We've been throwing around the word recession in connection with the US economy for some time now — everything from recession-proof jobs to recession-proof beauty is common vocabulary. However, in a statement released just today, the National Bureau of Economic Research confirmed that the economy has been in a recession since December 2007.
The last time the economy was in a recession was 2001, after the tech bubble burst. Members of the Business Cycle Dating Committee explained the requirements for a recession in a statement.
A recession is a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in production, employment, real income, and other indicators. A recession begins when the economy reaches a peak of activity and ends when the economy reaches its trough.
My boyfriend and I are looking to buy our first home together. He makes about $25,000 more than me per year and we both have similar expenses when it comes to our loans (I make about $56k and he makes about $81k). We're very realistic that relationships don't always work out in the end, but right now, we're very happy and believe we will get married and have children in the future.
Because I cannot afford as much of a monthly payment on a mortgage as he can, he has told me he wouldn't mind paying more than me. I told him that, realistically, the smart way to think about this is as a business transaction, and in the end, if we do split up, I will still get 50 percent of our house, but he will have paid more into it. He really appreciated my honesty on this point, but hadn't thought about it himself.
He then said he could pay the bills or food or something else to ensure I wasn't broke at the end of every month, if we did choose to buy a nicer house than we could if using only my salary. What's your opinion on this? Do you think we should split the mortgage payment in half no matter what? When you add our salaries together, we are doing pretty well, but I alone couldn't get my own mortgage. Please give me as much advice as you can before I buy my first home!
Win One of Two Laptops From Windows! geeksugar is getting into the holiday spirit by giving away two hot new laptops! The first is the Windows Vista powered Acer Aspire Gemstone Blue Notebook, which comes with Dolby Home Theater sound and a CineCrystal full 16-inch HD display. While the second is a Windows Vista powered Sony VAIO CS laptop that weighs only 5.7 pounds and comes with an Intel Centrino 2 processor, 4GB of RAM and a whopping 320GB hard drive. Who doesn't want one?!
After hearing the news that a Wal-Mart employee was brutally trampled to death by discount-hungry shoppers on Black Friday, you might think eager shoppers everywhere turned out for after-Thanksgiving sales. While other retailers avoided such tragedy on the biggest shopping day of the year, they didn't draw in the same crowds and are now apprehensively facing the bad news that 2008 could end in the red.
The prospect of getting something for less might have caused some aggressive crowds, but the number of shoppers out this Black Friday didn't compare to those in recent years. Most of the people who did make it to the stores were seeking basic items over luxuries, making it clear this holiday season is more subdued in the material sense than retailers had hoped.
The Financial Times caught up with one shopper who admitted, "This year I’m cutting back. I’ll probably end up bargain-hunting on the internet." Good thing she and the rest of us cutting back have Cyber Monday sales to check out. Have you found any good online deals so far today?
The last month of the year is often the busiest — with all of the holiday parties and traveling it's amazing that any work gets done! It's easy to let things fall through the cracks with so much going on, including that little thing called a budget. Start the slideshow to check out my must have December tips to get you through the season without going broke or getting on your boss's bad side.
Usually it's tough to bounce back after a long weekend, but today is not your average Monday — it's Cyber Monday, the biggest online shopping day of the year. For those of you that steered clear of Black Friday, now is your chance to scoop up some gifts at a discount, without leaving your desk. The brains behind Cyber Monday are no dummies and know that you'll be sitting in front of your computer all day, but you need to make sure shopping doesn't get in the way of completing your work. Here's a plan for balancing your Monday priorities.
Make a list of your work obligations.
Divide those obligations into time slots, giving yourself deadlines so that you work more efficiently and are able to create extra time in your day for browsing online.
Get out of the office for five minutes of fresh air, but eat at your desk while perusing online sales. If you have a laptop, consider taking it to a nearby cafe that has WiFi.
Put items in your online cart, but don't purchase until you've scoped all of the sites you want to. You don't want to buy under time crunch pressure because you may end up buying things that aren't the best deals.
Stay a little late. Once you've finished working, send an email to your personal email with links to all of the items you are unsure about so you can take more time to think about them.
When you get home, finish your Cyber Monday business.
Black Friday has come and gone faster than your turkey hangover went away. I wasn't able to make it out to any of the sales myself (good thing there's still Cyber Monday), but being a bargain hunter at heart, I'm dying to hear about the on-sale loot you scored.
What deals did you get your hands on this Black Friday?
We've been throwing around the word recession in connection with the US economy for some time now — everything from recession-proof jobs to recession-proof beauty is common vocabulary. However, in a statement released just today, the National Bureau of Economic Research confirmed that the economy has been in a recession since December 2007. 
Anthony Peto
Zagliani
Club des Crﾎateurs de Beautﾎ