Dan Denton was about to get a much-needed job. Then the recruiters saw his blemished credit report and took away their offer.
recession
Investments Are Down – Won't You Hire A Poor Trust-Funder?
By 6.8.09
It’s the end of an era. The parentally-subsidized idle urbanites of New York aren’t getting the fundage they used to, and they have to get paying jobs now. Or move in with their parents. (Here I thought living with my parents after college was too much parental subsidy.) While Gawker’s coverage of this story is not to be missed, let’s look at it through a Consumerist lens, shall we?
Spam Starts New Ad Campaign Today – Not Via Unsolicited E-mail
By 6.8.09
Spam. It’s cheap, it’s versatile, and I’ve been told that some people even find it edible. Sales of all canned food, including canned meat, are up in the recession, and Hormel’s new strategy is to promote Spam as something different for people to rotate into their monotonous meal plans.
Hopelessness Hit 9.4% In May
By 6.5.09
Hopelessness hit 9.4% in May. Oh wait, we meant joblessness. Actually, with jobless claims about half the average loss of the past six months, could hope poised for a comeback? [NYT] (Photo: joshuahoffmanphoto)
Cheap-ish Collectible Cars For The Recession
By 6.4.09
Just because there’s a recession on doesn’t mean you can’t have a hobby. Well, ok. It might mean that, but let’s assume for a second that it doesn’t. The NYT asked some collectible car experts to recommend some affordable old cars that, while they may not be considered “an investment,” are still lots of fun.
Baseball Tickets Become Affordable Again As Recession Hits Scalpers
By 5.29.09
Following up on yesterday’s roundup of recession-related deals, here is an article from Forbes on how scalpers, season ticket holders, and teams themselves are cutting deals on baseball tickets, with below-cost tickets, BOGO deals, and cheap food.
Best Recession Bargains From Consumer Reports
By 5.28.09
We know, we know: everyone’s poor. But just in case you want to offer your favorite retailer a little economic stimulus, Consumer Reports has rounded up a lot of discounts and deals on luxury purchases like cruises and basic things like, uh, a house. Our favorite tips, inside.
Sorry, 2009's Clothing Discounts Will Be Less Insane
By 5.27.09
Clothing retailers are holding off on their crazy, desperate discounts a bit, and plan to discount less aggressively this summer. Why? Women’s Wear Daily reports that it’s not so much that the economy’s improving (it really isn’t) or unemployment has stopped rising (it hasn’t) but Americans need stuff. Retailers anticipate that they will need to mark down, but not at the desperate levels that have characterized the last six months or so.
Consumer Confidence Is Up. Wait, Compared To What?
By 5.26.09
Do you feel more confident? According to the Conference Board, consumer confidence is up to its highest level in eight months, and made its biggest increase in six years.
Consumerist And Consumer Reports Will Crap All Over Your Holiday Weekend
By 5.22.09
It’s Memorial Day weekend, the weather is looking nice, and people are leaving work early to hit the pool, fire up the grill, play golf, or enjoy our national pastime. We’re doing none of those things, so we thought we’d ruin it for everyone else.
Jobless Guy Buys Facebook Ads To Land Microsoft Gig
By 5.21.09
Eric just graduated from an MBA program Monday and landed smackdab in the middle of our job-shriveling recession. So what did he do? To try to land a job at Microsoft, he bought Facebook ads that specifically targeted employees at the companies he wants to work for. It cost him less than $50, and he got over 20 Microsoft employees to contact him offering their help. Here’s how he did it:
Thirteen More Weeks Of Unemployment Benefits In New York State
By 5.20.09
Governor David Paterson of New York signed into law a bill extending unemployment benefits for thirteen more weeks. Around 56,000 people are on their last week of benefits right now, and the extension takes effect immediately.
Part-Time Work Is Better Than Full-Time Unemployment — Here's Where To Apply
By 5.19.09
It may be easier to find an articulate Arizona State University graduate than a job these days, but TheStreet has you covered, so long as you only want to work part time and don’t mind wearing a dopey apron and/or smile.
Foreclosures Hit Another Record High, Up 34% From 2008
By 5.13.09
One in every 324 households in this country received a foreclosure filing last month, according to RealtyTrac. This marks the all time high since the firm started tracking filings in 2005. Foreclosure filings are up 34% since last year.
Toyota Posts First Loss In 59 Years
By 5.12.09
Here’s a story that we missed late last week, probably because we were busy having nightmares about snake heads. Toyota lost $7.74 billion this past quarter. That’s more than GM (though less than GM pre-bailout), and much more than predicted. It’s the company’s first annual loss since Elvis was in the Army.
Since When Is Dropping $1600 On A Purse An Investment?
By 5.8.09
How do you turn the purchase of a purse with a four-figure price tag into a sound financial decision in a recession? That’s the task luxury brand marketers and fashion magazines have right now, and their solution is to spin luxury purchases as an “investment.” But is it a good investment? Not really.
Moms Don't Want Stuff This Mother's Day
By 5.6.09
An entirely unscientific ABC News poll of mothers shows that they would prefer some nice time with with their families to tangible gifts. I thought this was always the case, but apparently it’s an indicator of the recession or something.
By 5.5.09
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“We are hopeful that the very sharp decline we saw beginning last fall through early this year will moderate considerably in the near term and we will see positive growth by the end of the year,” Bernanke told the Joint Economic Committee.
