Lemonade Maker: Lori Chalmers, Downturn Designer

At the end of 2007, Lori Chalmers was laid off from her main graphic design gig with one day’s notice. Scrambling for income, she took a shot at turning her hobby—designing and making handbags—into a business. The 30-year-old talked to us about how she created her Toronto-based fashion company, Cha Cha, from scratch.

One day?

Well, as a freelance you have no protection, no severance, nothing.

I came home and had locked myself out of my apt. So I was waiting for my landlord, thinking about how I could make some money quickly. I had been making bags for my friends and for myself. It was my one skill…

Recession Briefing: Shoes are Recession-Proof!

The news you need to survive and thrive in recession.

Clothes, cars and houses aren’t on the list these days, but one thing people are still spending on the recession is shoes. (NY Times) Here’s how to spend less–if you want to. (Recessionwire)

The United States economy shed 190,000 jobs in October, and the unemployment rate reached a 26-year high of 10.2 percent, up from 9.8 percent in September. (New York Times)

The House voted yesterday to expand a popular tax credit for home buyers. The bill, which also extends unemployment benefits and expands a tax break for money-losing businesses, now goes to President Obama, who plans to sign it today. (Boston Globe)

LA’s homeless population is dropping despite the downturn–by a whopping 38 percent in two years. (LA Times)…

Screwed: 495 at NetJets

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

Today’s Total: 696

NetJets will lay off 495 pilots nationwide…Wachovia Corp. child care center is laying off its entire staff of 130… Chevron will be cutting 25 operations and management jobs from its Alaska workforce… Up to 25 employee layoffs may be announced on Monday from the Cooley Dickinson Hospital… Goodwin Procter has laid off 21 second-year business law associates…

This Time Isn’t Different

People from Wall Street to Main Street were caught off-guard as Lehman Brothers fell and the rest of the financial system seemed to be on the verge of collapse. But according to Carmen Reinhart, Professor of Economics at the University of Maryland and co-author of This Time is Different, global financial crises have followed a predictable pattern for centuries—and policy-makers and regulators should have seen this coming. Here is what she had to say about the state of our economy, the contributing causes of financial crises, and what we can do to help prevent them in the future.

Recessionwire: The recession has been declared officially over, but what does that mean for Main Street? How long can we expect the impacts of this recession to last on banking, credit, home ownership, loans and the job market?

Reinhart: In terms of the business cycle, we have either just bottomed or are bottoming right now…

Screwed: 10,000 at GM

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

Today’s Total: 15,116

The good news: According to WSJ, planned layoffs fell in October for the third consecutive month and reached their lowest level since March 2008… Puerto Rico has decided to delay the layoffs of 7,000 employees until next year.

The bad: GM announced its plan to slash 10,000 jobs from European division Opel… HSBC anticipates trimming 1,800 jobs… Daimler announced plans to lay off 1,000 workers at a Mercedes car unit in Germany… Microsoft completed its layoff plans by cutting 800 staffers… Associated British Foods is expected to reduce its workforce by 400… Anglo Irish Bank is set to lay off 230 employees globally as phase one of its “redundancy program”… Citigroup Inc. reduced its credit card and wealth management staff by 175 this week… DRS Technologies laid off 160 employees from offices in Brevard County, Fla… Sitel reduced its workforce by 150 in Andalusia, Ala… Novell laid off up to 130 people last week… Kingfisher Airlines handed out 100 pink slips to Indian pilots… Robinson Memorial Hospital of Ravenna, Ohio laid off 54 full and part-time workers… The Wheatland Tube Co. of Pennsylvania consolidated two plants and cut 40 employees… The Glen Electric plant laid off 40 workers in the U.K…

Recession Briefing 11.05: Wearing Your Dirty Laundry

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

Some coin laundries are closing and many others are battling sales declines, asAmericans are cutting back even on their laundry costs. Some are using the home equipment of friends or relatives, while others are wearing items multiple times between washes. (Wall Street Journal)

Remember those 99-cent recession iPhone cases? Well, Case-Mate is holding a contest for artsy people who take the time to decorate them. Win a mo-ped! (Case-Mate)

Last week the Obama administration claimed the $787 stimulus program saved or created more than 640,000 jobs, but a review of those reports shows that some are simply wrong, while others contain apparently subjective estimates. (New York Times)…

3 Tips for Landing a Small Business Loan

Matthew and Marnie Brannon, co-owners of Midwest Fiat in Columbus, Ohio borrowed $110,000 earlier this year to help them expand the vintage Italian car parts and service shop they have run for five years. The process took six months of diligent work, but the Brannons learned some valuable lessons about what it takes for small business owners to beat the odds and get funding during a downturn.

Two of their most important tactics for securing a coveted business expansion loan included making their plight known by publicizing their loan search through the press and other outlets as they were struggling through the process. They also worked on building relationships with potential funders by using contacts within their business network with ties to the banking industry. Combining different tactics helped them eventually attract investors and fulfill their dream of expansion.

Save Money with the 30-Minute Rule

The 30-Minute Rule has nothing to do with eating food off the floor.

It’s a way to keep your spending in check by curbing impulse shopping — especially important as some of us are starting to feel flush again.

Maybe you’ve just found a job after months of unemployment. Maybe you just feel like the economy is starting to wobble towards a recovery. It’s hard not to unleash all that pent-up desire to buy. But over-spending is not a habit we want to return to as a society.

The 30-Minute Rule is ridiculously simple….

Screwed: 8,000 at Johnson & Johnson

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

Today’s Total: 11,809

Johnson & Johnson plans to lay off up to 8,000 employees, affecting 6 to 8 percent of its global workforce…Royal Bank of Scotland will lay off 3,700 retail banking workers… 51 employees of the Fresno Bee‘s circulation department will lose their jobs…

Recession Briefing: Antarctica Gets $18.5 Million Stimulus

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

How far would you travel for a job? How about Antarctica? That’s where $18.5 million of stimulus money is ending up. (CNN/Money)

The Obama administration is intensifying its search for policies that can stoke job creation without adding significantly to the nation’s crippling budget deficit. (Washington Post)

The Senate and House are poised to agree on a compromise measure to extend unemployment benefits that also would expand a popular $8,000 tax credit for homebuyers. (New York Times)…