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5 Economic Flubs That Will Cost Democrats Most
Tweet Share on Facebook August 27, 2010 Comment (22)Get ready to rumble. The fall elections are going to be a shouting match over President Obama's first two years in office, with the Democrats likely to lose no matter how loudly they bellow. In addition to battling the usual midterm snapback, Democrats must explain a slip-sliding economy that's not responding the way it's supposed to after more than $3 trillion worth of government aid. Finally, an issue that makes politicians run from TV cameras.
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The Rise of the Zombie Consumers
Tweet Share on Facebook August 26, 2010 Comment (2)They're not exactly roaming through malls, arms aimlessly extended and bloody bandages dragging through stacks of sweaters. But "zombie consumers" are haunting the economy whether they're visible or not.
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The Good News in the Bad Housing Numbers
Tweet Share on Facebook August 25, 2010 Comment (4)We've been hoping to avoid this pain, with vast amounts of medication disguised as Federal Reserve asset purchases, home-buyer tax credits, unorthodox mortgage modifications, and other aid meant to anesthetize the housing market. But it hasn't really worked, and we're finally seeing just how deep the housing bust really is.
[See how to survive a 'zombie economy.']
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Why Housing Is Even Worse Than You Think
Tweet Share on Facebook August 25, 2010 Comment (21)Shocking. More than three years after the housing bust began, forecasters are still overestimating the strength of the housing market. The latest sales numbers for existing homes, which took a steep, unexpected plunge, triggered a fresh bout of national gloom and stock-market selloffs. Record-low interest rates aren't luring buyers, and neither are falling prices that are 30 percent below their peaks, or more. The pace of sales is the lowest in 15 years.
[See how to survive a 'zombie economy'.]
None of that is the shocking part, however. What's really unnerving is that all of this has happened despite a government effort to prop up housing that has been the biggest stimulus package of them all.
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Why Our ‘Lost Decade’ May Only Last 5 Years
Tweet Share on Facebook August 24, 2010 Comment (6)With the recovery faltering despite massive amounts of government aid, economists are now looking deeper for clues about where we might be headed. The obvious starting point: Japan.
For a while, the hope was that stimulus spending, Federal Reserve maneuvers, and other government aid totaling more than $3.5 trillion would be enough to springboard the economy out of recession and get it back on track. For a couple of quarters late last year and early this year, it looked like that was happening.
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How To Survive a 'Zombie Economy'
Tweet Share on Facebook August 23, 2010 Comment (2)Imagine if the U.S. economy grew just 1 percent per year over the next 20 years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average would plunge by 60 percent, to less than 4000. The average price of a home would fall by nearly 50 percent, from $184,000 to about $100,000. The economic carnage would make the Great Recession seem gentle, upending families, devastating communities, and transforming America for generations.
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How Lady Gaga Embodies America's Prosperity Trap
Tweet Share on Facebook August 20, 2010 Comment (30)The poor kid. She felt tormented in high school, where the rich(er) kids were mean and other students regarded her as a freak. Her parents were strict. She tried to be different and found it tough. When she succeeded, other people tried to claim credit for it.
You could almost feel sorry for Lady Gaga, the cubist-clad pop phenomenon who, at 24, has become the biggest-selling recording artist on the planet. But take a step back and you realize that she feels so sorry for herself that no additional sympathy is needed. Even more than that, Gaga's prolonged adolescent funk (which may still be ongoing) reflects a kind of fin de siècle narcissism that afflicts much of America: We had no idea how lucky we were over the last 50 years. Gaga may be one of the few who can still get away with it.
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How To Tell If Your Company's An Also-Ran
Tweet Share on Facebook August 19, 2010 CommentDoing more with less is an all-too-familiar strategy for survival. But will it help your company get ahead?
Probably not. The recession that began in 2007 triggered a tidal wave of layoffs, cost-cutting, and downsizing that still isn't over. Many employers cut back to bare necessities, or less. Mediocre workers got axed en masse and even some integral staffers had to go. Computer upgrades, key investments, and future projects got put on hold.
[In Pictures: 10 Great Companies Yours Should Copy.]
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10 Innovative Companies Yours Should Copy
Tweet Share on Facebook August 19, 2010 CommentEverybody wants to work for a great company. Too bad they're so scarce.
Lots of companies come up with innovative ideas that could change their industry and provide a commanding edge over competitors. But great ideas are the easy part. "People equate innovation with creativity and it's not the same thing," says Vijay Govindarajan, a professor at Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business and co-author of The Other Side of Innovation. "Companies get enamored with that 1 percent inspiration, the sexy part. But innovation is the commercialization of creativity." And executing great ideas turns out to be awfully hard.
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10 Great Companies That Lost Their Edge
Tweet Share on Facebook August 19, 2010 Comment (16)Quick quiz: Name a leading company today that was just as dominant 25 years ago.
[In Pictures: 10 Great Companies That Lost Their Edge.]
There are a few, but many of the world's top companies in 1985 have foundered, shrunk, grown obsolete, or been acquired by rivals that grew stronger. General Motors and Ford, the world's two biggest carmakers in 1985, spent the last decade in a dizzying tailspin, bleeding cash, losing market share, and struggling to turn themselves around. Venerable industrial firms like ITT restructured and drifted down the Fortune 500, while Wal-Mart, Verizon, banks, and technology firms displaced them. Digital Equipment and Wang Laboratories, once leading computer firms, disappeared completely. Even resurgent titans like Apple and IBM stared into the abyss of irrelevance and made painful changes before clawing their way back to the top.
