downturn

Household wealth took its biggest hit since the height of the 2008 financial meltdown during the third quarter, weakened by a downturn in stocks, according to a report issued Thursday.

When it is appropriate to ask for a raise in a downturn, and some tips if you do.

McDonald's performance over the past couple of years is often characterized as a classic recession success story: Strapped or worried consumers always flock to fast-food joints during hard times, hunting bargains, the theory goes, so of course McDonald's has done well.

But while it's certainly true that the company has benefited from the downturn, that's only part of the story, and a relatively small part at that.

Retail sales fell for the second straight month in June, following seven consecutive increases, with weakness in the automotive sector a key factor in the downturn, the government said Wednesday.

Many Americans are no longer looking to maximize returns on their assets. The new emphasis is on protecting investments from sharp declines in value.

The "Keep Austin Weird" campaign must have worked, because the Texas capital is among the country's oddball cities that bucked the downturn.

Economists are more nervous about the chances of another recession. And one of biggest fears is that the Federal Reserve may have run out of bullets to fight another downturn.

The numbers indicate that the longest downturn since the Depression has finally ended. But the numbers haven't erased a lot of the nation's economic pain.

It's a chicken-and-egg problem that's plagued the credit markets for a year: Small businesses become riskier lending bets in a downturn, prompting banks to slash their lending.

But tight credit cuts off the financing companies need to hire and grow, which in turn drags on the economy and causes more businesses to fail.

Even if the worst of the downturn is over, there still could be some rough road ahead. Fortunately, these picks are packaged for success in any kind of market.