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Recession Briefing 10.28: Discover Your Recession-Era Personality

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

A new study finds that 51 percent of Americans are at high risk of not having enough money to retire at 65. (ABC News)

Which recession-era personality are you? From fearful to apocalyptic, delighted to indifferent, a professor finds employees tend to fall into one of six behavioral patterns. (Globe and Mail)

Almost 9,000 Detroit homes and lots in various states of abandonment and decay were auctioned off last week. Total vacant land in Detroit now occupies an area almost the size of Boston. (Reuters)

While the government has successfully jump-started the U.S. economy, there are emerging signs that its engine still isn’t running very well, and may even sputter out. (Washington Post)

The Obama Administration has proposed sending a $250 check to every Social Security recipient, which sounds pretty good at first. But older Americans really have survived the recession better than most, argues David Leonhardt. (New York Times)

Compensation so far in 2009 has been cut by the largest amount in nearly two decades, with a government index of real average weekly earnings down 1.9 percent since its high point last December. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

States have reported using stimulus money to create or save more than 388,000 jobs so far this year, buttressing the Obama administration’s claim that the $787 billion plan has had a significant impact on the economy. (USA Today)

GMAC Financial Services Inc. and the Treasury Department are in advanced talks to prop up the lender with its third helping of taxpayer money. (Wall Street Journal)

Home prices posted another modest rise in August, according to data released Tuesday, but economists cautioned that the expiration of a home-buyer tax credit and rising unemployment could reverse signs of stabilization in the housing market. (Washington Post)

As the 80th anniversary of Black Monday approaches, a look at the facts shows some subtle yet important differences between the Great Depression and the economic slowdown underway today. (CBC)

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