Recession Briefing 9.17: Grocers Feeling the Pinch

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

Supermarket prices are plunging as the global downturn drives down the cost of staples such as wheat, corn and milk and grocers fight for the wallets of penny-pinching consumers. (Washington Post)

In the economic downturn, teenagers around the world have focused their spending cuts on clothes, games and food, according to a survey by a social networking site. (Reuters)

A Wells Fargo employee is now out of a job after spending the summer partying in a foreclosed mansion in Malibu. (Washington Post/EconomyWatch)…

The Recession Will End … When Trust is Restored in the Financial Industry

Says who: JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon

“No discussion of the future of the financial system can be complete without an acknowledgment of the industry’s responsibility to re-earn the trust of the American people. How do we earn trust back? First, company leadership must foster a culture within their institutions that focuses on integrity, strong execution, quality products, long-term value creation, and doing the right thing. Rewards have to track real, sustained, risk-adjusted performance. Golden parachutes, special contracts, and unreasonable perks must disappear. There must be a relentless focus on risk management that starts at the top of the organization and permeates down to the entire firm. This should be business-as-usual, but at too many places, it wasn’t.” (via WSJ)

Why it might be false: Restoring trust in an industry that brought down the global economy will probably be so tough that we’ll see growth in other key sectors of the economy before there’s actual, real trust here…

Recession Briefing 8.31: Men’s Underwear Sales Dip

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

The recession is taking its toll on New York’s cocaine dealers: “You’re gonna find me at the post office if this goes on for much longer,” says one. (New York/Daily Intel)

Sales of men’s underwear typically are stable because they rank as a necessity. But during times of severe financial strain, men will try to stretch the time between buying new pairs, causing underwear sales to dip. (Washington Post)

To help pare their budgets, more Americans are bypassing the salon and opting to lop off their own locks. The results, can be shear disaster — clogged drains, fresh cowlicks and crooked trims. (Wall Street Journal)…