Global share markets and federal banks are hailing the end of the recession — but they make a living out of telling people what they want to hear. Some other commentators are singing a very different tune.
Recession
The Recessipedia: a compendium of cash and credit carnage
The Museum of American Finance has launched an online encyclopedia of the US recession, dubbed the Recessipedia, documenting both the events and players of the crisis, as well as personal accounts of economic woes. At least it will keep the unemployed brokers off the streets…
Starbucks goes instant
In the recession-racked US, knocking back $5 Venti Peppermint Mocha Twist Frappuccinos isn’t as popular as it once was. So Starbucks is now entering a more GFC-friendly market: instant coffee. One problem: it’s awful.
New Zealand rams its way out of recession
The combination of China and strong government spending has arrived to help the Kiwi economy escape its worst slump in 30 years and is now officially out of recession.
Bernanke ‘recession over’ claims ridiculous
Markets went whoopee, but Ben Bernanke’s comments that the the “technical recession” in the US was probably over chafe badly with reality.
The GFC: one year on
In September last year, the world was plunged into financial crisis. Things are slowly starting to turn around at a global level, but how are the countries hardest hit by the GFC coping one year later? TIME visits the Baltics, Ireland and Singapore.
New from the House of Harvard
Want the look of an American Ivy League University student without the hefty fees or required academic prowess? Faced with financial woes, Harvard has lent its prestigious name to a high-end fashion line, featuring a frankly alarming amount of plaid, tartan and beige.
The cupcake crash is coming
Cupcakes: they’re the most fashionable foodstuff since fondue, with sickeningly cute “cupcakeries” popping up all over the world. But what goes up must come down, and the great cupcake bubble may be about to burst.
The Hot Waitress Economic Index
Daniel Finkelstein lists 10 of the strangest ways to tell if there’s a recession from the Speed at Which Contractors Return Calls Index to the Quality of Street Musicians Index.
Kohler: The recession that never was
Australia’s lack of recession is entirely due to fiscal and monetary stimulus here and in China, says Alan Kohler: China diverted a large part of its stimulus spending to stockpiling raw materials — and we were there to provide them.
Does the media have a recession obsession?
The US media has been rife with stories that put a “human face” on the recession of late, with news outlets across the country — from MTV to Good Housekeeping running “riches-to-rags” stories.
Down, down, down as the sharemarket shakedown looms
Australian markets are lower for a second day, American markets are down, Europe is lower and Asia is off the boil, putting a lie to claims of a “rebound”.
How McDonald’s “won” the recession
Before the GFC hit, McDonald’s was suffering from serious image problems, as the corporate face of the obesity crisis and unhealthy, industrialised food. But come the recession, cheap, efficient food has suddenly become a lot more appealing. But will consumers continue lovin’ it when the economy recovers?
Recession? What recession?
The Reserve Bank now believes Australia will escape a recession, having lifted its 2009 growth rate from a contraction of 1% in the May Statement on Monetary Policy, to growth of 0.5%.
Newsweek: The recession is over!
“The recession is over” declares Newsweek… with one caveat: tough times are still ahead for Americans — GDP growth alone can’t feed a family or pay a mortgage, and the country will need a new strategy for recovery to make it happen.
Australia’s W-shaped recession
Access Economics thinks we have dodged the recession bullet, but a recovery based on growing business and consumer confidence might well be built on mass delusion, says En Passant.
The myth of the “recession-proof” job
The media is quick to slap the “recession-proof” label on just about any job these days — from lawyers to garbos — but the reality is that no-one remains unaffected by the recession, says Greg Burns — even the wealthy.
Upsides to the recession: Crocs, Hummers and the Atkins diet go down
Thanks to the GFC, unemployment, poverty and homelessness are on the rise, companies are tanking, and the markets are in a mess — but there’s always some silver lining: New Kids on the Block had to cancel their tour.
The road to recovery is a dead end
When will the recovery begin? Never, says Robert Reich: the current economy is outdated and cannot be salvaged. We need a new economy — one with an untwistable stomach.
Free advertising up for grabs
Marketing and advertising agencies are attempting to walk their talk and market themselves out of the recession with discounts and wacky deals. But it could hurt them in the long run.
The good economic news just keeps on coming
This is an economy coping remarkably well with a collapse in its terms of trade and a collapse in business lending.
If this is a recession, the figures are telling lies
Housing finance strong, consumer sentiment rising — new figures suggest the Australian consumer seems determined to avoid thinking about recession.
He-cession: how the GFC is killing macho men
The era of male dominance in the workplace is coming to an end, with 80% of recent job losses in the US falling on men, and places like Russia and the Middle East full of “surly, lonely, and hard-drinking men”.
Give consumers a little credit when it comes to managing their debt
Australian consumers are proving once again they are cleverer than the handwringers give them credit for.
