$ News 11.30.09

Monday Nov 30, 2009 – By Clutch

Cyber Monday: Hope for disappointed stores
The good news for merchants is that more Americans this year turned out to bag Thanksgiving weekend deals than last year. The bad news, however, is that shoppers on average spent less on their purchases compared to a year ago. For nervous sellers, it’s next about Cyber Monday, or the online retail world’s version of Black Friday, when millions of people take a few minutes at work to surf the Web to score “doorbuster”-like deals from e-tailers. (Continue Reading…)

Ben Stein Offers Four Lessons From the Recession
The United States must be approaching the end of the recession when economists begin offering their retrospectives. Even if the data are pointing to an end to the recession, in technical terms, the economy is a long way from recovery. Just look around at the people out of work. Even those who have maintained their jobs are finding it difficult to qualify for mortgages, keeping the real estate industry itching for more handouts like the extension to the home buyers’ tax credit. And some economists are not convinced that the worst is over. We may be in the lull of a double-dip recession. Wherever the economy is, making predictions, like critiquing wine, is often no more accurate than randomness. (Continue Reading…)

Bankruptcies spike 33%
The total number of bankruptcies filed in the third quarter surged 33% in 2009 and is at the highest level since 2005, according to data released Wednesday. The American Bankruptcy Institute, an industry research firm, said 388,485 bankruptcies were filed during the last quarter, compared to 292,291 filed during the same period in 2008, according to data released by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Filings for the first nine months of the year climbed 35% to 1,100,035, compared to 841,496 filings during the same period in 2008. A total of 1,117,771 bankruptcies were filed last year. (Continue Reading…)

More Headlines:

Thanksgiving Sales Attract More Shoppers, Less Average Spending
Obama to push banks on mortgages
Health perks for the unemployed
Congress’ next trick: Pull jobs out of a hat
An Idiot-Proof Way to Make a Few Cents a Day
Master Your Money with a Financial Health Day

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