Economy, Recession | featured news

A new study looks at child abuse cases before, during and after the economy's 2007 crash, and found that abusive head injuries increased dramatically after the financial meltdown.

Chances the United States will lapse into another recession rose over the past month to nearly one in three as the economy faces a number of road blocks that could derail already weak growth, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday.

One of my favorite movies is “Failure to Launch.” Not because it’s great cinema; I just like the premise.
It’s about a 35-year-old, played by Matthew McConaughey, who lives at home and has no intentions of leaving. So his parents hire a woman who specializes in getting grown men to leave the nest. There’s much more to the story, of course, but the takeaway message for me is that parents need to help their adult children launch into adulthood. Unfortunately, there are many parents who fail at this task.

America is swiftly becoming a granny state. Less frail and more involved, today's grandparents are shunning retirement homes and stepping in more than ever to raise grandchildren while young adults struggle in the poor economy.

The federal deficit will hit $1.3 trillion for fiscal 2011, the third consecutive year of record shortfalls and an emerging campaign theme for GOP attacks on President Obama and congressional Democrats. The deficits of the last three years are at levels unseen since World War II and stem from the "long shadow" cast on the economy by the financial crisis and recession, the Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday.

Another recession isn't likely over the next 12 months. Neither is any meaningful improvement in the economy.

Stocks are edging higher following a four-week losing streak. The Dow Jones industrial average is up 23 points, or 0.2 percent, to 10,844 in midday trading Monday. It had been up as many as 203 points. The Dow fell 4 percent last week as worries deepened that the U.S. could slip into a recession. The S&P 500 rose less than a point to 1,124. The Nasdaq was up less than a point at 2,342.

The Wallaces know what it means to struggle.

Stock markets in Asia opened sharply lower Friday amid signs of a possible U.S. recession and renewed worries over the financial health of Europe's banks.

The Federal Reserve Board has promised to keep interest rates at zero until 2013-- an admission that the economy is not expected to rebound for two years-- until the next President is in the White House. This policy step indicates the Fed does not believe the economy will recover either this year or next year. Never before has the central bank made such a policy declaration for as long a period as two years.