The Year of One

Of all the year-ahead prediction lists we’ve seen out there, one caught our eye for its thoughtfulness and perception. Small Business Labs, the blog of Emergent Research, a trend analysis and forecasting firm, sees a coming year of going one’s own way, from individuals to businesses. The theme for this year may be “solo.”

1. The Shift to Contingent Workers Turns Employees into Entrepreneurs: Employers large and small are shifting from full-time employees to part-timers, freelancers, outsourced services, partnership arrangements and other forms of contingent workers. They are doing this to save money and increase business flexibility. Despite the economic recovery, 2010 will see the contingent workforce grow as companies continue to limit hiring of full time staff. Many of these contingent workers will create or work for small businesses.

2. Personal Businesses on the Rise: Enabled by the Internet and low-cost information technology, the number of personal businesses (one employee businesses) has grown twice as fast as the overall economy over the last decade and exceeds 22 million. With the unemployment rate remaining high and traditional employment options limited, 2010 will be another year of strong growth in the number of personal businesses. The growth in personal businesses will also result in an increase in overall small business formation and numbers in 2010.

..

Downturnaround Deals: Ski Vacations, Sirius, Shoes.com, Ann Taylor, MacAfee

If you’re going to spend, at least save a little doing it. To help, every week we post some great deals hand-picked by our friends at Savings.com.

Exclusive: $100 off plus one free night and ski day in Breckenridge at Southwest Vacations. (See more Southwest coupons.) Check out more ski bargains here.
Take 20% off sitewide with free shipping on $50 or more at Sirius. (See more Sirius coupons.)…

Recession Briefing: Wall Street Bigwigs Get Grilled

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

Comparing Wall Street titans to shady car salesmen, a committee investigating the financial crisis grilled the nation’s top bankers Wednesday in the latest example of Washington’s smoldering anger at an industry many there feel hasn’t atoned for its role in the slump. (Wall Street Journal)

President Obama plans to call on Thursday for taxing about 50 big banks and major financial institutions for at least the next decade to recoup all taxpayer losses from the bailout of Wall Street. (New York Times)

The last time the nation’s debt was this big compared with gross domestic product — 70.4% of GDP — was immediately following World War II. How did the Greatest Generation pare it down? It didn’t. It grew the economy faster than the debt, pushing down the debt-to-GDP ratio and making debt payments easier to manage. (USA Today)…

Screwed: 1,000 at Suncor

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

Today’s total: 975

Calgary-based energy company Suncor will cut another 1,000 jobs after laying off 1,000 in 2009…Pfizer is slashing 450 at the former Wyeth headquarters in Upper Providence, Penn. … More than 200 city workers could lose their jobs under a new budget proposed for Tempe, Ariz….

Cheapen Your Ski Time (in a Good Way!)

Ski season is here, but while skiing is a blast, it’s not exactly a cheap sport. Below, LearnVest’s tips on how to enjoy the slopes and save :

Get A Lift Ticket At Your Desk.

Our favorite site for this: Liftopia.com. We scored a pass for Jiminy Peak in Massachusetts for $29 (50% off). Savings: $29.
Fill ‘Er Up.

Some gas stations in ski-weather states offer deals, like the buy-one-get-one-free offer from Shell. Savings (if you ski at Monarch Mountain in Colorado): $46…

Recession Briefing: C.E.O.’s Start Apologizing

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

Since the job market’s peak in June 2007, there are approximately 50 percent fewer job openings for the 15.3 million U.S. citizens who are officially unemployed, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Huffington Post)

As America recovers from the recession, some of the nation’s chief executives are offering that rarest of statements — an apology. But often, their words are so carefully parsed, scrubbed by lawyers or picked over by public relations professionals that it is unclear just how much mea is in their culpa. (New York Times)

The $787 billion economic stimulus package was responsible for keeping between 1.5 million and two million jobs in the economy through the end of 2009, White House economists said Tuesday. (Wall Street Journal)…

Screwed: 240 at Avon

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

Today’s Total: 351

240 jobs will face elimination next month at Avon‘s distribution center in Glenview, Ill. … Dearborn Public Schools sent layoff notices to 30 teachers and assistant principals this past Monday. … Warner Bros. Interactive has laid off 25 employees from three of its Seattle-based studios. … In another round of layoffs, the Sacramento Bee will be laying off 25 staff by the end of January. … 19 jobs are being cut in Northern Berkshire Healthcare in Massachusetts. … In Reno, 12 non-union municipal workers have received layoff notices in an effort to level the budget shortage. … AOL plans to close some European offices while cutting an unknown number of U.S. jobs…

The Recession Will End… When Housing Gets Sorted

Just a few short weeks ago, it felt like we were through the worst of it – jobs seemed to be improving, retail sales were strong, banks were paying back their loans to the government. But then one niggling little issue emerged: the housing market is hardly in good shape.

The big question is when to buy. Prices surged in the summer and early fall, and so did sales, thanks to a government tax credit. That credit is due to expire in April, which, coupled with rising interest rates, could put the market at a standstill. Surely prices may fall, benefiting buyers, but there may be fewer homes on the market. And who wants a mortgage at a higher interest rate – if you even qualify? Banks are becoming more stringent, recommending mortgages be capped at no more than three times one’s annual income, with no less than 20% down…

Five Simple Ways to Improve Your Finances in 2010

There are no excuses left for not getting a good, firm grip on your money.

I’ll just earn more? Last year, even the richie-richest learned that cash doesn’t always keep rolling in.

I don’t know where to start? There are countless resources on the internet.

I don’t have time? There are great tools that will break it all down into steps that can take as little as a few minutes.

Learn your lesson from the recession, already, and get your financial ducks in a row. Start your year with these simple steps:

Get organized

Don’t know where to start? Our friends at LearnVest (one of Recessionwire’s content partners–hey Caroline Waxler!), are running a financial bootcamp this month…

Recession Briefing: Workers Liberated from Cubicles!

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

Two years of the Great Recession have done more to liberate workers from their offices than a decade of stressed-out employees pleading to telecommute. Dilberts worldwide are losing their cubes. (Global Post)

Even when the U.S. labor market finally starts adding more workers than it loses, many of the unemployed will find that the types of jobs they once had simply don’t exist anymore. (Wall Street Journal)

Wall Street firms aren’t the only banks that had a banner year. The Federal Reserve made record profits in 2009, as its unconventional efforts to prop up the economy created a windfall for the government. (Washington Post)…