Zoos across the country are reporting higher attendance as consumers look for affordable entertainment closer to home. (Springfield News-Leader)

As well-off families confront the new contours of their budgets, education may emerge as an attractive, if painful, place to cut. (New York Times/City Room)

The recession has begun to cut into eating habits, affecting not only how much we fork out on food but also what we are putting into our shopping baskets. (BBC) There are easy ways to cut down on your grocery bill. (Recessionwire)

A standoff at a Georgia chicken plant shows how two important imperatives in a recession — creating jobs and cutting excess capacity — can collide. (Wall Street Journal)

Across the country, slim financial aid packages and family monetary concerns are preventing students from attending their choice university. (Dallas Morning News)

Twyla Prindle on what should you tell your children about the recession. (Examiner)

DIY Nation: Strapped consumers are trying to save money by cutting expenses such as lawn services, opting instead to tackle projects themselves. (Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette)

The recession is hitting harder than forecast in the U.K., as figures show the country’s GPD dropping 2.4%, the most since 1958. (Bloomberg)

The securities firms still standing on Wall Street are about to close the most lucrative quarter since the credit crisis erupted. (Wall Street Journal)

More landlords have loosened their pet policies over the past 18 months, responding to a spike in demand from pet-owning renters — many of whom have been victims of foreclosures. (Associated Press)

Tags: cheap recreation, college, education, employment, food, kids and the recession, recession, Wall Street

Just as many children of the Great Depression learned to hoard money in their houses, today’s children will develop financial habits based on what they learn from parents coping with the recession. (Chicago Tribune)

With nearly one of 10 U.S. workers unable to land a job in the current economic conditions, some unemployed cubicle warriors with sudden free time are succumbing to wanderlust. (USA Today)

The recession is causing some unhappy couples to rethink their marital situation, since a costly divorce would only further deplete already-shrunken assets. (Wall Street Journal)

Five U.S. banks with total assets of about $1.04 billion were seized by regulators Friday, pushing this year’s tally of failures to 45 as a recession drives up unemployment and home foreclosures. (Bloomberg)

We’re not undergoing one uniform recession nationwide. The effects on our 100 largest metropolitan areas have ranged from glancing blow to body slam. (Los Angeles Times) That’s why you may not be feeling the recession–or the recovery. (Recessionwire)

The total number of rich people is back down to levels not seen since 2005. But  a coming boom in emerging market billionaires, led not surprisingly by the Chinese, is expected to kick those numbers up again quickly.  (Newsweek)

Bernie Madoff, the man behind the biggest Ponzi scheme ever, will find out this morning how many years he will spend behind bars. (MSN Money)

General Electric, the world’s largest industrial company, has quietly become the biggest beneficiary of one of the government’s key rescue programs for banks. (Washington Post)

The administration portrays its mortgage program as a crucial piece of its broader effort to restore vigor to the economy. Yet in the four months since the Treasury Department announced the program, millions of new homeowners have slipped into delinquency and foreclosure. (New York Times)

More struggling cities are canceling plans for fireworks on the 4th of July. (Los Angeles Times)

Tags: bank failure, bernie madoff, divorce, foreclosure, general electric, Great Depression, recession, travel

California’s controller said Wednesday that he would have to issue IOUs in a week if lawmakers can’t quickly solve a $24 billion budget deficit. (Reuters)

The number of millionaires in the world shrunk at a record rate in 2008, according to new data. Last year cut the number of millionaires worldwide by 15 percent to 8.6 million. (Los Angeles Times)

Warren Buffett said yesterday that the economy is a “shambles” and likely to stay that way for some time, though he remains optimistic there will eventually be a recovery over a period of years. (CNBC)

With the unemployment rate at 9.4%, some Americans are willing to go wherever they can to nab a job. To adapt, they find living quarters near the job in campers or cheap apartments, giving up normal family life for a paycheck. (Wall Street Journal)

As part of a series comparing today’s recession to Charles Dickens’ Hard Times, Paul Vallely looks at how the recession is damaging Britain’s emotional health. (Independent)

Depending upon how long the downturn lasts, historians, economists and psychologists say it could shape the values and attitudes of young people in much the same way the Depression shaped the attitudes of those growing up in the 1930s. (USA Today)

With so many folks out of work, people are turning any gathering into a time to network. Cocktail parties, kids’ birthday parties, even dentist appointments — it seems like nothing is off limits.  (CBS News)

How can you deal with a morally bankrupt boss when the economy is threatening your job? (ABC News)

School daze: State and local budget cuts are hitting school districts hard — forcing many of them to make cuts in summer programs that many educators consider critical to students’ academic success. (Wall Street Journal)

Sales of newly constructed homes fell unexpectedly in May and were down almost a third from last-year’s levels, a government report said. (CNN/Money)

Tags: Charles Dickens, education, Great Depression, housing, millionaires, moral bankruptcy, networking, new homes, recession, unemployment, Warren Buffet

The recession-driven shift to eating at home more often is giving new life to grocery stores’ most basic offerings. (Wall Street Journal)

Nationally, 27 percent of about 1.6 million graduating college seniors plan to work for nonprofit groups or governments, an increase from 23 percent from 2008. (Bloomberg)

A growing number of American homeowners are falling into financial limbo: They’re badly behind on payments, but their banks have not yet foreclosed. (Washington Post)

While defaulted consumer debt is much tougher to recover in a recession, some collection firms have managed to squeeze more revenue from bad debt this year. (Wall Street Journal)

President Obama said yesterday  his administration needs to push money out faster to initiate a recovery and conceded that unemployment would rise above 10 percent. (Associated Press)

Between May 1999 and May 2009, employment in the private sector sector only rose by 1.1%, by far the lowest 10-year increase in the post-depression period. (BusinessWeek)

Existing home sales rose in May, as increasingly affordable home prices and a first-time tax credit attracted hesitant buyers. The median price of homes sold in May was just $173,000, a 16.8% year-over-year drop. (CNN/Money)

Another recession term enters the lexicon: Poorgeoisie: Those who conceal their affluence with a (carefully crafted) down-at-heel look. See more new terms in the Recession Lexicon. (New York Times/Schott’s Vocab)

Some tips for coping with the fallout from “recession depression.” (Daily Mail)

While the government’s standard employment data shows plenty of pain, many employers are begging for qualified applicants for certain occupations. Most of the jobs involve skills that take years to attain. (New York Times)

Tags: collection agencies, employment, foreclosure, graduating seniors, grocery shopping, home ownership, housing prices, poorgeoisie, recession, unemployment

Barely half of Americans are now confident that President Obama’s $787 billion stimulus measure will boost the economy, according to a new poll. (Washington Post)

Lines at soup kitchens are growing across the U.S. as they cater to a growing number of families struggling to make ends meet. (Guardian)

Shelters are struggling to house the increasing numbers of pets being abandoned by cash-strapped owners. (CBS News/Early Show)

Many smokers are too stressed by the hard economic times to attempt to give up their habit, a new study suggests. (BBC)

With the recession making it tough to win new clients, small businesses are stretching their resources to keep loyal customers. (Wall Street Journal)

The world economy is headed into an era of slower growth, according to a World Bank report, with developing nations bearing the brunt of a stubborn credit crunch. (Washington Post)

“It’s dangerous to assume that what’s bad for the chains is good for the mom-and-pops,” writes Jonathan Weber. ”In this economy, a store closure is nothing to cheer about.” (The Big Money)

The nation’s foreclosure crisis — once largely confined to only a few corners of the country — is spreading to new areas as the economy teeters.(USA Today)

In a new survey by the Pew Research Center, 76 percent of Americans said they have cut back on vacation spending and eating at restaurants or have delayed buying a car or major home items. (Washington Post/Small Change)

Michigan has the highest unemployment rate of any state at 14.1 percent, a distinction the state has held for 25 of the last 26 months. Check out this map showing how hard various states have been affected by job loss. (Huffington Post)

Tags: consumer spending, credit crunch, foreclosure, pets, recession, small business, soup kitchens, stimulus, unemployment, unemployment map, World Bank

More women are turning to sex work in the bad economy. Strip clubs, X-rated Web cam companies and escort managers across the country have reported an increase in job applications in the last several months — ironically, at the same time that business is largely going down. (Salon)

Healthcare without insurance is like construction without power tools. It can be done, but it will take longer and require a lot more effort. And at times you’ll feel like you’re hammering your thumb. (Los Angeles Times)

Despite signs that the recession may be easing, the unemployment rate is projected to continue rising for another year before topping out in double digits, a prospect that threatens to slow growth and increase poverty. (Washington Post)

The recession is taking a bite out of national brand loyalty in products ranging from Advil pain reliever and Green Giant frozen vegetables to Jif peanut butter. (Reuters)

Could the recession result in a baby boom? Nielsen is reporting double-digit growth in ovulation-predictor kits and pregnancy tests across Canada. (Calgary Herald) But some people are also debating whether they can afford children now. (Recessionwire)

Some people are handing over vintage toys, sets of dishes, baseball cards, furniture and clothes to auction houses and online auction sites hoping to generate cash. (New York Daily News)

State governments are reeling from the recession and are beginning to make deep budget cuts to stanch the bleeding. (New York Times)

Welfare roles are seeing a sharp increase. Twenty-three of the 30 largest states, which account for more than 88% of the nation’s total population, see welfare caseloads above year-ago levels. (Wall Street Journal)

Deborah Siegel uses the experience of her laid-off husband to speculate on some of the changes men undergo after losing their jobs as a result of the recession. (The Big Money)

Use of antidepressant medications has soared in the U.K. during the recession. (Guardian)

Tags: anti-depressants, baby boom, brand loyalty, budget cuts, depression, healthcare, recession, sex work, the daddy shift, unemployment, welfare

Pop group New Kids on the Block are citing the global economic recession as a main reason for canceling their reunion tour. (OK!)

No land-lines, “virtual” swim meets and trayless cafeterias. Cost-cutting colleges and universities have come up with some smaller, quirkier economies that add up to big savings. (New York Times)

Could it be that companies will suddenly lose large numbers of their employees when the recession is over? A survey shows the majority of working Americans are planning to launch a job hunt when the economy turns around. (U.S. News & World Report)

Experts warn that a new wave of mortgage foreclosures may be coming soon and could rival the default rates for subprime mortgages and slow efforts to find bottom in a prolonged national housing slump. (McClatchy Newspapers)

As unemployment continues to rise in the U.S., drastic reforms are likely. Here are four broad measures the administration could take to provide some relief. (Forbes/Oxford Analytica)

With so many Americans losing their homes and moving away with their children, many school districts are faced with a new problem — empty desks. (CBS News)

In this job market, the idea of quitting might sound crazy, but some people are giving notice and finding that they’re better off without their jobs. (ABC News)

The Obama administration’s $75 billion program to reduce foreclosures has been beset by backlogs and delays, leading many overstretched homeowners to complain about unreturned phone calls and inaccurate information from lenders, while others say they were denied help for reasons that weren’t clear. (USA Today)

The Senate has passed the Cash for Clunkers Program, which gives consumers with cars that get less than 18 miles per gallon the ability to turn them in for a $3,500 or $4,500 cash voucher. (Reuters)

“As we debate what to do for the millions of homeowners who are ‘under water’ we could learn from a city that knows a thing or two about being under water,” writes Dan Baum. “New Orleans can teach us that the life we build with our neighbors deserves at least as much attention as our endless thrust towards newer and bigger.” (New York Times/Happy Days)

Tags: college, Dan Baum, education, job hunt, mortgages, New Kids on the Block, New Orleans, opting out, recession, taking time off, unemployment

Want to hedge against the downturn by investing in precious metals? In Germany, shoppers will soon be able to buy gold from vending machines. (Daily Telegraph)

More than 40 communities across the country have canceled their Fourth of July fireworks, conceding that shooting off a colorful array of explosives is now a luxury that borders on wasteful. (Washington Post)

Cash-strapped and unemployed New Yorkers are meeting job contacts on the fly, in nontraditional settings, outside of their professional networks.  (New York/Daily Intel)

The number of Americans filing for initial unemployment insurance rose slightly last week, with the number filing ongoing claims fell for the first time since the start of the year. (CNN/Money)

The recession has evidently created “a new breed of stay-at-home dads.” (New York Press)

With the economy shrinking and more consumers defaulting on debts, credit card issuers are raising rates, cutting limits and slapping on new fees. (Wall Street Journal)

“If you’re waiting on housing and finance to get us out of the mess they caused, then you better pull up a comfortable chair and a bag of popcorn, because it’s going to be a long wait,” writes Daniel Gross. (Newsweek)

“So far, the collapse of the world economy since April 2008 has actually been worse than the rate of collapse in the Great Depression,” writes Henry Blodget. “The main difference between now and then is that most economists expect the world economy to recover more quickly than it did in the 1930s.” (Huffington Post)

The recent wave of legal layoffs, rescinded job offers, and even bankruptcies has created the ugliest market for lawyers in more than a quarter century. (New York Times/City Room)

President Barack Obama said yesterday that the recession struck largely because a post-Depression era business regulatory scheme couldn’t keep up with an increasingly global economy. (Associated Press)

Tags: bankruptcy, credit cards, networking, recession, stay-at-home dads, unemployment

New analysis of job market data finds that Phoenix, Ariz., is where college graduates have the best chance of finding work in the current economy. (BusinessWeek)

Even sex is selling for less as a result of the recession: clubs and brothels in Europe have been offering discounts and other special offers to drum up business. (Associated Press)

President Barack Obama yesterday predicted that the unemployment rate would reach 10% this year. (Bloomberg)

The economic downturn is redefining retirement for many baby boomers. After losing jobs during what they thought would be some of their peak earning years, many are struggling to get back into the workforce. (USA Today)

A report from the State Department says the recession is causing a rise in human trafficking around the globe. (USA Today/On Deadline)

Forget about all the fired workers: What we really need to know is how New York’s super-rich hedge fund wives are learning to cope with the recession. (Times of London)

Economists advising the American Bankers Association said the U.S. recession will end in the third quarter, but lingering high unemployment and large federal deficits may pose a longer-term threat. (Reuters)

Whither the “American Dream?” Some families discover that cutting back from the boom’s excesses isn’t such a bad thing. (ABC News)

Banks continue to write off credit card debt as consumers hurt by record high unemployment default at an increasing rate. (CNN/Money)

“If our economy picks up too quickly, price cuts for food, real estate, and consumer goods due to the recession will fizzle quickly and be replaced by soaring inflation,” worries Boonie Erbe. (U.S. News & World Report)

Tags: credit cards, employment, hedge fund wives, human trafficking, inflation, recession, retirement, sex work

The Obama administration has turned back pleas for emergency aid from one of the biggest remaining threats to the economy — the state of California. (Washington Post)

Credit card companies are increasingly doing something they have historically scorned: settling delinquent accounts for substantially less than the amount owed. (New York Times)

As the recession lingers on, more travelers are redeeming their frequent flyer miles. (USA Today) But credit card companies have said they may be reducing rewards. (Recessionwire)

Many companies are turning to a novel but unheralded program known as work-sharing, where employers reduce their workers’ weekly hours, often by 20 or 40 percent, and then states make up some of the lost wages. (New York Times)

Since the recession started blocking many traditional career paths, record numbers of 20-somethings, and even many established professionals, have ventured out on a new track: public service. (Houston Chronicle)

Like many Americans who have been forced to redefine success because of the recession, laid off auto worker Troy Long is trying to shrug off his misfortune and become a professional wrestler. (Washington Post)

The not-so-great financial lessons we learned from board games as kids. (The Big Money)

Still lucky enough to have a job? You’re likely doing the work of two or three people, working longer hours and not getting any extra pay. (CNN/Money)

Everyone knows how the recession has impacted job seekers — there are fewer jobs and lots more competition — but here’s what it looks like from an employer’s side. (U.S. News & World Report)

High style at low prices may be possible for smart shoppers — many of whom are finding the best deals at their neighbors’ houses. (CBS News)

Tags: california, credit cards, public service, recession, travel, twentysomethings, unemployment, work-sharing