Recession Blues Rot Big Apple

In throes of recession, rent dispute, the Big Apple landmark will shutter its dining hall

(NEWSER) - New York’s vaunted Rainbow Room will shut down its dining hall next week amid the recession and a rent conflict, the New York Daily News reports. With the Rainbow Grill’s closure, the tourist hotspot at 30 Rockefeller Plaza will—temporarily or otherwise—be 40 employees lighter and limited to a bar and banquet hall. "It's such a classic New York place," one fan laments. More»

But most remain upbeat about their future: Pew survey

(NEWSER) - The economy is doing a number on those aged 18 to 34, according to a new survey from the Pew Research Center :

• Half say they have taken a job they didn't want.
• More than a third have gone back to school because of the job market.
• Nearly a quarter have taken unpaid work to gain experience.
• About a quarter have moved back in with the folks.
• More than 1 in 5 have postponed having a baby, and about the same number have put off getting married.

More people may be drinking at home: CDC

(NEWSER) - The good news: According to self-reported data, Americans are driving drunk less often. The bad news: It may not be because we're more responsible, but because ... we're broke. The CDC data shows that self-reported drunk driving among adults was down 30% from 161 million instances in 2006 to about 112 million in 2010. Though the reasons are "not well understood," the CDC says the poor economy could be a factor, as more people drink at home. More»

LeHigh warehouse like something out of Grapes of Wrath , Ezra Klein observes

(NEWSER) - In the Grapes of Wrath, the Joad family gets a hard lesson in economics, when they follow a handbill for jobs to California—only to find there are no jobs. Why, he asks, did they put out the handbills? A fellow homeless man replies that if you’ve but one man for a job, you must pay him what he wants. “But s’pose they’s a hundred men wants that job. … Jus’ offer ‘em a nickel—why they’ll kill each other fightin’ for that nickel." One might dismiss that as another time and/or fiction, but Ezra Klein sees a modern example right in Pennsylvania. More»

Economists, builders, mortgage analysts fear 'lost decade'

(NEWSER) - Even more bad economic news from a report released today: Housing prices will remain depressed for years, dropping by an expected 2.5% this year and rising only 1.1% each year through 2015, according to the survey of more than 100 economists. Since the 2005 peak, housing prices have dropped 31.6%, so if this forecast plays out, prices will recover little of what has been lost—leading to what the Wall Street Journal calls a “lost decade.” In order to get the housing market back on its feet, the economy needs to add jobs, but that’s a difficult prospect when the economy, in turn, needs a job boost housing would typically provide. More»