US Recession Will Slow World Economy: IMF

(NEWSER) - Pawn shops are turning from the shady realm of the lower class to a place for rich people to get loans, the Wall Street Journal reports. The typical household income of a pawn shop customer is $29,000, but new middle- and upper-class clients are surging. One such client pawned a $9,000 fur coat to buy private-school uniforms. Some pawn shop owners are reporting 30%-40% increases in transactions. More»

Ministers endorse more transparency, but not coordinated action

(NEWSER) - Group of Seven finance ministers ended 3 days of meetings in Washington yesterday by endorsing a plan to create greater transparency and oversight in financial markets to avert future crises, but no emergency measures to stem the current one. Despite a downbeat report on the likelihood of worldwide recession, and even hunger riots as the cost of food continues to soar, responses to the credit crisis remain national responsibilities, writes the Wall Street Journal. More»

Recession left 'gaping wounds' says IMF head

(NEWSER) - To those who think the worst of the recession is over, the head of the IMF has this to say: "We are not safe." An astounding 30 million jobs have been lost since the beginning of the financial crisis , three-quarters of those in richer economies, a new report shows. This "wasteland of unemployment," now at 210 million worldwide, puts both the United States and Europe at serious risk of a social revolt, says the IMF's Dominique Strauss-Kahn . More»

Former Fed chief takes heat on Capitol Hill

(NEWSER) - Alan Greenspan is taking more heat on Capitol Hill today as a three-day series of hearings begins on the economic meltdown. “What we tried to do was the best we could with the data that we had,” the former Fed chief told the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission. “Did we make mistakes? Of course we made mistakes." But he defended the central bank's efforts and said it was "quite active in pursuing consumer protections for mortgage borrowers," reports Bloomberg . More»

Tenuous 3.5% growth is best showing in two years

(AP) - The economy grew at a 3.5% pace in the third quarter, the best showing in two years, fueled by government-supported spending on cars and homes. The Commerce Department's report today delivered the strongest signal yet that the economy entered a new, though fragile, phase of recovery and that the worst recession since the 1930s has ended. More»