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Recession Briefing 9.17: Grocers Feeling the Pinch

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

Supermarket prices are plunging as the global downturn drives down the cost of staples such as wheat, corn and milk and grocers fight for the wallets of penny-pinching consumers. (Washington Post)

In the economic downturn, teenagers around the world have focused their spending cuts on clothes, games and food, according to a survey by a social networking site. (Reuters)

A Wells Fargo employee is now out of a job after spending the summer partying in a foreclosed mansion in Malibu. (Washington Post/EconomyWatch)

Berkshire Hathaway chief Warren Buffett notes the “irony” that Bank of America chief Ken Lewis may have saved the financial system — by overpaying for Merrill Lynch just hours before it would have failed. (Fortune)

Where are the best places to put your stock bets with the recovery on the way? (USA Today)

Consumers are returning to inconspicuous consumption, perhaps giving an early indication of how the economy might look as it adjusts to a new era of frugality after the mid-decade boom. (Reuters)

The recession is likely to leave the nation with a federal deficit that never falls below the level it hit in this downturn’s first year, writes  J.T. Young. (Washington Times)

As staffs shrink, many business owners are taking on support duties they haven’t had to handle in years. (CNN/Money)

New research shows that low-income Americans who participated in matched savings programs weathered the recession relatively well. Almost all of them held on to their homes. (Seattle Times)

What will an economic rebound look like? Sluggish consumer spending that acts like a giant speed bump, moderate rebounds in housing and manufacturing, and relatively robust corporate earnings that drive increased business spending, economists say. (USA Today)

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Tags: banking, downturnaround, eating, economy, financial crisis, food, recession, recovery, teens