Working families continue to struggle
The ranks of the “working poor” are growing even as the recovering economy creates more jobs. Nearly a third of working families earn less than twice the poverty threshold—that comes to $45,622 for a family of four—and have to struggle to pay for basic needs.
The Week
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The least-trusted industries
A new poll found that financial services and banks were the “least-trusted industries” of 2012. Only 46 percent of Americans said they trusted the financial services industry, but that’s an improvement over 2011, when only 25 percent of survey takers said they trusted bankers and financiers.
Los Angeles Times
The bestselling vehicles
The hybrid Toyota Prius was the bestselling car in California last year, surpassing the Honda Civic for the first time. The bestselling vehicle nationwide is Ford’s F-series pickup truck.
USA Today
Mobil device use triples
The use of mobile devices has tripled since 2009, largely thanks to mobile apps. U.S. smartphone owners are estimated to spend an average of 127 minutes a day using mobile apps.
BusinessInsider.com
Global unemployment among the young
Almost 74 million young people are unemployed globally, and the U.N. expects another half million next year. More than a third of young people without jobs today have been without work for more than six months, leading many discouraged youths to leave the labor market altogether.
The Globe and Mail (Canada)
Vanishing sick day benefits
Almost a third of the nation’s workers can’t take sick days when they fall ill. While 80 percent of full-time employees get paid sick days, only 25 percent of part-timers do.
CNNMoney.com
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The bottom linefeature The cost of e-filing; Dipping into nest eggs early; What Americans are drinking; Planning for death; How tax refunds are spent
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The bottom line
feature Building bigger houses; And tuition at OSU is?; Christmas at McDonald's; Self-gifting at Christmas; Lloyd’s prepares for Hurricane Sandy claims; Google's billions
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The bottom line
feature Good results for the third quarter; Compensation at financial firms hits a high; Three cities with recovering economies; Good year for car sales; Broadway's best performance ever; Tax bite is less in 2010 than in 1980
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The bottom line
feature Airlines cut domestic flights; Income up in small cities and rural areas; Bond and Lincoln lift box office earnings; Don't be fooled by Black Friday; The high toll of identity theft
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The bottom line
feature The gender pay gap; U.S. economic growth; Parents who argue about money; Online subscriptions rise
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The bottom line
feature Can the U.S. keep up?; Airlines spend billions on runway taxiing; Americans exaggerate their working hours; The Dow Jones's 67.9 percent gain; Success and summer babies
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The bottom line
feature Consumer confidence jumps; Wall Street cuts jobs, raises pay; Goldman Sachs's muppet hunt; Desktop web searches decline; Pizza Hut scraps debate freebie
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The bottom line
feature Few tweets for CEOs; BofA settles Merrill Lynch lawsuit; Facebook and Twitter in China; Global trade slows down; Smartphones' rising share of household costs; Temporary jobs for the unemployed