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The average consumer is expected to spend less on the winter holidays this year. Yet it’s anticipated that overall holiday spending will rise slightly compared to 2010. How could this be? While middle-class shoppers scale back, rich people—who typically drop four times more dough on holiday gifts than the average family—will be making more purchases [...]
The stumbling economic recovery has led many of us to rein in our expenses, even on necessities like diapers. But there are a few lucky sectors that benefit from a weak economy — things that let us escape, give us momentary pleasure or temporarily relieve our stress. They’re the small things, like donuts and yoga [...]
Every month, one of the most anxiously anticipated pieces of economic information is the Commerce Department’s spending data. Are people in the malls? How deep are discounts? Spending is cheered; frugality causes concern. In the drama that is the U.S. economy, consumers have been cast as the hero, expected to provide the growth that avoids [...]
What happens when the expenses you’ve targeted for trimming involve hairdressers, housecleaners, accountants, and other service providers with whom you’ve had business—and personal—relationships for years?
Falling diaper sales and the mess at Netflix point up the risks that big banks are taking by boosting fees in a recessionary environment.
It seems like more than just coincidence that the birth rate and the overall number of births in the U.S. have sharply declined since the beginning of the recession.
Back in 2007, America was experiencing a mini-baby boom. The recession brought that to a quick halt. As early as 2008, the country saw a significant drop in birth rates. Baby booms and busts do tend to follow economic cycles. But what was surprising was how quickly birth rates cratered, dropping even before it was [...]
If the economic situation we’re living in is not a recession, and it’s not exactly a recovery either—not a robust one, anyway—what is it?
Pity the American consumer, especially when it comes to housing. A large proportion of those surveyed (43%) in a recent Fannie Mae poll about homeownership and the economy report that their expenses are “significantly higher” than 12 months ago. The size of this stressed segment (my words, not Fannie Mae’s) has increased for the fifth [...]
We’ve all seen the sobering numbers on things like unemployment (9.1%), GDP (1.3%) and the national debt ($15 trillion). Now comes another reality check: Last quarter, not a single U.S. diversified stock fund made money. Not one.
As many Baby Boomers approach traditional retirement age, they’ve had plenty of time to watch their parents’ generation enjoy the golden years in style—with ample travel and leisure and a minimum of financial worries. Many boomers assumed their retirements would be just as good, if not better than the previous generation. But increasingly, it looks [...]
