News

Recession Briefing 8.27: Law Jobs in Short Supply

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

This fall, law students are competing for half as many openings at big firms as they were last year in what is shaping up to be the most wrenching job search season in over 50 years. (New York Times)

The federal government mistakenly sent out stimulus checks to 1,700 inmates, the Social Security Administration said Tuesday — a $425,000 error. (FoxNews)

Seventy-two percent of Americans say they have cut back the time they spend volunteering and performing other civic activities in the past year — largely as the result of the recession, according to a study. (Chronicle of Philanthropy)

Purchases of new homes in the U.S. jumped more than forecast and demand for long-lasting goods such as autos and computers climbed, reinforcing signs the economy is rebounding. (Bloomberg)

More than a half-million option adjustable-rate mortgages are scheduled to reset in the next four years, at rates many homeowners cannot afford. Economists say this is a looming threat to a housing recovery. (New York Times)

Hit by rising commodities costs amid the recession, America’s largest beer brewers are raising their prices. (Los Angeles Times)

Foreclosure guilt — where a home buyer feels bad for the family they replaced — is a little-noticed emotional byproduct of the financial devastation wrought by the housing and banking meltdowns of the past year. (USA Today)

Nouriel Roubini: “Governments have been spending and borrowing like never before. The question now is: how do they stop?” (Forbes)

The number of Americans traveling by car over the Labor Day holiday weekend is expected to drop 11.8% from a year earlier due to the weak economy and the lateness of the holiday in the month. (Wall Street Journal)

According to a survey taken earlier this year, almost six in ten respondents said that despite the recession their standard of living is much or somewhat better than their parents’ was at the age they are now. (U.S. News & World Report)

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