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Recession Briefing 10.07: Tortillas Up, Flowers Down

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

In a recession, it seems, people eat more tortillas and stop buying flowers for their sweethearts. Tortilla-makers landed on a recently released top-10 list of best-performing privately held companies, and florists landed in the bottom 10. (Fresno Bee)

The idea of a tax credit for companies that create new jobs, something the federal government has not tried since the 1970s, is gaining support among economists and Washington officials. (New York Times)

Some observers believe that the economic recovery is faltering and could be heading for a “double dip” recession. And that would mean the recent green shoots of recovery turn out to be just a pause in a much longer economic slide. (Politico)

The Obama administration is considering “a mix of spending programs and tax cuts to respond to widening job losses that would amount to an additional economic stimulus without carrying that label.” (Salon)

The recession has cooled the American ardor for living on credit. After years of saying “Charge it,” consumers are more often paying with their debit cards instead. (Washington Post)

Families cut back sharply on transportation and apparel spending last year, as wages failed to keep up with rising prices during the worst recession in decades.(Wall Street Journal)

Julie Rottenberg writes: “The beauty of the total global economic meltdown — for me, anyway — is that now everyone is freaking out about money. I’m not alone anymore!” (Real Simple via CNN)

Consumers, battered by a constant stream of news about the recession, layoffs and home foreclosures, should get a sort of reprieve this winter. After years of rising home heating prices, natural gas bills are poised to decline. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

Mortgage applications surged last week to their highest level since mid-May as consumers sought to take advantage of the lowest interest rates in months. (Reuters)

Many finance executives surveyed in a recent poll believe the American economy is still in recession. About 69 percent of respondents believed the recession would continue well into 2010. (Reuters)

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Tags: business, economy, personal finance, politics, real estate, spending