Cheer Up! Recession Has a Bright Side

Store closings rise along with gas prices, foreclosures

(NEWSER) - Soaring gas prices and a still-boiling housing crisis are taking their toll on America's smaller retailers, with store bankruptcies and vacancy rates rising steadily as customers avoid impulse-buys that once fueled the industry's rapid expansion, reports AP. Vacancies hover between 7% and 8%, up from 5% just six months ago—and some analysts predict rates as high as 12.5% by the end of 2008. More»

Gas, airfare up 20% from a year ago

(NEWSER) - Tens of millions of Americans are now on the move for Thanksgiving, but the soaring cost of travel is keeping many others at home. Some 42.5 million Americans are expected to drive, fly, or ride trains over the holiday, and gas prices are up almost 20% from last year, according to AAA, as is the cost of a round-trip plane ticket on the top 40 US routes. Most Amtrak fares are also up from a year ago, but only by 2% to 5%. More»

Economy grew just 1.3% over past three months

(NEWSER) - We already knew the Great Recession was the worst in decades, but in fact we were even worse off than we thought, new figures show. The economy shrank 5.1% over the course of the recession, from 2007 to 2009—1 percentage point worse than the earlier estimate of 4.1%, the AP reports. Only two in the past 10 recessions saw a squeeze of more than 3%. And yes, the economy is now growing—but it expanded only 1.3% from April to June, the Commerce Department said, lower than expected. More»

DC is No. 1, but Texas has a bunch in the top 10

(NEWSER) - The number-crunchers at Forbes have come up with a list of the top cities where the recession is easing. The formula takes into account projected job growth and housing prices. Here's the list:

1. (tie) Washington, DC-Arlington-Alexandria
2. (tie) Austin-Round Rock
3. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
4. (tie) Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington
5. (tie) Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown

Americans stay home or scale back vacation plans

(NEWSER) - The weak economy is taking a toll on Americans' plans for holiday travel, forcing cash-strapped would-be vacationers to alter trips or abandon them altogether. A recent poll found that, of those who planned to travel more than 100 miles for the holidays, a third said they had been forced to abandon plans because of financial concerns, while 35% of the remaining travelers said they were changing their plans to cut costs—driving instead of flying, or traveling to a closer destination. More»