Cheeky New Ways to Connect

Have you been displaced by the downturn? Finding it hard to meet new peeps?

Perhaps this scene is familiar: You’re in a coffee shop, i.e., your new office. You notice a delightful specimen across the room immersed in your favorite novel. Handing off a business card on the way to the loo feels a little douchey. So you do nothing. Pretty soon, Mr./Ms. Sexy has vanished.

Missed connections. Opportunities wasted…

The Dust Clears, Women Rise

At Recessionwire, we call it “She-orientation” — a powerful, society-wide shift in which women are coming to play an increasingly important role in determining our economic, cultural, and political path. The trend has become evident in recent discussions of how to get more women into corporate boardrooms.

It may be that more skirts on Wall Street would have prevented the financial crisis. The dominance of adrenaline-fueled males on the Street, some argue, creates an atmosphere with less restraint and circumspection than an Animal House-style frat party…

The Upside: Era of New Frugality?

My Granddaddy Mitchell was a ‘Depression Man’ if there ever was one. He did not like to spend money. Ever. The term ‘eating out’ was not in his vocabulary. Nor was the word ‘vacation’. Each year at Christmas, he gave my sister and me a leather bag containing greasy-feeling pennies and nickels collected over a year’s time. His philosophy: you worked and you saved. Period. Granddaddy always seemed a little extreme, but today, his thrifty ways are back in style.

The Great Recession has given birth to a long-term trend of more disciplined and discerning shoppers, according to a new survey by Booz & Company. The study shows that frugality is “becoming entrenched consumer behavior that is reshaping consumption patterns in ways that will persist even as the economy rebounds.” Spending on beauty products is down, along with clothes, shoes, household products, and mobile phone service. Booz found that shoppers are less impulsive, do more research, and are more likely to clip coupons.

“Frugal behavior is now considered trendy,” said Matt Egol, a Booz & Company Partner. His colleague Andrew Clyde added that “this more cautious consumer approach to spending began even before the recession came into full swing but has since picked up speed.” Clyde further observed that “as the economy recovers, marketers need to better target their strategies to preserve the value of existing brands, and avoid destroying value through too blunt a competitive response across segments.”…

The Upside: A Better Way for B-Schools

The old ‘Greed is Good’ mantra of Wall Street may be going the way of big hair. A movement among business managers and executives of tomorrow to sign a voluntary pledge to uphold the common good today has created a soul-searching stir in academe and beyond…

5 Ideas for Frugal Summer Fun

Here comes the sun, and we’re all dreaming of pearly beaches and swaying palm trees. Summer frolicking doesn’t have to be expensive: Here are a few ways to enjoy the summer without digging too deeply into your pockets.

Plan a potluck barbecue:

Fire up the grill and have your friends over for a barbecue extravaganza. Cut down on costs by having each person bring something. Assign menu items like main dishes, salads, desserts, beverages, along with stuff like napkins and cups to make sure you have enough of everything. Turn ordinary hamburgers and hotdogs into a special treat by creating a topping bar that boasts snazzy items like fruit salsa or unusual hot sauces. For an inexpensive dessert, cut peaches or mangoes in half and put them flesh-down on the grill; then serve with a scoop of ice cream.

Take a hike:

Some parks charge entrance fees, but lots of prime hiking spots are free. Grab a good pair of shoes and a few friends and take off on a nature-lover’s adventure. Your city likely has nearby trailheads that can be accessed for an easy day hike. Spectacular parks around the country that you can access for nada include Great Basin National Park on the Nevada/Utah border, the Buffalo National River in Arkansas (fees only apply to camping), and Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve. There are plenty of choices for sturdy backpacks that won’t break the bank. At $75, the Teton Sports Wilderness 55 is a bargain, boasting a rainfly for the top and zippered side pockets…

Recession Lexicon: Bleakonomics

/n. “Bleakonomics” refers to the dire forecasts, depressing warnings, and otherwise gloomy chatter that’s still brewing beneath the recent round of cheerier economic predictions. The bleakonomists warn us that any sense of hope we feel is entirely unfounded. Recently, Havard’s Niall Ferguson announced that we are in a “slight depression”…

Your Happy Place: 5 Soothing Herbal Teas

Stress-reducing ideas for recessionary times.

Got a case of nerves? Butterflies in your stomach? This economy is making us all feel like nervous Nellies from time to time. Here are five soothing herbal teas that will leave you feeling calm and centered. Herbal teas are an inexpesive remedy for the nerves, but the act of preparing them and sipping them slowly is, in itself, a soothing activity.

Lavender:
My all time favorite. Once, I visited a lavender farm once in Maui, and the ensuing bliss stayed with me for weeks. Lavender tea is known for calming the nerves and promoting sleep. It’s also reputed to have anti-depressant properties. Infuse a handful of dried lavender flower in a pot of boiling water to make tea…

Redux: You Drive Me Crazy

Lynn Parramore looks back on the Great Depression to see the path ahead.

“God made the American restive. The American in turn and in due time got into the automobile and found it good.” –James Agee

The fascination with cars is as American as apple pie. Ever since Henry Ford’s Model T rolled off the assembly line and cars became accessible to the masses, we were hooked. By the mid-1920s, many working-class families could afford a car. By 1930, almost one in three Americans was the proud owner of an automobile.

Amid the ravages of the Recession, we’ve been hearing a lot about Chrysler, General Motors, and Ford. As the Big Three teeter on the edge of destruction, some folks are feeling waves of nostalgia, fondly remember having a Chevvy in the garage or their first time behind the wheel of a sleek Mustang.

Thinking of these cars gives us a twinge of regret.

But what about the Duesenberg, the Auburn, and the Cord?…

Star Trek ’09- A New Film for a New Frontier

Star Trek mania is sweeping the nation and giving a rocket-boost to the economy.

Theaters are selling out, with some viewers buying tickets for multiple screenings. Collectibles and books are moving briskly. A comic series introducing the film’s villain has flown off the shelves. Executives at Paramount are smiling, having seen their second biggest opening in the company’s history. On Rottentomatoes.com, the film has gotten an astonishing 96 % approval rating. The franchise, which had been in decline, is back, and hotter than a summer night on Vulcan.

What’s all the fuss about? When there’s a big bang in the pop culture universe, it tells us a lot about where we are as a society – our hopes, our fears, our aspirations…

Are We Getting Suckered?

When I was a little girl, I loved going to the bank with my mom because they always had suckers. Today I’m wondering if we are the suckers after the results of yesterday’s bank stress tests. The Treasury department gave all 19 major banks a passing grade based on economic assumptions that many find a wee bit cheerier than we have any right to expect in terms of housing prices, unemployment, and other factors. Did the public get hoodwinked into thinking that all is well in bank-land?

Some are taking the stress tests as a sign that the recession is slowing. In a New York Times op-ed, Geithner sounded confident, crowing that the tests “should advance the process of repairing our financial system and provide a better foundation for recovery.” But market analyst and commentator Marshall Auerback…