Back in October, as a preview to the Q3 GDP report, I wrote: Inventory Restocking and Q3 GDP I noted that GDP growth in Q3 and Q4 weren't in question because of a transitory boost from changes in private inventories and from stimulus spending. Here is a repeat of the graph showing the contributions to GDP from changes in private inventories for the last several recessions. The blue shaded area is the last two quarters of each recession, and the light area is the first four quarters of each recovery. (more)

Being laid off from your job is one of the most traumatic events you can experience in life. However, the federal Dislocated Worker Program can help ease you through the bad stretch and into a new job. (more)

America's public schools are losing money on every free meal served to students under the National School Lunch Program, according to a new report from the School Nutrition Association (SNA). (more)

Women-owned businesses contribute almost $3 trillion to the US economy and create 23 million jobs, according to a new report just released by the federal Center for Women's Business Research and Walmart. (more)

The U.S. government does not allow most corporations to use their own stock to finance health care plans for their employees. Then again, after being bailed out by that same government, General Motors is no longer “most corporations.” (more)

If you’re out of work, you’re unemployed, right? You should be counted among the 14.9 million Americans reported to be unemployed in August by the Department of Labor, right? Well, maybe not, according to how the Labor Department really defines “unemployed.” (more)

By the time it ended, the Cash for Clunkers program resulted in the replacement of nearly 700,000 clunkers with more fuel-efficient vehicles. The program generated $2.877 billion worth of rebate applications from U.S. auto dealers, according to the Department of Transportation. (more)

It was the worst of times and apparently still is, as the U.S. Courts confirmed that the 1,306,315 bankruptcy filings during the 12-month period ending June 30, 2009, represented a 35 percent increase compared to the 967,831 cases filed during the same period last year. (more)

Put away the streamers and stop the chorus from singing “Happy Days Are Here Again,” at least for a while. Bloomberg reports that initial jobless claims rose again last week by 25,000 as more that 584,000 Americans applied for unemployment benefits for the first time. While the four-week average of initial jobless claims dropped, this increase hints at continued escalation of the national unemployment rate (more)

During the presidential campaign, candidate Barack Obama wooed the tech world. His tech-savvy campaign team, advisers such as Google CEO Eric Schmidt, and promises to hire a tech czar raised expectations that he would be the most tech-friendly (nevermind tech-savvy) president ever. Now, he appears poised to betray the tech sector as part of an effort to pay for the many spending programs we've seen come down the pike. This May, the Obama administration put forward a proposal to change tax rules applicabl... (more)