The Origin of Downturnaround

If you want to go pointing fingers over the economic downturn, there are the usual suspects—the quants at JP Morgan, the lenders at Countrywide, AIG… Take your pick. But Bard College’s Hannah Arendt Center for Ethical and Political Thinking wants to consider it more broadly. In a (free, mostly) conference next week at its campus in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, the issue will be viewed as a “Burden of Our Times.”

Topics to be explored include the role that fundamental human greed, and not just the modern kind, played in leading us to the brink of a second Depression. Experts in consumer culture, risk and chance will discuss. Also on the agenda…

Recession’s Celebrity Fashion Victims

The recession has impacted fashion on a number of levels, from the decline in popularity of “it” bags to the rise in thrift-store shopping. But there may be no singular shift in retail culture that elicits as much positive reaction as the death of celebrity clothing lines.

Celebrity-backed clothing lines were all the rage during the boom years, with everyone from movie stars (Sarah Jessica Parker, Jennifer Lopez) to reality TV fixtures (Heidi Montag, Lauren Conrad) and even rappers (Eve, Snoop Dogg) signing on. By 2006, sales of “celebrity-licensed products” had risen to $3.5 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal. But things just haven’t been the same since the recession began, now that many customers are considering cost and quality over labels and luxury when it comes time to shop for clothes….

Screwed: 905 at Dell

A daily review of the employment fallout around the country and the world.arie

Today’s Total: 2,176

Dell has announced plans to shut down a factory in Winston-Salem, N.C. and trim its workforce by 905… Irish airline Aer Lingus is expected to cut up to 650 workers… RedCats USA will lay off 490 employees by the end of the year as it closes a call center in Universal City, Texas… Thermo Fisher Scientific will shed 350 jobs in Dubuqe, Iowa by the year’s end… Canron Western will institute “temporary” layoffs for 106 employees in its Northeast Portland, Ore. location… Ferguson Enterprises will cut its workforce by 94… Tecnotree Telecommunications will lay off 80 Irish workers in response to dropping demand for its products and services… The city of Tracy, Calif. is set to reduce its workforce by 70 to compensate for a budget deficit… The police department of East Cleveland, Ohio will hand out 19 layoff notices in response to a budget deficit… Condé Nast continues to shed workers as Brides eliminated 12 staffers yesterday… Forbes is planning a third set of layoffs for this year, although details are not yet available… eBay anticipates “small” scale layoffs but specific numbers have yet to be determined… GM will institute more layoffs as part of its restructuring plan after declaring bankruptcy…

Recession Briefing 10.8: Parents Keep Spending on Kids

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

Consumers refused to cut back on one thing last year: their kids. Families spent almost the same amount on kids — boys and girls — younger than 16 last year as they had the year before. (Wall Street Journal/The Juggle)

Is the “man-cession” a myth? “Men have not been doing so badly by historic standards,” writes Christopher Swann. “Nor have women been making great breakthroughs.” (Reuters)

It’s bad enough that folks out of work have to deal with an unemployment rate that is pushing double digits, but now they also have to watch out for a growing wave of fraudsters who are looking to take advantage of their desperation. (Time)

Business-Comfortable in Coach

First, your private jet — or dreams of private jet — got downsized. Then, your company’s corporate travel budget was slashed and you’ve suddenly found yourself sitting in coach. Look on the bright side: you’re hardly alone. The International Air Transport Association is predicting that airlines will see a 20 percent drop in first- and business-class passengers through 2009, due in large part to corporate travelers whose companies are reacting to the recession by refusing to foot the bill for tickets costing upwards of $10,000 a flight.

Many business travelers are now being forced to fly in coach—or “premium economy” if you’re lucky—where the seats don’t recline into beds and the cocktails aren’t complimentary. In essence, these business travelers are learning to fly all over again…

Laid Off Twice, Not So Nice

What do these three people have in common?

Susan Guldenschuh, an HR supervisor in Kentucky

Russ Singletary, a researcher now working for an Atlanta company

Attorney Inna Efimchik

Laid off? Close.

All three are victims of a phenomenon that seems particular to this downturn: The double layoff…

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)…

Screwed: 550 at ATK

A daily review of the employment fallout around the country and the world.

Today’s Total: 1170

Some Good News: Fewer state layoffs are necessary in Vermont than expected.

Rocket maker ATK has laid off 550 workers in Utah… Blue Cross will let go 150 by year’s end…Boise Cascade is laying off 130 Oakdale workers by December 1st… Another round of layoffs at the Caterpillar Lafayette plant will start next month and affect 106 production employees… plant Fisher Controls has laid off 79 Marshalltown employees and is closing it’s Portsmouth, N.H. plant… GE Money eliminates 65 jobs…Habbo Hotel is letting go 40…Los Angeles based 7 Studios lays off 30 employees…

Contest: The Recession Will End… When YOU Say So

For this week’s feature, it’s your call when the recession will end. For about four months, we’ve given you our take on the recession’s end with a focus ranging from economist forecasts, impact to on your lives like health insurance and college tuition, and recession trends like staycations and the coupon craze.

After taking you through our thoughts on the recession’s end from many angles, we’re interested to know how you measure the recession’s end in your own life. At a macro level, we’ve been inundated with headlines of housing, unemployment, and other economic analysis and forecasts. In our everyday lives, we’ve felt recession pressures in unique ways and broken down our material needs into necessities, small splurges and sizable sacrifices…

Picture Shopping in the Recession

We’ve all read or heard about how retail has been suffering in the downturn. That’s why “on sale” has come to mean 70 percent off, well-known names like Eddie Bauer and Filene’s Basement are ending up in the bankrupt bin, and even Wal-Mart has laid off hundreds of workers. Of course, all the layoffs mean people have less money to spend at stores, which means more financial difficulty for retailers, etc., etc.

At the same time, it can be hard to picture the numbers–like September auto sales being down 25 percent. How much has everything else dropped? Compared to what?

The New York Times has created another nifty chart…