David Hirschman
Recession Briefing 12.29: Goldman Sucks
What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.
Some of the more tangible expressions of populist rage at Wall Street and Washington over the financial crisis are on t-shirts and other collectibles. Angry, snarky designs came fast and furious in 2009, going after Goldman Sachs , the financial industry bailout, President Obama’s economic policies, and many more. (Business Insider)
Mohamed El-Erian, chief executive of giant bond manager Pimco, says that we shouldn’t trust the nascent economic recovery. “We’re on a sugar high,” El-Erian says. “It feels good for a while but is unsustainable.” (Associated Press)
It was a rough year for Ponzi schemes. In 2009, the recession unraveled nearly four times as many of the investment scams as fell apart in 2008. (Associated Press)…
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)…
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)…
Recession Briefing 12.23: In Bank Closings, FDIC Gets Booty
What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.
The recession pushed U.S. bank failures in 2009 to a 17-year high. As a result, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to close came into possession of some interesting booty, including a rapper’s tour bus that reeked of marijuana, a red 2001 Ferrari, an eight-foot palm tree and stacks of unwanted office furniture. (Bloomberg)
In these final shopping days, many parents are reconciling their practical concerns with a deep desire to see delight in their children’s faces on Christmas morning. Spending on gifts is down, but that does not always mean children will feel the difference. (Washington Post)
In states hit hard by the housing crisis, stripping fixtures and appliances from homes in foreclosure has become commonplace. Often, the stripping is not done by strangers. It is done by the owner, just before the bank forecloses on the mortgage and takes the property back. (New York Times)…
Recession Briefing 12.22: No Time for Crime
What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.
High unemployment. More people needing government vouchers for food. Fewer owning their homes. Yet for all the signs of recession, something is missing: More crime. (Associated Press)
The recession’s jobless toll is draining unemployment-compensation funds so fast that according to federal projections, 40 state programs will go broke within two years and need $90 billion in loans to keep issuing the benefit checks. (Washington Post)
A growing number of community banks that got federal bailouts are failing to pay quarterly dividends they owe to the government, including two banks that got aid after congressional intervention on their behalf. (Washington Post)…
Recession Briefing 12.21: Happy Holidays! No Foreclosures
What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.
Mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are suspending foreclosures and evictions for about two weeks in a temporary break for borrowers during the holiday season. (Associated Press)
In nearly 200 years of recorded stock-market history, no calendar decade has seen such a dismal performance as the 2000s. Investors would have been better off investing in pretty much anything else, from bonds to gold or even just stuffing money under a mattress. (Wall Street Journal)
The recession has accentuated what was already a growing home-energy challenge for low-income and many middle-class households across the nation. Rising numbers have had their utilities shut off, causing desperate scrambles to pay arrears and penalties to get them restored. (New York Times)…
Recession Briefing 12.18: Christmas Wallets Opening Up
What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.
The average amount of money Americans predict they will spend on Christmas gifts this season is now $743, up from last month’s estimate and a healthy increase over Americans’ Christmas spending forecast at this time a year ago. (Gallup)
Are you wondering why you’re not getting as many holiday cards this year? The U.S. Postal Service says there was an 11% decline in cancellations of first-class cards and letters from Dec. 1-13 — when most Americans mail holiday cards — compared to 2008. (USA Today)
About 1.7 million homeowners were on the verge of foreclosure in the fall, a looming “shadow inventory” of homes that will be put up for sale in the coming years and weigh down prices, a report said. (Associated Press)…
Recession Briefing 12.17: Months at the Museum
What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.
Admissions at the majority of art museums in the US have been holding steady through the recession — and many are dramatically on the rise. Two-thirds of museums surveyed have experienced a clear increase in visitor numbers over the past three years. (Art Newspaper)
Businesses don’t expect American consumers to return to their spendthrift ways anytime soon. They see consumers emerging from the punishing downturn with a new mind-set: careful, practical, more socially conscious and embarrassed by flashy shows of wealth. (Wall Street Journal)
Despite an official unemployment rate of 27 percent, the real jobs problem in Detroit may be affecting half of the working-age population, thousands of whom either can’t find a job or are working fewer hours than they want. (Detroit News)…
Recession Briefing 12.16: Sad Santas at the Mall
What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.
The recession is bumming out mall Santas as many children are asking for essentials such as clothing and jobs for their moms and dads rather than the usual toys and games. (Wassau Herald)
Many of the lasting scars of the recession of 2008-09 are clearly understood. The world’s economic output will be persistently lower, the balance of economic power has shifted towards emerging economies, and governments face years of repair work on their budgets. But the social scars are potentially deeper, longer-lasting and harder to quantify. (Financial Times)
A 2% mortgage? A growing number of homeowners are getting dream workouts on their mortgages, and nearly 80% of all loan modifications resulted in lower payments in the second quarter. (CNN/Money)…
Recession Briefing 12.9: Will Jobs Really Come Back?
What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.
“What if the job losses this time around aren’t temporary, the ‘ebb’ part of the ebb and flow of the business cycle?” Caroline Baum asks. “What if employers are hacking away at their permanent workforce?” (Bloomberg)
The recession has slashed U.S. output of planet warming gases and puts the country on track to reach President Barack Obama’s short-term emissions goal, but cutting the pollution further will take more effort as the economy recovers. (Reuters)
One of the oddest phenomena of the boom years was how kitchen appliances quickly morphed into sexy, high-maintenance trophies. These high-flying days flickered out when the real estate market imploded, but they may come back. (The Big Money)…
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