Screwed: Hundreds at US Fidelis

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

Today’s Total: over 143

The Good News: More employers are said to be planning to hire in 2010.

The Bad News: US Fidelis in Missouri is laying off “hundreds” of workers…

Screwed: 115 at Jackson Rancheria Casino

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

Today’s Total: 118

The holiday hold-off continues, with almost no companies laying off workers in the week before Christmas and New Year’s…

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)…

Screwed: Nobody!

Good news for the holidays—it looks like companies were kind enough not to lay anyone off between Christmas Eve and today. If we’re wrong, email us and let us know.

Recession Briefing 12.11: McDonald’s Gets More Wallet-Friendly

McDonald’s is adding more dollar items to its breakfast menu, in an effort to jump-start sales that have been hit by the high jobless rate. (Reuters)

The Obama administration is proposing creating a new TARP program that gives banks access to government money without restrictions—as long as they use it to make loans to small businesses. (Washington Post)

Some businesses have been forced to close in Lake Oswego, Ore., but there has also been a small boom in new businesses thanks to the downturn. (The Oregonian)…

Recession Briefing 12.10: A 50 Percent Tax on British Bonuses

The British government wants to levy a one-time, 50-percent tax on banking bonuses over $41,000. “I am giving them a choice,” said Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling. “They can use their profits to build up their capital base. If they insist on paying substantial rewards, I am determined to claw money back for the taxpayer.” (BusinessWeek)

A new survey shows that employees are unhappy with the way they’ve been treated in the downturn, and many plan to quit their jobs next year. (Chicago Sun-Times)

The public thinks more highly of politicians, lawyers and insurance companies than bankers, thanks to their big bonuses and taxpayer bailouts. (Bloomberg)…

Recession Briefing 12.3: Families Going Rural

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

The recession is inspiring more young families and singles to head back to the country. Sometimes dubbed “ruralpolitans,” these city and town dwellers are looking at land as their new safe investment. (Wall Street Journal)

Some companies are banding together to save money by having group holiday parties. (New York Times)

Some 60 million adult Americans live without a bank account or use pawn shops and other non-bank operations to handle their finances, according to an FDIC report that called for an expansion of basic services to the “underbanked”. (Financial Times)

Recession Briefing 12.1: Only 12 Percent of Stimulus Spent??

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

Only $100 billion of the $787 billion stimulus package passed nine months ago has actually been spent by the federal government so far, with another $90 billion of stimulus coming in the form of tax reductions, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported. (Huffington Post)

The proliferation of underemployed workers could represent a profound reordering of the employment structure. Many people who had comfortable full-time jobs with benefits and advancement opportunities now are cobbling together smaller jobs often at lower pay. (Wall Street Journal)

Reviled by the public and spurned in private, more bankers have reportedly been looking for solace in adultery. IllicitEncounters.com said it has seen a huge increase in the number of financial workers signing up to have affairs after the collapse of the markets in October last year. (Reuters)…

Lemonade Maker: April McCray, from Real Estate to Cardboard Houses

Two years ago, April McCray, 38, got the feeling it was time to change careers. She’d been helping sell homes for a real estate developer in Palm Springs, California, but the market was fizzling and sales were getting scarce. She and her husband took their savings and started Color Me House, which makes cardboard forts for kids. She talked to us about how she came up with the idea, why they moved in with his parents, and how she got her products into Costco.

Did you quit your job or were you laid off?
My job pretty much quit itself. The builders were letting everyone go. People weren’t closing. I knew in three months there would be nothing left to be made. I’d left the office and was looking for a new place to go, but everywhere I went there was nothing. I knew that I was not a desired commodity any more and I was going to have to recreate yourself…

Kill the Recession with Your Brain

Tom Cruise tries to scootch ashtrays with his mind. Why not put yours towards something more…um, less freaky?

Over at her site, Escape from Cubicle Nation, Pamela Shim lays out ten ways you can stimulate the economy in your corner of the world. It’s straightforwad, non-Scientology stuff…