The Recession Thread

[RGMike]

Thought we should have a thread for this separate from the Obama Administration thread, which is more about politics. To start: Deepak Chopra tells us "How to Be Happy in a Recession" in today's Chron...

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2008/11/19/chopra111908.DTL

Now I think Chopra's as much a snake-oil salesman as Ted Haggard or Oral Roberts (even if a more benign one), but you gotta read some of the comments, along the lines of "Easy for YOU to say Deepak, you're a f---ing millionaire!"  LOL!

[Alicat]

A nice woman in SF today shared her faith in God with me. Said you have to pray. He will watch out for you. Said doors close so new ones can open. Have faith baby!

[Wayback]

And all this news is just from today... 

Bay Area Median Home Price Dives 41% -
Sales soar - nearly one out of every two homes sold is foreclosure:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/20/BUHT148R9Q.DTL&type=business&tsp=1

Map of Bay Area zip codes with most foreclosures:
http://www.sfgate.com/maps/foreclosures/

Database of Bay Area foreclosures (updated weekly):
http://www.sfgate.com/webdb/foreclosures/

Jobless claims jump to 16-year high:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/11/20/financial/f053256S02.DTL

Database of layoffs in Calif:
http://www.sfgate.com/webdb/jobcuts/?tsp=1

Survey: Local execs' gloomy outlook -
Four in 10 Bay Area employers anticipate job cuts within six months:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/19/MN3O147R73.DTL&type=business
 
No End To Wall Street's Misery - Stocks tumble again as hopes fade for auto bailout.  Dow drops 445 points:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/11/20/financial/f103922S56.DTL&tsp=1

However, gas hit three-year low of $49/barrel.
Map of local gas prices (enter your zip code):
http://www.sfgate.com/maps/gasprices/

[Wayback]

an article FYI:
7 Ways To Recession-Proof Your Life
What you can do to prepare and cope in tough economic times
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/pf/08/recession-proof-your-life.asp

[Gazoo]

Deepak Chopra tells us "How to Be Happy in a Recession" in today's Chron...

Deepak Chopra can go fuck himself.

(PS: He once called Schwab angrily when I made a minor error in his account.  True story.)

[mshray]

Deepak Chopra tells us "How to Be Happy in a Recession" in today's Chron...

Deepak Chopra can go fuck himself.

(PS: He once called Schwab angrily when I made a minor error in his account.  True story.)

I seem to recall that true story.

As to the recession in my household, my wife has been laid off for a month now, just got her first EDD check yesterday.

On the other hand I just got a bit of reassurance in my relatively new job (5 months now), that while there's a freeze they don't anticipate any cuts, and in any case my office is already a bit short-staffed (and my team leader said I seem to be doing a good job & they need me to keep it up).

[RGMike]

Deepak Chopra tells us "How to Be Happy in a Recession" in today's Chron...

Deepak Chopra can go fuck himself.

(PS: He once called Schwab angrily when I made a minor error in his account.  True story.)

screw him and the chakra he rode in on.

I knew a guy from my college radio station who was working in client services for some financial outfit in NY (forget who, specifically) and one day he took a call from Springsteen! Who was very nice, he said.

[Gazoo]

Deepak Chopra tells us "How to Be Happy in a Recession" in today's Chron...

Deepak Chopra can go fuck himself.

(PS: He once called Schwab angrily when I made a minor error in his account.  True story.)

I seem to recall that true story.

As to the recession in my household, my wife has been laid off for a month now, just got her first EDD check yesterday.

On the other hand I just got a bit of reassurance in my relatively new job (5 months now), that while there's a freeze they don't anticipate any cuts, and in any case my office is already a bit short-staffed (and my team leader said I seem to be doing a good job & they need me to keep it up).

Glad to hear it.  I likewise have been given some level of assurance in my current situation, but I'm making a point of taking on more responsibilities and side projects to make myself as close to irreplaceable as I can get.  I'm fortunate to work in a niche market (how many people aspire to be copy editors?) but note for the record that the recession is accelerating the death of print media.