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Recession Briefing: Bull Market Turns One Year Old

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

On Wednesday investors will celebrate the first birthday of the current bull market — the one born a day after stocks hit rock bottom on March 9, 2009, ending the second-worst stock market meltdown in history. (USA Today)

The percentage of workers who said they have less than $10,000 in savings grew to 43% in 2010, from 39% in 2009, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s annual Retirement Confidence Survey. (CNN/Money)

Millions of Americans have been forced to rely on unemployment payments for extended periods as the nation struggles through its longest period of high joblessness in a generation, and critics are taking aim, saying that the Depression-era program created as a temporary bridge for laid-off workers is turning into an expensive entitlement. (Washington Post)

The economic recession in Canada has improved the working relationship between employees and their bosses with one-third of employees saying they are more loyal to their employer. (Financial Post)

Despite increasing awareness of gender disparities in the workplace, women at many of the world’s top companies continued to lag behind their male peers in many areas, including pay and opportunities for professional advancement. (New York Times)

Though it may come as a surprise to many Americans, key aspects of the policies enacted by embattled Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner have actually been successful, according to two new profiles. (Huffington Post)

Detroit is drawing up a radical renewal plan that calls for turning large swaths of this now-blighted, rusted-out city back into fields and farmland. (Associated Press)

“In truth, ‘too big to fail’ is not the worst thing we should fear — our financial institutions are now on their way to becoming ‘too big to save,’” writes Simon Johnson. (Baseline Scenario)

Optimism about the economy is among several factors pushing crude oil and gas prices up again. (New York Times)

Is the Treasury Department finally going to help homeowners who owe more than their homes are worth get out from underwater? Maybe, maybe not. (Huffington Post)

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Tags: gender, layoffs, The Unemployed Life, Wall Street