DIY Projects Go Frugal

(NEWSER) - Markets rose significantly today on indications of a turnaround in the housing sector, the Wall Street Journal reports, with an industry confidence metric at its highest since September 2008. Financials—Bank of America was up 9.8%—led the S&P to a symbolic close above 900. The Dow was up 235.44 to 8,504.08. The S&P rose 26.83 to 909.70. And the Nasdaq gained 52.22, ending at 1,732.36. More»

Profits drop 27%, and the company says 2008 isn't looking very bright

(NEWSER) - Continuing US housing market woes, showing no signs of letting up, helped drag Home Depot’s fourth quarter profits down 27% over the same quarter last year, to $671 million from $925 million. The world’s largest home-improvement retailer also predicted fiscal-year earnings will drop 19% to 24%, more than twice the decline analysts had expected, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»

Recession isn't over as far as consumers are concerned

(NEWSER) - If the recession is indeed waning, nobody told consumers. Retailers of every kind reported lousy sales for the quarter ended Aug. 1, the Wall Street Journal reports. Target’s same-store sales fell 6.2%, Home Depot’s dropped 9.1% and Saks’ plummeted a whopping 15.5%. And with unemployment, stagnant wages, and tight credit squeezing shoppers, executives don’t expect to see improvement until next spring. More»

From hairdressing to gardening, 'insourcing' is hot

(NEWSER) - The recession is prompting Americans to forgo luxuries—and that means doing for themselves what they would once have paid someone else to do, the Washington Post reports. Starter sewing-kit sales have soared 30%; landscapers are losing business; customers are forsaking salons to dye their own hair. The trend is popular enough for marketers to have named it “insourcing.” More»

Figures reveal first 'double-dip' recession since '70s

(NEWSER) - More bad news for Britain's beleaguered government: The country slid back into recession in the first quarter of this year, according to figures released today. The economy shrank for the second straight quarter, marking the first "double-dip" recession, in which GDP falls before output lost in the previous recession is recovered, since the mid-70s, Bloomberg reports. The British economy shrank 7.1% in the 2008-2009 recession and recovery since has been weak and fitful. More»