Is It Recession?

Obama Must Forget Agenda, Fix Economy

Washington Post  |  Dec 1, 08 1:55 PM CST

(Newser) - When Barack Obama takes office, he’ll have to decide whether he wants to revive the economy, or pursue his policy agenda. “The two approaches are at odds,” writes Robert Samuelson in the Washington Post . Yes, Obama could say energy and health reform will improve the economy, but these initiatives will be “at best distractions,” and at worst legislative battles the US can’t afford. More »

US Already a Year Into Recession: Economists

MarketWatch  |  Dec 1, 08 12:51 PM CST

(Newser) - The US economy has been in a recession since employment peaked in December 2007, a committee of economists declared today. However, MarketWatch notes, the private National Bureau of Economic Research rejects the traditional metric that recession is defined as consecutive quarters of GDP decline, opting instead to look at four key monthly indicators, including employment, industrial output, and sales. More »

Mayors Make Pitch for Piece of Stimulus Pie

Politico  |  Dec 1, 08 10:51 AM CST

(Newser) - For American mayors, economic crisis means a chance to hit up the feds for a buck, Politico reports. The US Conference of Mayors has compiled a list of 4,600 projects that would create 261,000 jobs in 154 cities; the plan currently totals $90 billion, but an official said cities could easily get $180 billion as Barack Obama ups federal spending to create jobs. More »

Forget the Deficit: Spend, Spend, Spend!

New York Times  |  Dec 1, 08 9:07 AM CST

(Newser) - As the incoming administration prepares a massive fiscal stimulus to jolt America's floundering economy back to life, some are worrying about what billions in spending will do to the budget deficit. On the contrary, writes Paul Krugman in the New York Times : Deficit spending now will help, not harm, the country's long-term prospects, and worrying about the deficit during a crisis is both misguided and dangerous. More »

Brits Turn to Sex for Cheap Thrills

BBC  |  Dec 1, 08 3:41 AM CST

(Newser) - For those who can't afford to shop during the holidays, the British offer a suggestion: have sex instead. Love-making topped a list of increasingly popular cost-free activities, followed by window shopping and gossiping—which beat out sex among women—in a survey of 2,000 Brits. The findings coincide with a recent boost in condom sales, BBC reports. More »

Meet India's New Security Chief

Wall Street Journal  |  Nov 30, 08 5:38 PM CST

(Newser) - A shakeup following the Mumbai terror attacks has put India's finance minister in charge of security, the Wall Street Journal reports. As home minister, ex-finance chief Palaniappan Chidambaram is expected to forge an anti-terror task force and may station commandos around the country. His predecessor, who had spoken repeatedly of a maritime terrorist threat to India, took responsibility for the attacks and resigned. More »

Job-Hunting Execs Find It Tight at the Top

Time  |  Nov 29, 08 12:39 PM CST

(Newser) - Laid-off execs scrambling to find new six-figure salaries are facing fierce competition, Time reports. Thousands of high-end white-collar jobs have vanished recently, and many more are expected to go. Some top-level vacancies are still appearing, as execs retire or change jobs, but companies looking to fill their most powerful positions are finding it's definitely an employer's market. More »

Noonan: Be Thankful We Don't See This

Wall Street Journal  |  Nov 28, 08 1:10 PM CST

(Newser) - This Thanksgiving, Peggy Noonan is thankful for what she’s not seeing. Despite the relentless glut of negative economic news, “everything looks the same,” she writes in the Wall Street Journal . There is no one selling pencils in the street, no children lining up in bread lines. “It’s as if the news is full of floods, but we haven’t seen it rain.” More »

Shoppers Can't Halt Commercial Mortgage Crisis

Associated Press  |  Nov 28, 08 9:02 AM CST

(AP) - Black Friday shoppers hunting for holiday bargains won't be enough to stave off what's likely to become the next economic crisis. Malls from Michigan to Georgia are entering foreclosure, commercial victims of the same events poisoning the housing market. Hotels in Tucson, Ariz., and Hilton Head, SC, also are about to default on their mortgages. More »

Downturn Derails Dell's Turnaround

Wall Street Journal  |  Nov 28, 08 8:17 AM CST

(Newser) - Shifting consumer demand and the sagging economy spell trouble for Dell's turnaround strategy, the Wall Street Journal reports. Founder Michael Dell had been making progress since returning to the company last year with a two-pronged rescue plan, but weak sales mean his goals of cutting costs at the low end of the PC market while developing high-end gadgets are starting to conflict. More »

Food Banks See Spike in Demand

Associated Press  |  Nov 27, 08 5:24 PM CST

(AP) - As millions of American families gathered to give thanks for what they have, food banks and shelters struggled to cope with a spike in demand for their services. "Food bank after food bank tells me it's new faces, people they haven't seen before," says one charity spokesman in Chicago. "They will tell you it's the worst it's ever been." More »

Wall Street's Doom Years in the Making

Portfolio  |  Nov 27, 08 4:00 PM CST

(Newser) - When he wrote Liar’s Poker in 1989, Michael Lewis figured the end of Wall Street was near. After all, it had hired him, a 24-year-old with neither experience nor interest in finance. “Sooner rather than later,” he writes in Portfolio , “someone was going to identify me, along with a lot of people more or less like me, as a fraud.” Now, decades later, Wall Street’s stupidity has finally brought it low. More »

Another Casualty of Financial Crisis: Divorce