Crash Survival Zone

The American economy is contracting at its steepest pace in 50 years, the government reported Wednesday, but an unanticipated rise in consumer spending since January suggested to many economists that the worst of the recession might have passed.

The last six months were brutal. Output fell at a 6.1 percent annual rate in the January-through-March quarter [...]

Chrysler is the first major automaker since Studebaker in 1933 to try to reorganize in bankruptcy and emerge as a viable company. The process can be complicated. Here is a quick look at how it is likely to play out.
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NY Times

A culture of easy reward encouraged British bankers to make an “astonishing mess of the financial system” and regulators need to consider whether banks should be broken up, British politicians said on Friday.

“The culture within parts of British banking has increasingly been one of risk-taking leading to the meltdown that we have witnessed,” a cross-party [...]

Electronic devices and appliances that use electricity even when they’re idle may be costing you hundreds of dollars a year, experts say.

Are vampires sucking the life out of your household energy budget?

Almost every household has at least one electricity vampire that sucks up power and costs you money.

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LA Times

A leading indicator of U.S. nonresidential construction activity jumped in March to its best level since August 2008, an architects’ trade group said on Wednesday.

The Architecture Billings Index rose more than 8 points to 43.7 last month, marking the second consecutive monthly improvement, according to the American Institute of Architects. The index has not crossed [...]

UN General Assembly President Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann said on Wednesday that the current global economic and financial crisis proves that the logic of capitalism is evil and suicidal.

During a ministerial meeting of the Coordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Countries (NAM) hosted in Havana, d’Escoto said that the current world order promotes selfishness, usury as well [...]

Unemployment in the euro zone rose to 8.9 percent in March, up from 8.7 percent in the previous month, the European Union (EU)’s statistics bureau Eurostat said on Thursday.

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Xinhuanet

…There are no hard statistics on how often a trip to an organized job-hunting soiree leads to employment. But some job seekers say they can be a lesson in futility during these tough times because many gatherings are overcrowded, so applicants get lost in the shuffle.

And many employers have few or no jobs to offer, [...]

Consumer spending fell more than expected in March after two straight monthly gains, a stark reminder of a fragile economy that has pushed a record number of Americans to draw jobless benefits.

The Commerce Department said Thursday that consumer spending dropped 0.2 percent in March, worse than the 0.1 percent decline economists expected. Incomes, reflecting persistent [...]

Demo Is Cutting Back on Food and Excursions, Still Spending on DVDs and Music in Recession
In a recession, one group can usually be counted on to keep spending: teens. Their parents often pick up the tab for necessities, leaving them free to spend the income they earn from part-time jobs and birthday money from grandma [...]