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Recession Briefing 8.12: Recession Gores Bullfighting

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

Spain’s steep recession has led dozens of cash-strapped local councils to scrap their annual bullfighting fiestas to save public money. (Agence France Presse)

Women on food stamp programs weigh an average of almost six pounds more than those who aren’t, and gained weight faster when on food stamps than when they were not. (New York Examiner) Who should take food stamps. (Recessionwire)

In the midst of nationwide aquatic budget cutting, drownings are on a dramatic upswing this summer. Data is still being compiled, but researchers say the most likely victims are still toddlers and young people. (Aquatics International)

Can political upheaval protect against recession? That seems to have been the case for Lebanon. (Recessionwire)

The Energy Information Administration projects a 5 percent drop in carbon dioxide emissions from fuel burning in the United States this year, partly due to the economic downturn. (New York Times/DotEarth)

The pile of economic data indicating that the worst of the recession is over just keeps growing. But the same data also explain why any recovery isn’t going to feel like one anytime soon for millions of Americans. (Washington Post)

Productivity, the key ingredient needed for rising living standards, made a huge jump in the spring. In the worst recession in generations, that gain was a decidedly mixed blessing. (Associated Press)

The national recession is taking its toll on what had been one of the fastest-growing areas of state government spending: prisons. Many states are wringing savings from their correctional systems by trying to reduce the huge operational costs of running prisons. (Stateline)

The majority of economists surveyed during the past few days said the recession that began in December 2007 is now over. (Wall Street Journal)

The U.S. economy has hit bottom and the current quarter will see positive growth due to the government’s stimulus spending, billionaire financier George Soros said on Tuesday. (Reuters)

New research shows the UK’s lowest paid workers are being hit hardest by the recession. (Guardian)

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