The prices of commodities has dropped from their peaks of last year, yet food makers are not reducing consumer prices, reports Marketplace. Now this is rather funny, and familiar.
economy
Insurer To 17-Year-Old: Your Parents Lied On Application, Good Luck Paying Your Bills
By 9.21.09
The Chicago Tribune says that when 17-year-old Brianna Rice was diagnosed with celiac disease in February — she had insurance. Her insurance company, however, has rescinded that coverage because her parents allegdly lied on her application — by neglecting to mention her troubling medical history of dizziness, elevated cholesterol levels, ongoing fatigue and a persistent cough.
Underwear Index Shows Economy Not Bulging Just Yet
By 9.21.09
Forget GDP growth, the unemployment rate and even the Big Mac Index. If you want to know how the economy is really doing, and you’re male, just open your fly. (Note: We don’t recommend doing this at work.) According to the Men’s Underwear Index, if your underwear is relatively new, the recovery is on the way. If not, well, we really don’t want to know about it.
Chrysler Executive Has Fallen On Hard Times, Too
By 9.20.09
Are you struggling financially these days? You’re certainly not alone, and you even have something in common with Jim Press, one of Chrysler’s top executives. Press, hit hard by the housing market collapse and the lack of bonuses from Chrysler as the company failed, faces debts including a $800,000 unsecured personal loan and a $947,000 federal tax lien on his home.
Strippers Fight Financial Exploitation With Lawsuit
By 9.19.09
Massachusetts strippers have filed lawsuits against the clubs that employ them, claiming exploitation…of the financial kind. As the economy worsened, clubs tried to take a larger cut of dancers’ falling tip incomes.
China Wants Us For Our "Jumbo, Juicy" Chicken Feet
By 9.18.09
The waters of international trade with the Chinese are perilous and murky to say the least. Sometimes it seems that all we do is buy, buy, buy. Not so. We do have something that the Chinese want. Chicken feet. Apparently, our chicken feet are awesome.
Newsflash: The Next Tsunami Of Aggressively Irresponsible Loans Didn't Magically Disappear
By 9.18.09
We’ve been talking about the next wave of the mortgage crisis for quite some time now, and it seems that, as predicted, it’s cresting and about to hit. We are, of course, speaking of Option-ARM loans — considered the riskiest of all mortgages due to their ability to grow rather than shrink. Yes, there actually exists a mortgage that allows the borrower to pay less than the interest that is accruing on the loan.
How To Win Your Local Job Fair
By 9.17.09
The anonymous, newly unemployed personal finance blogger behind Well-Heeled with a Mission put together a timely, helpful guide on how to avoid wasting your time at job fairs and actually come away with the experience with some positives rather than feel as though you’ve wasted your time in a cattle call.
Hyatts In Boston Decide To Outsource Housekeeping
By 9.17.09
Housekeepers at three Hyatt hotels in Boston made over $15 an hour and had benefits like 401(k) retirement plans and health insurance. On August 31st, Hyatt laid them off en masse—after first having them train their replacements under the guise of creating a holiday fill-in staff—and turned the housekeeping duties over to an outside firm.
How Economists Got It So Wrong
By 9.15.09
How did economists get it so wrong, asks Paul Krugrman in a recent NYTM article. He examines several fallacies of these dismal professionals who, until everything exploded, were slapping each other on the back for having achieved something like the superstring theory of money. Oopsies.
Bernanke Says The Recession Is "Likely Over"
By 9.15.09
Good news? Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says that the recession is over, but that it won’t really stop the rise of unemployment — currently at a 26-year high of 9.7%.
Yay! Economists Polled By WSJ Declare Recession Over
By 9.11.09
A panel of wizard-hatted forecasters consulted by The Wall Street Journal has declared the recession officially over. But don’t break out the champagne just yet — unless you’re one of those gilded bankers we mentioned earlier. “We are in a technical recovery, but risks remain abundant,” Diane Swonk of Mesirow Financial told the paper. “It will still take some luck and skill to get Main Street to feel some of the relief Wall Street has felt.”
You Can't Even Afford To Pay For Porn
By 9.11.09
You cheapskates are really ruining this economy. First, you decided you couldn’t afford to gamble. And now you’re giving up on another industry that could be crucial to pumping up our flaccid economy: porn. According to The Economist, revenues in the $6 billion a year adult entertainment industry have dropped by 30%-50%, with some producers claiming that they’re down by as much as 80%. Film production has dropped from 5,000 to 6,000 a year to about 3,000 to 4,000.
Consumers Cut Spending, Save Money, Pay Down Debt, Ruin Economy
By 9.10.09
Good work, consumers of America! You’ve collectively reduced your outstanding debt by $21.5 billion during the month of July. We’re so proud. Except, oops, that’s not so great for the economy.
Samsonite Files For Bankruptcy
By 9.4.09
Yesterday, a gorilla* stormed through the offices of Samsonite Corp, the “world’s top luggage maker,” and jumped up and down on their financial status. Their retail unit filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and will close approximately half of their 173 stores.
Top Ten New Cars, Trade-Ins From Cash For Clunkers
By 8.25.09
With Cash for Clunkers mostly over, Consumer Reports looks at the most popular new cars and the most popular clunkers that were traded in.
