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Recession Briefing: Sin Is In

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

More people are turning to vice amid the recession. “People are staying up until the wee hours of the morning, there’s an increase in smoking, drinking and sexual behaviors like surfing porn and using hookers,” confirms Jonathan Alpert, a psychotherapist and relationship columnist. (Forbes)

A different breed of house flipper has begun to proliferate: one who seeks bargains at foreclosure auctions. Unlike the boom-time flippers, the latest generation needs cold cash, lots of local-market knowledge and strong nerves. (Wall Street Journal)

Economic analyst Ed Yardeni runs the numbers on the effect of the economic stimulus on jobs and determines that the Obama administration has spent $246,436 per job saved or created based on the $157.8bn that has been awarded so far. (Reuters)

As Obama gives a big speech on employment today, 14 attendees at last week’s White House jobs summit, including Robert Reich and FedEx founder Fred Smith, reveal what they told the president. (The Daily Beast)

“It’s important not to make too much out of a single economic data point. But Friday’s monthly jobs report may be even better news than it seems,” writes Daniel Gross. (Slate)

These tough economic times may have at least one positive side effect: they might be encouraging greater family solidarity. The US divorce rate fell during the first full year of what might be called the Great Recession. That’s the first such decline since 2005. (Christian Science Monitor)

A growing legion of unemployed older workers say the recession is leading them on a path toward early retirement — whether they like it or not. (Wall Street Journal)

House Democrats are seeking to tap the government’s massive bailout fund to help homeowners who have lost their jobs and are struggling to make their mortgage payments. (Washington Post)

The New Year’s resolution for most employers will be to keep staff levels stable during the first quarter of 2010, according to a report released Tuesday. (CNN/Money)

The recession has led to a growth in the “sandwich generation” of middle-aged women forced to care for their children and parents, a U.K. think tank has said. (Telegraph)

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Tags: economy, jobs, News, politics, real estate, The Unemployed Life