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Recession Briefing 10.22: Alligator Demand Sinks

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

The global economic recession is taking a bite out of an unlikely industry: the American alligator market. A drop in world demand for designer gator-skin handbags, watch straps and belts has caused an unprecedented decline in the industry. (USA Today)

The Obama administration plans to order companies that have received exceptionally large amounts of bailout money from the government to slash compensation for their highest-paid executives by about half on average. (Washington Post)

Five hundred people applied recently for one administrative assistant job that pays $13 an hour. (New York Times)

Despite some tentative signs of recovery, the U.S. housing market remains vulnerable to further price drops — especially in areas where large numbers of mortgages are headed toward foreclosure over the next few years. (Wall Street Journal)

The number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for jobless benefits rose more than expected last week to 531,000, after falling in five of the past six weeks. (Associated Press)

Despite the recession, Halloween is hotter than ever. Halloween sales will reach a record-breaking $6 billion in 2009, up 4.2% from last year. (Time)

As the Senate debates whether to extend unemployment benefits, more than 200,000 jobless Americans are set to see their checks stop in October. (CNN/Money)

President Obama said Wednesday that “there’s still too little credit flowing to our small businesses” and unveiled initiatives he said would open the spigot. (New York Times)

One of the key questions plaguing both market historians and more common garden-variety investors is what kind of recession we have. Are there neat historical parallels? If so, what might those be? (Forbes)

The latest Federal compilation of anecdotal reports from businesses around the country offers a portrait of an economy in transition in recent weeks, moving from recession into a period of tentative and uncertain expansion. (Los Angeles Times)

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Tags: bailout, banks, business, economy, jobs, News, real estate, The Unemployed Life, Wall Street