Published Friday, February 3, 2012 @ 4:13 pm

You’ve read the headlines. You’ve heard the network commentators. Despite the reported recent economic recovery, post-recessionary American is marked by a new, and troubling, era of economic inequality.

One of the major reasons for the widening gaps between rich and poor is that minimum wage remains at $7.25, the same rate as it was in 2009, despite dramatic rises in the cost of living.…

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Published Tuesday, January 31, 2012 @ 7:27 pm

It would make sense that recent signs of recovering economy would be great news for jobless Americans. But as a report on public polling explains, even though the overall economic picture may be brightening, many job seekers are still very much in the midst of a stark economic haze.

According to a report from The Huffington Post’s Janell Ross, “Economic data suggests the long-stagnant economy may finally be gaining momentum, but Americans aren’t seeing a turnaround yet, according to a pair of newly released polls.…

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Published Wednesday, January 25, 2012 @ 7:36 am

“This matter is serious and will cause problems at the job.”

Believe it or not this is exactly what collection representatives from California-based debt collection company, Rincon Debt Management, were asked to tell unassuming Americans each time they attempted to collect on back debts.

But based on a complaint filed by the Federal Trade Commission, often the debtor they were trying to pressure didn’t owe any money at all.…

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Published Tuesday, January 24, 2012 @ 7:34 pm

In the “new economy,” full of novel financial realities, we often hear a lot about how cash-strapped kids are often coming home to live with and borrow from their better-positioned parents. And now a new report tells us why.

According to a report from the Associated Press, the wealth gap between younger and older Americans has stretched to the widest on record, “worsened by a prolonged economic downturn that has wiped out job opportunities for young adults and saddled them with housing and college debt.”

Based on analysis by the Pew Research Center, the AP says “The typical U.S.…

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Published Sunday, January 22, 2012 @ 9:08 am

The best holiday gift may have been a private sector hiring surge in December 2011, as employers gifted the American job market with 325,000 new workers. At the same time as a the rise in public sector jobs, claims for unemployment benefits fell, raising high hopes that recent labor market woes are over and a new year may mark a new era in employment optimism.…

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Published Saturday, January 21, 2012 @ 7:09 pm

Amid encouraging job figures that the private sector is surging, it’s important to take a second look at the sad state of the so-called “American Dream.”

In a new article, the New York Times does just that, finding that “Americans enjoy less economic mobility than their peers in Canada and much of Western Europe.…

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Published Friday, January 20, 2012 @ 7:08 pm

Jobs in the private sector may be on the way up—a complete change of pace from the post-Recessionary years—but optimism about the mortgage industry is still way down in the wake of massive foreclosure abuses at major mortgage lenders.

In fact, The New York Times recently published a shocking article detailing the struggles of homeowners facing foreclosure framed by mortgage servicing horror stories piling up all across the nation.…

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Published Thursday, January 12, 2012 @ 6:30 am

The days between Thanksgiving and Christmas had many people wondering where America’s lingering financial issues went as millions of shoppers returned to our nation’s stores, malls and gallerias en masse to take advantage of extreme sales (and savings) and, in doing so, generated the most successful Black Friday for retailers ever.…

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Published Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 6:30 pm

We talk a lot about the dangers of using credit cards, the nation’s plastic pariah that contributes to many living beyond their means, causes people to pay incredibly high interest, and in more cases than we care to share, leads a lot of folks to file for bankruptcy.

And so for the many thousands of you who were hoping to pay off credit cards quickly and easily as your New Year’s resolution, we have some bad news.…

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Published Monday, December 19, 2011 @ 7:52 am

We all know that the Christmas holiday is a time for turkey-filled table settings, overstuffed family reunions, and, quite literally, reflecting on what we are fortunate to have- for large and small blessings throughout the year. But for many jobless Americans from California to the Carolinas, finding even the smallest things to be grateful for is more of a struggle in 2011 than possibly ever before, as they not only face limited unemployment incomes, but diminishing benefits in the new year.…

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Published Sunday, December 18, 2011 @ 8:37 am

Think your old credit score was bad?

Well, now there’s a new kind of credit score taking center stage…and setting the stage for financial institutions to make even more money off of the poorest Americans.

According to The Huffington Post, “The new CoreScore looks at financial records such as credit card borrowing, bank transactions and mortgage information, much like a traditional FICO credit score.…

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Published Saturday, December 17, 2011 @ 5:35 pm

If you’re like many beleaguered and over-budgeted Americans, you grew weary and wary of credit card debt during the throes of the Great Recession.

The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (Credit CARD Act) was supposed to address the fact that you’ve been “paying” with plastic both literally and metaphorically ways for years, shielding average Americans from unexpected and massive changes to their credit card terms—terms that had previously led directly to financial hardship for an overwhelming amount of our nation’s families.…

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Published Friday, December 16, 2011 @ 10:50 pm

As we’re all aware, this decade’s Great Recession has dealt, and continues to deal, a significant blow to the budgets of many American families, leaving millions in debt, underwater in their mortgages, and in some cases falling behind on their tax bills, adding to their economic unrest.

So, even though tax day 2012 is weeks away, and the holidays may already have your full attention, it’s worth noting that there are some timely tips you can take between now and Dec.…

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Published Tuesday, December 6, 2011 @ 3:32 pm

In a classic case of what goes up, must come down, the world’s forth largest airline is now seeking the safe havens of bankruptcy so that it might once again be “something special in the air.”

According to Reuters, American filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week “to cut labor costs in the face of high fuel prices and dampened travel demand, capping a prolonged descent for what was once the largest U.S.…

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Published Tuesday, December 6, 2011 @ 12:32 pm

A couple of months ago we reported that North Carolina one of ten states with the largest employment gaps. That meant that as of this summer, the state of North Carolina would have needed to generate nearly 500,00 additional jobs in order to keep up with growing population numbers and old and new workers flooding the Tar Heel market in future months and years.…

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Published Tuesday, December 6, 2011 @ 8:34 am

The fairer sex appears to be getting a less than fair shake at new jobs created in the wake of the economic downturn. In October, we reported that women have recovered just 9 percent of jobs lost, and men are recovering nearly three times faster. And things haven’t gotten much better.…

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Published Thursday, December 1, 2011 @ 6:31 pm

We’ve talked a lot about the recent record-breaking Black Friday, but it was our nation’s President who instead promoted shopping on the second annual “Small Business Saturday,” a day (November 26) devoted to spurring growth and hiring in some of our country’s most hard-hit business sectors.

According to Reuters, “Promoting “Small Business Saturday”, the second annual event to help Main Street merchants in a tough U.S.…

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Published Wednesday, November 30, 2011 @ 7:22 am

Many are saying global economic events mean that stock market investors had little to be thankful for during this opening to the official holiday season.

According to CNN Money, “The holiday season has officially arrived, but whether investors will have much to be jolly about next week is uncertain, as Europe’s debt woes continue to weigh on the market.…

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Published Tuesday, November 29, 2011 @ 3:14 pm

Historically speaking, the day after Thanksgiving often leaves many people asking, “what Recession?” as millions of American shoppers cut coupons, stand in long lines, and bombard our nation’s stores for extreme sales on what has now come to be know as “Black Friday.” In fact, last year we saw even bigger crowds at many stores including Best Buy, Sears, Macy’s and Toys R Us, which offered earlier openings than in past years or even round-the-clock hours meant to draw in average American shoppers.…

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Published Monday, November 28, 2011 @ 10:11 pm

We’ve already heard a lot here about “The 99ers,” the long-term unemployed who have not only became a new byproduct of an unprecedented string of Congressional extensions to unemployment benefits, but who have also long-since exhausted the maximum 99 weeks of unemployment benefits available to them in many states in the wake of the recent economic downturn.…

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Published Monday, November 28, 2011 @ 7:11 pm

Or, at least that’s what older workers believe.

According to a new survey from AARP, older workers say economy worse than last year. Nearly two thirds of workers in the 50+ age group first surveyed by AARP’s Public Policy Institute in 2010 said things had gotten worse by the time the senior lobbying powerhouse followed up in August.…

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Published Saturday, November 5, 2011 @ 7:53 am

Solid sales figures in prior pre-holiday shopping seasons combined with large crowds during the biggest shopping day of the year (AKA November’s “Black Friday”) had previously emboldened many eager employers to hire more seasonal staff leading up to an even busier holiday season. For example, the result of strong consumer demand in 2010—only one year out from the official end of the economic recession—was that hundreds of thousands of Americans were being hired for temporary jobs at retailers across the country—employment many hoped would eventually translate into full-time work.…

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Published Thursday, November 3, 2011 @ 2:51 pm

We’ve all seen them.

Envelopes full of checks and other offers filling our mailboxes these days touting 0% or 2.99% and other low-to-no interest balance transfers for your more costly credit cards. These seductive rates do come at a cost if you don’t know what to look out for.

So check out these five tips to avoid getting taken advantage of, when taking advantage of balance transfer offers, including:

#1 Inspect the Interest Rates
When playing the balance game, the best bets are obviously the lowest interest rates available.…

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Published Thursday, November 3, 2011 @ 12:49 pm

You’ve probably seen the hordes of protesters converging on New York in recent weeks, hell bent on occupying the very place where income inequity arguably began: the home of America’s financial markets, Wall Street.

But a new poll shows these self-professed 99 percenters, boycotting the privileged elite at the highest 1% of the income range, aren’t the only ones deeply troubled by the high incidences of income inequity in this country.…

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Published Monday, October 31, 2011 @ 12:45 pm

Ghosts and goblins and ghouls are normally the horrifying hallmarks of annual Halloween holiday, satisfying generations of trick-or-treaters, horror movie aficionados, and lovers of frightfully fun parties during every seasonal stand.

But in these tough economic times, when consumerism can’t keep up with flagging incomes and mounting debt, the scariest thing about Halloween may be that we spend so much money on it.…

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Published Wednesday, October 26, 2011 @ 6:36 pm

Despite recent findings that the number one thing Americans waste their money on is eating out, a new survey provides the proverbial “food for thought” to those who believe they are struggling alone in their own personal financial crisis.

A report from Seattle Weekly finds that more than half of all Americans say they’ve recently gone a year without dining out, in what may be one of the clearest signs of how the current economic malaise is impacting our ability to consume even the most basic luxury choices.…

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Published Sunday, October 23, 2011 @ 8:16 am

With news this month that almost 40 percent of Americans belive unemployment is the biggest issue facing the country—a figure that leapt from 29 percent between August and September 2011—it’s clear that folks are beginning to believe that joblessness more than “the economy” as a whole is the nation’s most important problem as well as a primary concern for them as part of a larger pool of citizens just struggling to get by in post-recessionary America.…

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Published Sunday, October 23, 2011 @ 7:14 am

We talk a lot here about the trials and travails of underemployment, a perpetual condition of post-recessionary America, in which many, if not most, workers face stagnant wages and/or part-time jobs that fail to keep up with the rising cost of living in the new economy.

In particular, retail workers struggle for hours amid a weak economic recovery, clamoring for extra work in this lower-skilled and paying field.…

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Published Friday, October 21, 2011 @ 5:29 pm

It’s hardly news to most Americans that good jobs in the U.S. wounded economy are more than hard to come by. But with news that the job market is as tough as it’s been in three decades, is now having a substantial impact on America’s ability to bounce back.

According to a new report from Reuters, “U.S.…

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Published Thursday, October 13, 2011 @ 8:10 am

…unions?

That’s right.

Forget federal stimulus or tax cuts for the wealthy or even a new, formal jobs plan. Because according to a new analysis of Census data from the Center for American Progress, a boost in incomes of the union members by just one-tenth, “would increase middle-class incomes by $1,479 per year — even for those who aren’t members.”

In fact, according to the study, the rise in income is higher than if the unemployment rate dropped by four percentage points—a scenario that would increase middle class incomes by only $772 per household.…

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Published Wednesday, October 12, 2011 @ 6:10 pm

While men were the ones initially reeling from the recent recession, women are now the ones with more and more reason to worry.

According to an Institute for Women’s Research Policy report released Monday, even though unemployment levels have steadily decreased for men over the past year, very few women are able to return to work in 2011, resulting in a significantly higher percentage of female Americans who continue to have deep concerns about their financial futures.…

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Published Friday, October 7, 2011 @ 5:58 am

It’s not too terribly surprising that pawn shops have done very well in the wake of the economic downturn.  With more and more average Americans stuck at the lower end of the income spectrum due to the new economy’s trademark unemployment and underemployment, a great many average Americans were forced to rely regularly on consumer credit to pay for their everyday bills, goods and services.…

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Published Thursday, October 6, 2011 @ 4:56 pm

As we officially fling ourselves into a new financial outlook for fall, it’s worth remembering that the nation just exited the economic equivalent of “the summer of our discontent,” during which financial concerns seemed to prompt unprecedented dissatisfaction with the federal government. In fact, a mid-August poll from the Pew Research Center showed that public satisfaction with the federal government dropped to 11%–the lowest percentage since 1997.…

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Published Thursday, October 6, 2011 @ 6:55 am

After suffering through years of an economic downturn driven by a mortgage crisis, rising consumer debts, and mounting health care costs, of late many average Americans are increasingly hungry for the country to rebound financially. Unfortunately, at the same time, a confluence of events is prompting a resurgence of literal hunger in the U.S.…

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Published Wednesday, October 5, 2011 @ 3:53 pm

You might think when city officials need to cut personnel costs, they start by letting public employees go.  But according to a new article from The Huffington Post, “firing people isn’t the first thing they look to do: it’s the third.” Ranking the reduction methods, HuffPost evaluates the eight top ways that city officials are dealing with budgetary woes—according to the National League of Cities—including:

(8) Reduce Pension Benefits
A full 18% of cities facing increasingly thin budgets cut back on pension benefits to shore up spending costs in 2011.…

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Published Tuesday, October 4, 2011 @ 1:50 pm

The nation’s income dropped in August 2011, for the first time in nearly two years, according to a government report released last week. The drop was precipitated by a weak labor market and falling consumer confidence.

According to Reuters, “Weak incomes as employment growth ground to a halt and earnings fell hurt spending in August.…

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Published Tuesday, October 4, 2011 @ 7:45 am

If it seems like it’s been a while since we’ve talked about the rising cost of health care, that’s because up until this year, these mounting medical costs had leveled.

But in the new America, it seems you can’t keep a high cost down.

In reality, the costs of employer-sponsored health insurance surged during 2011, cutting short a timely trend toward only “moderate growth.” According to a report released this week by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust, annual premiums for family coverage climbed 9 percent and surpassed $15,000 for the first time.…

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Published Monday, October 3, 2011 @ 3:44 pm

When home prices plunged, the stock market crashed, and nationwide hiring froze, many desperate debtors were left destitute, depressed and feeling without hope—all at the height of our recent Great Recession. But fast forward to nearly three years since the recession officially ended, and today many of the most mentally hard-hit Americans are those facing long-term unemployment.…

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Published Monday, September 26, 2011 @ 1:27 pm

Poverty is now a common (and growing) problem for America’s single moms as jobs, and social safety nets fade as quickly as the economy tanked, according to a new article from The Huffington Post.

“In 2010, the first full calendar year after the Great Recession, nearly 41 percent of the nation’s single mothers with children under age 18, like Williams, lived on incomes below the federal poverty line.…

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Published Monday, September 26, 2011 @ 7:24 am

Need signs that credit card companies are getting more aggressive with their credit card tactics and tricks? Well, there’s 346 million reasons from one particular credit card purveyor, Citigroup.

Based on a new report from The Wall Street Journal, in the third quarter alone, the bank mailed more than 346 million credit card offers to unwitting customers.…

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Published Sunday, September 25, 2011 @ 3:20 pm

Last week, Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America said it would cut about=a35,000 jobs and reduce annual expenses by $5 billion, as it struggles with costs from its 2008 takeover of Countrywide Financial Corp and a nearly 50 percent drop in share price this year.

The layoffs could have huge ripple effects for the North Carolina economy.…

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Published Sunday, September 25, 2011 @ 10:20 am

Foreclosures? Theeeey’re Baaaaack.

After several months of falling default rates, foreclosures were up again in August 2011, rising by about 7 percent compared to the month before. In fact, according to new numbers from the real estate firm RealtyTrac, some of the biggest increases were in the nation’s wealthier places: suburbs, industrial hubs, as well as small town service worker centers, already hard-hit by the great recession.…

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Published Tuesday, September 20, 2011 @ 8:03 am

For many recent graduates from colleges and universities all across the country, any job must feel better than no job at all. Shortly after graduation in May 2011, thousands of grads from Washington State to UNC-Wilmington, turned their back on student life and turned back on their computers only to begin their first official job searches—sending out e-mail-loads of resumes in what would become for many a months-long search for work….any work.…

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Published Monday, September 19, 2011 @ 10:00 am

President Barack Obama, who submitted his American Jobs Act to Congress earlier this week—including bills that aim to use a combination of spending and tax cuts to spur job growth—seems to be on the pulse of a larger political issue.

Though the unemployment rate has been high for months, it’s never been more clear that joblessness is the primary concern for nearly a majority of average American voters.…

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Published Monday, September 19, 2011 @ 8:51 am

The big news recently seems to be rising unemployment, with jobs coming back into focus as yet another election season begins to heat up. But a recent jump in another bad economic bellwether—home foreclosures—is a new cause for concern in these uncertain economic times.

According to a latest reports, the number of mortgage-default notices filed by banks climbed 33 percent between July and August — the biggest single-month increase in four years, according to the data provider RealtyTrac.…

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Published Tuesday, September 13, 2011 @ 1:21 pm

When President Obama released his eagerly anticipated $45 billion jobs plan last week, many economists were quick to criticize the efficacy of the strategy’s payroll tax cuts.

But many small business owners across the country are praising the plan, saying that these exact incentives would allow them to immediately hire a number of workers they’ve been needing for months, if not years, but formerly had no way of subsidizing.…

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Published Tuesday, September 13, 2011 @ 10:16 am

In the years since the end of America’s recent Great Recession, there have been plenty of ups and downs in economic forecasts, fiscal prognostications, and financial facts and figures. But as mortgages rates rose forcing many into foreclosure, the personal health of those impacted went on the decline, as the real estate reckoning wrought a wave of depressed homeowners.…

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Published Friday, September 9, 2011 @ 6:42 am

Remember when Labor Day used to mark the last three-day weekend for waning summer fun and frivolity?

Well fast forward to September 2011 when Labor Day weekend arrives on the heels of disheartening fiscal news that the American economy added no jobs during the month of August (you read that correctly: none, zero, zilch), signifying to financial commentators and economic experts alike that the slow and steady economic recovery appears to be furiously losing steam.…

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Published Thursday, September 8, 2011 @ 6:42 pm

A fascinating new article from The Associated Press reveals that the one of the toughest challenges facing unemployed Americans isn’t a job market currently stagnated at 9.1 percent unemployment rate, or even that 14 million unemployed are competing with each other in a country that posted no new jobs in August; rather the AP says the most challenging thing the unemployed are currently contending with is the underemployed.…

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Published Sunday, September 4, 2011 @ 5:05 pm

If you’re unemployed you have a ton to worry about.

Past due bills, mounting debts, going without health insurance, possible repossession of your car or foreclosure of your home, are just some of the not-so-pleasant thoughts plaguing the millions of average Americans facing extended joblessness.

Unfortunately, now there’s one more concern to add to the job market meltdown mix: a new report by the National Employment Law Project has found that employers are continuing to discriminate against unemployed people in their online job ads despite increased scrutiny surrounding the nation’s hiring practices.…

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Published Sunday, September 4, 2011 @ 1:02 pm

About a year ago, we reported that North Carolina was at the “top of the heap,” when it came to being home to one of the ten best cities to find jobs. Despite the fact that millions of struggling Americans were still working hard to find employment, economists were heartened about prospects for growth in 2012 as industries increasingly reported better profits and adding new jobs.…

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Published Saturday, September 3, 2011 @ 4:51 pm

As things heat up in the waning days of summer, the job growth cooled down in August, with the U.S. economy picking up [read my lips:] no new jobs in August as the unemployment rate stayed steady at 9.1 percent. These figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday now stand as the most clear and present symbol yet of a stalled economic recovery that has the words “double-dip recession” written all over it.…

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Published Friday, September 2, 2011 @ 7:54 am

As we said in Part One of this series, a double-dip refers to a recession, followed by a short-lived recovery, followed by another recession. And there are plenty of signs that this second coming of an economic downturn has officially arrived in America, including the fact that our Gross Domestic Product has only expanded by 1.3%, while consumer spending is up a mere .1% in the second quarter of 2011.…

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Published Thursday, September 1, 2011 @ 5:54 pm

A double-dip recession refers to a recession, followed by a short-lived recovery, followed by another recession. And there are plenty of signs that this second coming of an economic downturn has officially arrived in America, including the fact that our Gross Domestic Product has only expanded by 1.3%, while consumer spending is up a mere .1% in the second quarter of 2011.…

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Published Tuesday, August 30, 2011 @ 6:43 pm

Historically low interest rates haven’t really reaped the kind of benefits they normally would in a post-recessionary period. In reality, economic growth has stagnated, the real estate market remains in the gutter, and consumer confidence has yet to recover to pre-recessionary levels.

But bargain-basement interest is also having unintended effects, including what the Associated Press called “killing savers”—like retirees and others who depend on interest income.…

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Published Tuesday, August 30, 2011 @ 7:52 am

Are you buying forecasts of an economic recovery? Don’t believe another global recession is possible? Just ask Michael Spence, professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business and winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in economics. Recently, Professor Spence told Bloomberg Television Wednesday that there’s “probably a 50 percent” chance of the global economy slipping into recession.…

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Published Monday, August 29, 2011 @ 5:49 pm

As Hurricane Irene slammed into the East Coast, leaving in its wake wind-torn cities and towns, flooded roadways, and hundreds of thousands without power, the late-summer storm also took a lesser-reported economic toll on many geographic areas already devastated by the lingering financial crisis.

In fact, more than 400,000 homes as well as businesses lost power Saturday as Hurricane Irene hit the Carolinas with these significant losses most heavily concentrated in Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, where Progress Energy reported well over 250,000 customers without power.…

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Published Monday, August 29, 2011 @ 4:51 pm

At a time when a full-fledged recovery remains a distant prospect for many average Americans and their beleaguered budgets, the outlook is also pretty grim for the overall American economy itself.

As millions of men and women flood unemployment lines awaiting word of jobs that may never return, and with few signs that the federal government nor the nation’s central bank will make any further efforts to stimulate our flagging financial state, according to government estimates released Friday, the United States economy grew at a slower pace this spring than even previously thought.…

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Published Monday, August 29, 2011 @ 3:49 pm

With the first major storm of the 2011 hurricane season now in the record books, it’s also worth remembering that a very rare east coast 5.8 magnitude earthquake, immediately preceded it. This unprecedented pairs of natural disasters over the past several days have forced many people up and down the East Coast thinking about earthquake and hurricane coverage.…

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Published Monday, August 15, 2011 @ 9:20 am

Some are calling a recent drop in consumer bankruptcies during the first half of 2011 a sure sign that the tides may finally be turning for the U.S. economy, as these new figures from the American Bankruptcy Institute Americans fuel the idea that American may be more financially stable in 2011 than they were at the same time last year.…

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Published Monday, August 15, 2011 @ 6:20 am

U.S. Credit Downgrade Ramps Up Fears of Another Recession

Standard and Poor’s recent downgrade of U.S. government debt is capturing headlines across the country and around the world. And with the major agency’s actions to cut the United States government’s top credit rating, financial experts and commentators are finding themselves increasingly concerned that the American economy is headed back into another economic downturn.…

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Published Friday, August 12, 2011 @ 9:11 am

As active duty service members come home from wars winding down abroad in Iraq and Afghanistan, they are welcomed to friends, family and staggering unemployment. Now, tens of thousands of veterans are flooding the job market at a time when millions of civilians can’t even head back to work.

According to a new report from Reuters, unemployment among recent veterans grew to 13.3 percent in June, more than 4 percentage points higher than the national average.…

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Published Friday, August 12, 2011 @ 6:11 am

Amid the lingering housing crisis, full of fraudulent foreclosures, falling home prices, missed mortgage modifications, and underwater homes drowning in delinquencies, many disenfranchised Americans have turned to renting to keep a roof over their heads, and their heads above financial water.

But new numbers from the Census Bureau and Morgan Stanley reveal that home ownership rates have fallen even more dramatically than previously thought, with average Americans avoiding the real estate reckoning through a variety of rental safety nets.…

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Published Tuesday, August 9, 2011 @ 8:56 am

Are you buying forecasts that we’re in a slow-but-steady economic recovery?

Well some believe the economic recovery never actually happened.

Just ask Nobel Prize winning economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman. On the heels of the recent debt ceiling crisis, 600-point plunge in the Dow Jones industrial average and the drop in interest rates to near-record lows, Krugman warns that the United States economy was never truly ‘on the road to recovery.’

As Krugman writes in this week’s New York Times, “It’s not just that the threat of a double-dip recession has become very real.…

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Published Tuesday, August 9, 2011 @ 6:56 am

Three years back, Iceland’s entire financial system collapsed and despite being unable to bail itself out of its economic troubles on its own, the country is already recovering quickly and strongly.

As a result, there are valuable lessons anyone considering bankruptcy here at home (or even other countries) can learn from the this spate of Icelandic insolvency and what the Nordic nation ultimately did to solve it and emerge stronger than ever.…

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Published Monday, August 8, 2011 @ 6:11 pm

In this new “rough and tumble” economic era, 117,000 sounds like a lot.

$117,000 dollars. 117,000 shares of stock. 117,000 jobs?

Well, in all but one of those cases, you’d be right. In July, the American economy beat expectations by adding 117,000 new jobs to the current market and dropping the unemployment rate from 9.2 to 9.1%.…

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Published Wednesday, August 3, 2011 @ 11:00 am

In the midst of an economic meltdown, it can be tough to track your finances and start saving for a rainy day. But in the years since the recent Great Recession ended, many people are indeed trying to get their budgets back on a positive track, staging a financial comeback after years of dire economic setbacks.…

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Published Tuesday, August 2, 2011 @ 10:54 am

No one needs to tell you times are tough and money is tight.

And all too often in this “new economy” (full of new financial realities), average Americans just like you—already suffering under the intense strain of rising mortgage costs, consistent credit card debt, mounting medical bills, employment woes, and other blights on your bank accounts—are also in the market for more ways to trim shrinking household budgets.…

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Published Tuesday, August 2, 2011 @ 10:49 am

In the two years since the end of America’s recent Great Recession, there have been plenty of ups and downs in economic forecasts, fiscal prognostications, and financial facts and figures. Polls have also been a big part of taking the country’s financial pulse, as average Americans are often asked, “how are you feeling now, post-recession?”

Some experts will tell you that as recently as last fall—with news that businesses were back to hiring, some saying the housing market was no longer in a tailspin, and the economy looking less bleak than before—men and women throughout the country were beginning to feel better about their personal financial prospects.…

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Published Wednesday, July 27, 2011 @ 6:49 pm

This week, Citigroup will launch a brand, spanking new credit card that purportedly carries with a trifecta of post-recessionary perks: no late fees, no penalty rates and a single interest rate for purchases, balance transfers and cash advances.

As reported by The Associated Press, Citi’s revamped “Simplicity card” sells itself as exactly that: it will be marketed to those who are “juggling busy schedules” and “want a credit card with simple terms.” In fact, Jud Linville, CEO of Citi Cards told the AP, “It lets them not have to worry that they’re going to be late on a payment.…

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Published Tuesday, July 26, 2011 @ 3:12 pm

Few average Americans are likely celebrating the recent two-year anniversary of the period when economists and other experts say the Great Recession ended. This is especially true given that the subsequent recovery has been called “the weakest and most lopsided of any since the 1930s.”

But what’s the real reason so many are feeling less-than-jovial about the couple of years since the end of the downturn?…

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Published Tuesday, July 26, 2011 @ 1:11 pm

Just when the financial experts said it was safe to call the economy “in recovery,” Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says many Americans will face hard times for a long time to come.

Geithner reemphasized in an episode of “Meet the Press” that we remain in the midst of a very tough economy in which, for a lot of people, “it’s going to feel very hard, harder than anything they’ve experienced in their lifetime now, for a long time to come.” He also revealed that he believed  President Barack Obama has rescued the United States from a second Great Depression and will continue the hard work of trying to strengthen the economy.  Unfortunately, Geithner also predicted that it would be some time before many people actually feel like the country is recovering.…

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Published Monday, July 25, 2011 @ 11:28 am

Local Businessman Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy (And You Can Too)

A North Carolina businessman recently filed sought the safe havens of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy after being hit with two civil complaints in the past year, based on a recent story by the Johnston County’s The Herald. According to the paper, “The Dueas filed for bankruptcy protection on April 29 – about two weeks after a Smithfield cardiologist sued Jody Duea.…

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Published Monday, July 25, 2011 @ 9:28 am

When you think of “predatory lenders,” your first unfortunate thoughts may turn to non-banking entities—often unseemly, less-than-legitimate-looking establishments lit up with neon signs offering “quick check cashing” and “fast money orders.

But in the recent years since the recession ended, well-known banks are getting into the payday lending game, shirking a landmark financial law meant to prevent another financial crisis, and making fast payday cash a major part of the mainstream financial exchange with unwary borrowers.…

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Published Wednesday, July 20, 2011 @ 11:50 am

In these rough and tumble economic times, cheery financial news can be hard to come by, even amid the economic recovery itself. This remains true at the midway point of 2011—a full two years following the official end of the economic recession—as a major indicator of the strength of the America’s economic machine is showing that we’re still in the throes of an economic downturn, at least for consumers.…

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Published Friday, July 15, 2011 @ 11:14 am

According to last week’s Federal Reserve report, U.S. consumer credit rose by another $5.08 billion in May–a figure that suggested a willingness for millions to keep borrowing despite an exceptionally tight job market.

In a recap of these new figures by Reuters, the news agency said, “The May rise, coming after a revised $5.67 billion increase in April, handily topped forecasts by Wall Street economists for a $4 billion increase and marked the eighth straight month of growth in consumer credit.…

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Published Friday, July 15, 2011 @ 5:13 am

Everything old is new again with news that private investment firms are now lending to subprime borrowers again.

In fact, based on a Wall Street Journal report, subprime borrowers—home buyers whose credit scores do not meet the standards of banks—who had been largely shut out of the lending market in the years since the financial crisis, are now finding a much more liberal environment for getting a home loan.…

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Published Tuesday, July 12, 2011 @ 1:11 pm

It’s been two years since experts signaled the end of our recent Great Recession. But based on the most recent job report, it seems like only yesterday. In fact, according to last week’s surprisingly dismal government labor figures for June, a true recovery from the economic downturn of the late 2000s could be a long way off indeed.…

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Published Monday, July 4, 2011 @ 5:12 pm

With the rebound of the credit card industry in full swing for 2011, more and more credit cards are being made available to consumers—often via aggressive tactics—than in quite some time. And amid these plentiful offers for plastic there come enticing rewards of all types, with a litany of merits for the cautious consumer and just as many drawbacks for average Americans attempting to get out (and stay out) of debt.…

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Published Monday, July 4, 2011 @ 3:11 pm

Despite the continuing economic malaise, American spending habits appear to be alive and well, overleveraging already beleaguered budgets hit hard by the housing crisis, high unemployment and rising unsecured debt loads. In fact, despite lessons learned from the recent recession, Americans continue to spend about 15% of their household incomes on luxury items defined by “wants” instead of “needs.”

So where (and on what) are we wasting our money this time?…

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Published Saturday, July 2, 2011 @ 11:34 am

Recent gains for marriage equality in states like Iowa and New Hampshire have been met by a lot of legal questions for those who are actually considering marriage with their gay and lesbian partner. Confusing differences in relationship recognition amongst state and federal laws can create true legal challenges for same-sex couples throughout the country.…

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Published Saturday, July 2, 2011 @ 9:32 am

While a majority of economists and other financial experts firmly believe we are experiencing a modest economic recovery, a new poll reveals that a large, vocal minority of Americans feel that the economy will never fully recover from the effects of the recent “Great Recession.”

A New York Times/CBS News poll found that 39 percent of people responding believe “the current economic downturn is part of a long-term permanent decline and the economy will never fully recover.” The survey is one of many revealing overall distress with the current state of the American economic picture.…

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Published Sunday, June 26, 2011 @ 2:09 pm

It seems like only yesterday that being termed “one in a million” was a good thing.

But that was apparently before the economic crisis.

Today, there are over one million Americans (1.4 million to be exact) who have been out of work for 99 weeks or longer. Deemed as the “very long-term unemployed,” this overflowing group of unfortunate unemployed workers tends to skew more mature, with little discrimination between those with (or without) a college education.…

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Published Sunday, June 26, 2011 @ 10:08 am

In these tough economic times, some households have had to put basic needs above plans for higher education, turning to personal savings and college funds to fight off foreclosure, meet mounting medical costs, and in some cases, even keep the lights on and food in the fridge. In the wake of the recent Recession, many commentators have begun to question the cost-benefit of analysis of spending for higher education versus the realities of the jobs (and salaries) earned as a result.…

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Published Sunday, June 19, 2011 @ 11:37 am

In these rough and tumble economic times, some households have been forced to put low-level, basic needs above long-term plans for higher education, turning to personal savings and what they previously considered to be college funds to fight off home foreclosure, meet mounting medical costs, and in some cases, even keep the lights on and food in the fridge.…

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Published Saturday, June 18, 2011 @ 8:21 am

It’s no secret that a big reason for our country’s lingering financial malaise is the real estate market’s seemingly unending mortgage crisis—forcing many Americans out of house and home while also contributing to a bleak economic environment for home purchases, investment and spending.

But along with the knowledge that the mortgage servicing industry foreclosed on more than one million homes last year and is on track to do better in 2011, comes more bad news for the beleaguered economy: high unemployment is now further dragging down the housing market and subsequent prospects for our country’s economic recovery.…

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Published Saturday, June 18, 2011 @ 7:47 am

These summer months are shaping up (again) to be tough times for recent college graduates. This latest round of job seekers continues to face high unemployment and mounting debt. So what happens when these poor economic conditions coincide with payment deadlines for sometimes astronomical educational loans? One word: defaults. In the end, this feeling of financial helplessness leaves many recent grads reeling, and rightfully so, in an economic climate may mean they will never be as successful or financially secure as their parents.…

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Published Friday, June 17, 2011 @ 7:50 am

Summer is typically the time when gas prices jump, making seasonal vacations, travel and even the daily commute a bit more challenging as temps heat up. But political unrest in the Middle East fueling global insecurity about oil availability, means normally high gas prices could go even higher, leaving even less money for basic needs (and many families squeezed) during these hazy days of summer.…

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Published Thursday, June 16, 2011 @ 6:43 am

When the Rolling Stones sang “I Can’t Get No (Satisfaction),” or comedian Rodney Dangerfield spoke of getting, “No Respect,” they could have just as easily been speaking about today’s labor market, full of employees, in some cases, just happy to be employed, but far from content with where they are and what they’re doing.…

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Published Wednesday, June 15, 2011 @ 4:33 pm

As temperatures heat up all across the country this season, so too are concerns about inflation, with rock bottom housing prices, and a weak labor market, adding fuel to the summertime fire. The result? Tanking consumer confidence in May, at least according to a private sector report released this week, and fears of something more economically-sinister a’ brewin.’

Based on a Reuters reading of the new economic data, “The Conference Board, an industry group, said its index of consumer attitudes fell to 60.8 from a revised 66.0 in April.…

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Published Wednesday, June 15, 2011 @ 2:36 pm

While many Americans learned a harsh lesson during the economic recession—turning away from reckless spending in an attempt to increase much-needed savings and avoid high-interest consumer debts—auto lenders still did well during the downturn, as demand for cars remained high and auto loans became one of the very few types of consumer debts that grew even as consumer confidence dwindled.…

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Published Tuesday, June 14, 2011 @ 1:28 pm

Two years after experts found the recession to have ended, real estate prices continue to fall in major cities all across the country according to a new report—in some cases to their lowest level since the housing bubble burst in 2006—signifying a true recovery has yet to materialize in the beleaguered housing market.…

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Published Tuesday, June 14, 2011 @ 8:26 am

From Joplin, Missouri, to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to Raleigh, North Carolina, and everywhere in between, we’ve all seen our fair share of devastating storms, winds, flooding and tornados this season–whether they be on television or impacting in our own backyards.  But amid the reports of destroyed homes and rising death tolls comes another, less well-known casualty of these now-ubiquitous natural disasters: massive job losses.…

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Published Monday, June 13, 2011 @ 11:03 am

You may have heard the phrase “debt ceiling” being bandied about in the media recently. But few people outside of Washington D.C.’s Beltway, and in the current Congressional fight over raising it, truly understand what the term has to do with the proverbial “price of beans.” But financial experts warn that this unending political battle over how the country handles our national debt limit, could have lasting effects on average American pocketbooks.…

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Published Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 3:57 pm

While many financial experts are reporting that the economy is getting healthier by the day, more data is emerging that average Americans are still avoiding seeking healthcare amid fears that bearing more medical costs would break already beleaguered household budgets.

According to a new report from Reuters, this means poor health utilization from many following the extended economic downturn, and more profits for health insurers who are forced to pay less out for services, even as the insured are asked to pay more into the industry.…

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Published Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 2:33 pm

Think high unemployment concerns have passed? Well, according to the Labor Department, these concerns are just as pressing as ever, with a paltry number of jobs added in May to keep up with the growing demand of an expanding labor force.

As Reuters is reporting, “Employment rose far less than expected in May to record its weakest reading since September, while the jobless rate rose to 9.1 percent as high energy prices and the effects of Japan’s earthquake bogged down the economy.…

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Published Sunday, June 12, 2011 @ 1:57 pm

Are You Prepared for an American Recession Turned Great Depression?

Just as many Americans had begun to believe the worst of the economic downturn had passed, some experts are saying that the nation’s reemerging job woes are signs of something more sinister afoot: a potential Great Depression.

So what could cause America’s Recession to turn into a Great Depression?…

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Published Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 5:50 pm

Unrest in the Middle East has pushed gas prices sky high for the rest of us in recent months, with average American households, just beginning to recover from the recent economic recession, scrambling to fill their tanks with petrol pushing $3.60 (and higher) per gallon.

So, apart from adjusting tire pressure, turning off the AC and/or driving slower, you might be wondering how to reduce the financial pain you’re likely experiencing at the pump.…

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Published Friday, June 3, 2011 @ 2:52 pm

Just released unemployment numbers in North Carolina are showing some promising signs of post-recessionary economic improvement. Unemployment officially dropped in 93 of 100 North Carolina counties from last month’s figures.The state’s adjusted unemployment rate is at 10.1%, with 36 counties at that level and the number of workers who found jobs in February up by16,500.…

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Published Wednesday, June 1, 2011 @ 2:49 pm

Tens of thousands of jobless North Carolinians are wondering when the stalemate will end between a Republican-led state legislature and the Democratic governor—both wanting to pass a state budget, but with little to agree on other than that.

According to a new article from Arthur Delaney, entitled “North Carolina Unemployment Standoff Drags Endlessly,” a reporter who has been watching the now more-than-a month-long budget boondoggle play out in front of both local and national media outlets, the disagreements between the legislative and executive branches is unchanged this week despite attempts at concessions on both sides.…

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