Tag Archives: The Great Recession

Podcast: Which way is up?

July 29, 2009 – 8:56 am

Derek Stubbs and Hans Eisenbeis welcome Gregg Archibald to the team and talk about the housing market and small business in recession. Download this week’s economic podcast here: Which way is up?: Bottoms Up Week 26 33 min., 2 sec.

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Consumers dump the stock market and embrace savings

May 29, 2009 – 6:00 am

by Hans Eisenbeis WHAT’S HAPPENING We know consumers are in emergency savings mode during the Great Recession. So where are they putting their money for long term returns? Forget the stock market. According to a new poll from Gallup, Americans’ confidence in stock and bonds is down a whopping 50% since 2007 (Gallup.com 5.8.09). Not […]

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Podcast: Crushing green shoots under the heels of our boots

May 13, 2009 – 9:54 am

Derek Stubbs and Hans Eisenbeis discuss how much worse the economy could get, and companies that are nevertheless thriving. Download this week’s economic podcast here: Crushing green shoots under the heels of our boots: Bottoms Up Week 23 27 min., 36 sec.

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Dress rental services have recessionistas covered

March 19, 2009 – 6:00 am

by Nissa Hanna WHAT’S HAPPENING To help recessionistas cope in this economy, apparel rental services are coming to the rescue. Dress Vault facilitates the lending, borrowing, buying and selling of frocks. Members put pics of their dresses into their virtual closet and include a rental or purchase price (JCReport.com 2.12.09). Borrowers cover shipping costs, but […]

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THE CLEAN FRIDGE CLUB

March 17, 2009 – 2:30 pm

by Charlotte Beal Four months before the Great Recession became official, I penned what I pegged a top trend for 2009: “Buying Out,” or consumers engaging in deconsumption to save money, lighten the load on the planet and amp independence. Now Iconoculture is seeing this play out in categories from fashion to transportation, but food […]

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Podcast: Good Sports

March 9, 2009 – 1:13 pm

Derek Stubbs and Hans Eisenbeis react to the mortgage bailouts, and discuss economic recovery and professional sports. Download this week’s economic podcast here: Good Sports: Bottoms Up Week 21 32 min., 52 sec.

By Iconoculture | Posted in Consumer Trend, Economic meltdown, Economy, Money/Spending, Podcasts | Also tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Why do people give to charity? To look good

February 20, 2009 – 6:00 am

by Hans Eisenbeis WHAT’S HAPPENING A new academic study has interesting ramifications for the world of philanthropy. Behavioral economists Dan Ariely, Anat Bracha and Stephan Meier found that one of the main reasons people give to charity is “image motivation” (Economist.com 1.15.09). That is, they wish to be seen by others as charitable people. While […]

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Up the Down Staircase

February 17, 2009 – 2:44 pm

by Hans Eisenbeis Two men were chatting outside the Minneapolis public library the other day, discussing the upside of unemployment. “I’m spending more time with my family, and we’re just hanging out — doing old-fashioned stuff like playing board games and cards.” His unmarried friend was incredulous. “Well, you don’t need a ruined economy to […]

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Consumers worry: Biggest credit card heist ever?

February 12, 2009 – 6:08 am

by Hans Eisenbeis WHAT’S HAPPENING Heartland Payment Systems reported in January 2009 that their databases had been breached in 2008, exposing up to 100 million credit card holders to potential fraud (WashingtonPost.com 1.20.09). The New Jersey company processes electronic payments for small and mid-sized businesses, especially restaurants. The good news? The crooks were not able […]

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Divorce rates decline during the Great Recession

February 5, 2009 – 9:17 am

by Hans Eisenbeis WHAT’S HAPPENING When times get tough, the tough stay married. Divorce courts and lawyers saw a dramatic drop in divorce proceedings as the economy worsened in 2008. In Chicago, for example, there was a 5% drop in filings in the first three quarters of 2008 — before things got really ugly (MarketWatch.com 12.21.08). The […]

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Even the wealthy are heading to the pawn shop

January 30, 2009 – 1:03 pm

by Hans Eisenbeis WHAT’S HAPPENING Pawn shops are doing well in the Great Recession. The National Pawnbrokers Association says business was up nationally about 10% in 2008. But pawn shops that specialize in serving wealthy communities in Beverly Hills and Philadelphia say business was up as much as 40% (WSJ.com 12.30.08). The NPA says the average […]

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“We outsourced the job of … firing you”

January 15, 2009 – 6:40 am

by Hans Eisenbeis WHAT’S HAPPENING A Belgian advertising agency needs to fire one employee to stay ahead of the recession, but management doesn’t have the guts to do it. So they’re asking the Internet to decide. The agency, So Nice,  has posted the (morose) pictures and profiles of 8 employees, and listed the “strong points” and […]

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Hot or Not?

January 7, 2009 – 10:59 pm

by Hans Eisenbeis Rob Walker, the Times’ estimable columnist on all things related to consumerism, seems awfully dismissive of the idea that thrift is the new black. I don’t know which set of abysmal numbers he’s not looking at — consumer confidence (in the tank), retail sales (ninth circle of hell), deflation (snake’s belly @ […]

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Best of 2008: Got yours? Website tries to return $30 billion of missing money

January 7, 2009 – 9:00 am

by Hans Eisenbeis WHAT’S HAPPENING MissingMoney.com is a website that keeps track of unclaimed property. It’s estimated that American consumers have misplaced or forgotten more than $30 billion, and it’s only a few clicks away (Dateline.MSNBC.com 6.15.08). Most unclaimed property is in the range of $100 to $1,000 and comes from forgotten deposit checks, refunds […]

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