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Recession Briefing 12.28: Downturn Upends Courts

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

New York State’s courts are closing the year with 4.7 million cases — the highest tally ever — and new statistics suggest that courtrooms are now seeing the delayed result of the country’s economic collapse. (New York Times)

After a year of observing their parents pinch pennies and fret about the economy, the nation’s teenagers may be coming to grips with reality. Sales are down sharply in recent months at nearly every major retail chain catering to teenagers, and interviews with teenagers suggest that the reasons go beyond their own difficulty finding part-time jobs. (New York Times)

Economist Paul Krugman said on Sunday that there’s a “reasonably high chance” the economy will contract in the second half of next year. (ABC via Huffington Post)

The recession has caused a seismic shift in the consumer culture, converting die-hard spenders into savers. A growing number of people are scrambling to get out of debt, establish emergency funds, and add to their retirement and savings accounts. (Washington Post)

At best, it could take until the middle of the decade for the nation to generate enough jobs to drive down the unemployment rate to a normal 5 or 6 percent and keep it there. (Associated Press)

Only as the recession recedes will it become fully evident how permanently the state’s role has expanded and whether, as a consequence, a new, hybrid strain of American capitalism is emerging. (Wall Street Journal)

Bartering is alive and well today, as businesses starving for customers and perhaps short on capital are trading everything from “pizzas to buildings,” according to Barbara Martin, a regional vice president for bartering agency International Monetary Systems. (Indianapolis Star) Check out our bartering guide. (Recessionwire)

One of the American worker’s hallmarks has long been mobility — the speed with which people have pulled up stakes and moved for the sake of better opportunities. But the recession has created conditions that tethered many more people where they are and making mobility difficult or even impossible. (Chicago Tribune)

Britain’s battered economy got a £2 billion boost over the weekend with bargain-hunters expected to spend 40% more at post-Christmas sales than last year. (Mirror)

For many women, penny-pinching is taking the place of personal beautification this holiday season. Hair and nail salons around Southern California say they’ve seen a drop in business as customers pull back on services such as pedicures, haircuts and massages. (Herald-Sun)

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Tags: economy, family, News, recovery, The Unemployed Life