Economists Pessimistic About the Rest of 2010

From today’s New York Times:

Many economists — concerned about the sluggish pace of job creation, dwindling housing activity and decelerating retail sales — say that slowdown is continuing this summer and have recently downgraded their expectations for the second half of the year.

Read more here.

How to Bootstrap Your New Business Wisely

Starting a business is tough—and that goes double when you’re starting a business in an economic environment this challenging. If you’re bootstrapping (and chances are good that you’re using your own money to fund the company) it’s important to use your resources as efficiently as possible, You want to protect your capital but also invest where it counts most. I’ve been helping businesses for years, and here is what successful bootstrappers know:

Control fixed expenses

At some point—usually when you need to bring other people aboard to accommodate growth—you’ll probably need an office. Until then, work from home and use e-mail and cell phones to communicate, so you can minimize fixed expenses like office space and furniture…

Entrepreneurship is Declining, Survey Says

Start-up activity, which got a boost from the recession as millions of people looked for new work opportunities or rethought their careers, is on the slide. According to a new survey by executive outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas, 3.7 percent of job seekers were looking to start something up in the first half of 2010. That’s a big drop from the 7.6 percent in the first half of 2009. That’s a low point since 1986, when the company began tracking this stuff.

What gives? It could be that more people are getting jobs and…

Big Layoffs at Wells Fargo and Merck

Two major companies announced major changes today. San Francisco bank Wells Fargo is eliminating 3,800 jobs as part of a “restructuring”–a small number compared to the 278,000 who work for the company, but big for the people who will lose jobs. More than 638 independent consumer finance offices will be closed.

Meanwhile, pharma firm Merck is closing eight plans and eight research sites, including two outposts in the US. It’s canning a whopping 16,000…

The Hard Truth about Fat-Cat CEO’s

Sometimes Recessionwire carries a certain bias, one that supports the out-of-worker and opposes the big, bad CEO. As a fair and balanced news source, we find it necessary to provide the reader a glimpse of both sides of the coin. What really goes on in the life of some of the world’s most powerful people? To find out, we get the perspective of the CEO of DASSCC (Dynamic Analysts and Synergetic Systems Consultants Corporation), Peter B. Gibbonsworth, in a segment we like to call: Myth…And Busted…

Screwed: 2,000 at Chevron

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

Today’s Total: 5,788

Chevron will lay off 2,000 workers this year… The financial crisis described by Westchester County Exec Rob Astorino may result in up to 1,600 county layoffs… Irish airline Aer Lingus is laying off 670 employees under a new restructuring plan…the Montgomery County Public School System in Alabama is axing 600 people…St. Mary’s paper in Canada will let go 300….Ceva Logistics in Indiana is letting go all 200 employees…The Minnesota Department of Human Services will cut 200 jobs from a mental illness care program… 110 workers have been temporarily laid off as Sierra Pacific Industries abridge operations at the Chinese Camp, CA cedar mill…NRG Energy will eliminate 70 jobs in Connecticut… 20 police officers are in danger of being laid off in Atlantic City… 18 special education teachers have been laid off from the D.C. School System… The Daily Press, subsidiary of the Tribune Co., will be instituting about 10 percent employee layoffs among the staff of 84…

How to Keep Your Job by Becoming Irreplaceable

At the risk of stating the obvious, skill, talent, and seniority no longer guarantee job security. And blackmail and corporate espionage aren’t great alternative strategies — it’s generally better to get canned than to get jailed.

But there are ways to you reduce your chances of getting targeted during the next round of layoffs. After all, every workplace has a few key players whose bosses believe the place couldn’t run without them — whether it’s the person who can run a finicky fax machine or the only staffer who maintains a good rapport with a difficult client. These people tend to be the same ones who avoid layoffs time and time again.

You can become one of them — without a lot of hard work but with a good dose of sucking up. Here are five other tips to follow…

Recession Briefing: Why Yellow Lights Are Shorter

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

Some cash-strapped cities have been shortening yellow lights in order to nab more drivers with tickets — and raise revenue. (AlterNet)

A little-noticed effect of the recession is the incredible shrinking work shift. Millions of workers are taking multiple part-time or freelance jobs, jumping back and forth repeatedly between work, other pursuits and more work. These weird schedules are creating new challenges. (Wall Street Journal)

In an era of populist outrage and nearly double-digit unemployment, the average Wall Street bonus jumped 25% in 2009 to $123,850 as financial firms rebounded from the recession with help from U.S. taxpayers’ money. (USA Today)…

Why Entrepreneurs Aren’t Risk Lovers

Successful entrepreneurs need to have an outsized appetite for risk. They have to thrill to danger, relish the idea that they might lose it all with one roll of the dice.

Right?

Wrong, obviously, or we wouldn’t have written it that way. (Also, we probably would not have started a business.)

Many people have debunked those ideas, most recently Malcolm Gladwell, writing in the New Yorker. Using as examples Ted Turner and John Paulson, who famously made billions betting against the housing bubble, he argues that successful entrepreneurs are not braver than everyone else. Instead, they are very good at finding opportunities to minimize risk so they don’t have to be brave….

What Do You Know about the Brand ‘You’?

Personal branding is essential, whether you are just starting out in your first job, or moving up a rung on the career ladder. It’s something you need to work on so when you ask yourself the question, “Who am I?” you’ll know the answer and be able to communicate it clearly and concisely.

Some people confuse their personal brand with their “elevator speech.” The term “elevator speech” trivializes an important process that will help you understand exactly what makes you stand out from the crowd.

Your brand influences how important internal and external audiences, including your boss, your customers and prospects perceive you and what they think you have to offer them. Another way of understanding branding is that it’s the words you would want people to use in describing you.

Branding is what sets you apart from your competition. Let’s look at the brands of some famous companies and people. FedEx, for example, is positioned as the company that you can rely on to deliver your package by 10:30 tomorrow morning. Absolutely, positively. Google is the leader in search, and continues to be. The advent of new competition has hardly made a dent in its market share….