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Recession Briefing: Goodbye, Tavern on the Green

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

Despite extensive government intervention in the housing market, some policy makers at the Federal Reserve are worried that even more might need to be done. (New York Times)

The aftershocks from deep recessions reverberate for years, even decades, and take an enduring toll on everything from government finances to countless upended individual lives. What economist John Irons calls “economic scarring” will long serve as a reminder of the 2007-09 recession. (USA Today)

Lacking a license and loaded with debt, Tavern on the Green, the glittery New York City eatery, went dark after a final champagne-drenched fete on New Year’s Eve. On Jan. 13 relics of the shuttered restaurant will be auctioned off over three days. (Wall Street Journal)

On Wednesday, the Council of Better Business Bureaus released a list of what it considered the top scams of the 2009. According to the bureau, many of the scams targeted people hard hit by the recession like the unemployed or those living in areas where the housing crisis has been most severe. (New York Times/Bucks)

While much of the business world struggled with cutbacks and layoffs during 2009, many people saw opportunity. Undaunted by the recession, they started their own companies. (Associated Press)

The number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment insurance rose modestly last week, but the figure still came in below analysts’ expectations. There were 434,000 initial jobless claims filed in the week ended Jan. 2, up 1,000 from the previous week. (CNN/Money)

Freelance writing fees — beginning with the Internet but extending to newspapers and magazines — have been spiraling downward for a couple of years and reached what appears to be bottom in 2009. Today’s reality is that much of freelancing has become all too free. (Los Angeles Times)

The recession and the super-rich: A Swiss private banker talks about the ugly consequences of the financial crisis for his elite clientele. (Der Spiegel)

As evidence mounts that the labor market is starting to improve, the most definitive sign of whether it’s turned the corner could come Friday morning with the scheduled release of a closely watched employment report. (Washington Post)

U.S. law enforcement agencies are reporting a surprising drop in crime last year, with homicide rates in some major cities plunging to levels not seen in four decades, despite the recession. (Reuters)

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Tags: entrepreneurs, Federal Reserve, housing, restaurants, scams, The Unemployed Life