Get Cheap Newspaper and Magazine Subscriptions

Are you a papervore who is still reading newspapers and magazines? Good—we are too. And while searching for frugal ways to renew subscriptions that are expiring in the middle of a recession, we found two new ways to get our favorite publications.

Magazine resellers often give better deals than the publications themselves. Even lower prices can be had on eBay. Yes, eBay. We renewed New York Magazine for $15, versus the “bargain” $40 offered in a mailing. We spotted BusinessWeek for just $10. Hitch is, the selection is pretty random.

Frequent flyer programs are another good bet. For 500 Delta Skymiles points, we got a year’s worth of Fast Company. (Time, Sports Illustrated, W and People en Espanol were among the other titles.) United Airlines’ program offers the Wall Street Journal for just 3,300 miles. If you calculate the value of miles at one cent each, that means you can get a full year of WSJ for $33—which is basically amazing. The regular price right now is $441.

But don’t get mad at us if there are restrictions, like offers for new subscribers only, or delivery only to the continental U.S. As always, check the fine print before you buy.

5 YouTube Clips to Beat Recession Blues

Some days, the last thing I need is an “inspirational” tale of a blind, deaf quadriplegic who wrote his Ph.D. dissertation one letter at a time by wiggling his ears. But Sunday night, in a funk of worry about my finances, my future, the economy, and Iran, I ditched my work and instead made a dent in the sofa. I let myself get weepy over the story of Chris Gardner, a single father with ambition and fortitude who went broke and came out on top in the movie The Pursuit of Happyness.

Whether you tend towards sap or cynic (I do both), feel-good stories can help you beat the blues. I tracked down five classic YouTube clips, for a quick pick-me-up. Um, no—that’s just dust in my eye.

This version of Jason McElwain’s first basketball game has gotten more than 400,000 views. I only account for half of those.

Screwed: 9,000 at E.ON

A daily review of the unemployment fallout across the country and the world.

Today’s partial total: 12,576

E.ON, one of the largest German power companies, plans to layoff 9,ooo employees…Michelin is set to layoff 1,500 employees in France…Lockheed Martin plans to layoff 750 employees…Nissan plans to layoff 580 workers in Spain, but is opposed by local unions…Myspace laid off 400 employees…Broward County leads the state of Florida in teacher layoffs with 396 teachers losing their jobs over last weekend…Jostens plans to close its Winston-Salem yearbook plant, costing 185 workers their jobs…University Hospitals in Iowa plan to layoff 120 employees…Dean Foods closes PET Dairy, costing 120 workers their jobs…General Motors closes 90 dealers in Pennsylvania…Girtz Industries is set to cut 60 jobs…Evonic Cyro is cutting 35 jobs in Sanford…Fox Interactive Media is laying off members of their corporate staff, but so far they’re keeping mum about the numbers.

Are you among the Screwed? Check out Recessionwire’s Laid Off 101. Read more about layoffs at the sites compiled on our layoff tracker page.