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Recession Briefing 8.14: Bottled Water Market Washed Up

What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession. (If you come across a good article or blog post about the recession pass it on. To receive Recession Briefing in your inbox, subscribe to our daily email.)

Sales of bottled water have fallen for the first time in at least five years, assailed by wrathful environmentalists and budget-conscious consumers who have discovered that tap water is practically free. (Los Angeles Times)

With Washington bickering over how to reform the health care system, many Americans are simply head to Mexico to get care they can afford. (Reuters)

Unemployed Americans are so discouraged about the prospect of finding a new job that they’re checking out of the labor force at the highest and fastest rate in nearly 10 years. Further, the recession has forced more full-time workers into part-time slots than at any time over the past 15 years. (Washington Post/The Ticker)

New public, private and college-based programs are targeting a grim and growing market: unemployed college graduates who can’t afford to repay their student loans. (USA Today)

A bleak report on retail sales Thursday reinforced a nagging worry of economists: Shoppers won’t spend enough to help a recovery take hold. (Associated Press)

The United States Census Bureau reports that for the first three months of 2009, new homes shrunk by 7% over the same period of 2008. The last time home sizes fell was in 1994. (WalletPop)

Does higher unemployment lead to more drug use? (New York Times/Economix)

More employers are planning to reverse pay cuts and other employee cutbacks, another sign that the employment picture is improving. (CNN/Money)

A government program that allows borrowers with little or no equity in their home to refinance has helped about 60,000 homeowners so far, according to government data released Thursday. (Washington Post)

Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch unit is offering signing packages greater than those handed out in the bull market of 2006 and 2007, as it ramps up its recruitment programme to replace many financial advisers who have left its “thundering herd” in the past year. (Financial Times)

Tags: eating, economy, education, health, real estate, Spending and Saving, The Unemployed Life, Wall Street