The stock market’s been climbing. Housing prices are on the rebound. But the job market? Like a bum on a bender, it still hasn’t hit bottom. Even as the Dow continued its impressive run-up in recent months, Americans were still losing jobs at the rate of 2,500 an hour.
Picture a muscled bully snatching candy from a skinny kid. That, according to aggrieved entrepreneurs at the American Small Business League, is what’s going on in federal government contracting – where big conglomerates are grabbing almost $60 billion a year that’s supposed to be going to small businesses.
You don’t have to know a piston ring from a brake caliper to know that it’s been a historic year for the car industry – and not in a good way. Back in the spring, Chrysler emerged from bankruptcy protection with an Italian last name.
Overall, personal bankruptcy filings were up 36.5 percent in the first half of 2009 from the same time a year ago, and experts predict the number of filings will keep rising even as the economy recovers.
It’s a typical meeting for the dozen or so men and women convening at a conference table in the Philadelphia suburb of Blue Bell, Pa. Doctors by profession, they’re dressed casually in fleece jackets and sweaters, peering at their laptops and making the occasional wisecrack.
The struggling furniture industry is getting some much-needed cushion from some unlikely sources. Who’d have thought that things like "reclaimed" wood, bike rims and bourbon barrels might help the struggling sector pull through the recent retail sales funk?
The struggling furniture industry is getting some much-needed cushion from some unlikely sources. Who’d have thought that things like "reclaimed" wood, bike rims and bourbon barrels might help the struggling sector pull through the recent retail sales funk?
It’s not difficult to figure out why sales of smartphones have taken off nationwide. After all, the average price of one is $155, more than 30 percent lower than last year and today’s models let you talk, e-mail and surf the Internet quickly.
