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Recession Briefing 12.24: Americans Are on the Move

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

In a sign of the recession’s power to reshape established demographic trends, the new census figures show that growth has slowed substantially in Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina, while in Florida, Nevada and California, more Americans moved out than in. (New York Times)

Ahead of the recession, some banks — including Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley — sold complex securities known as synthetic collateralized debt obligations and then made financial bets against them. As a result, they made money while their clients lost out. (New York Times)

At a lot of fancy restaurants these days, surprisingly little has changed in terms of food quality, price and service since the recession struck. So what’s missing? The diners. (Chicago Tribune)

Retailers have spent much of the holiday season adapting to the significant changes in consumer behavior that the recession has wrought. (Washington Post)

The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits last week declined to the lowest level since September 2008, signaling firings are easing as employers gain confidence in the economic recovery. (Bloomberg)

In the final dash, habitually late holiday shoppers are spurning the madness of malls and e-commerce sites and offering cash gifts instead as a practical, efficient gift during the economic crunch. (USA Today)

Bailed out banks aren’t required to pay back their TARP loans for five years, and smaller banks are happy to sit on the cheap money. Besides an unwillingness to repay taxpayers quickly, many small banks are simply unable to do so. (CNN/Money)

Adult Internet users now spend an average of 13 hours online each week and the poor economy is a big reason why. A new Harris Interactive poll found a “striking” increase in the amount of time spent online over the last two years, compared to all previous years. (Voice of Network Convergence)

“The recession shook our understanding of some policy matters to the core, leaving more questions than answers,” writes Don Drummond. (Reuters)

Consumers say they are feeling much less pessimistic in December than they were in November, thanks to widespread holiday sales and a more hopeful outlook on jobs and the economy, according to a study released Wednesday. (Los Angeles Times)

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Tags: banks, jobs, retail, shopping, Wall Street