Word: downturn
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From job security to home foreclosures, there are plenty of things for people to worry about during a recession. But a growing body of research suggests that there's one negative outcome that is actually less likely during an economic downturn: death...
...Adam Coutts of Oxford University, one of the authors of the Lancet study, tells TIME that recessions have other deleterious social effects not directly related to health and that measuring an economic downturn's overall health impact is a vexed undertaking. "It is true, for instance, that mortality rates reduced significantly during the Great Depression, but that era also saw the rise of fascism, followed by a world war," he says. "So there's no simple way to measure the impact of recessions on a population's welfare." (See pictures of the dangers of printing money in Germany...
Another fantasy tracker reports that on average, players are paying $73 to join football leagues this year, compared with $59 last year; despite the economic downturn, leagues are upping their entry fees - and their cash prizes. Meanwhile, as companies are slashing ad budgets in most places, they are pouring funds into fantasy sites. Fantasy Sports Ventures, which owns or sells advertising for some 500 such sites, has seen revenue double year over year. Says CEO Chris Russo: "Companies want access to an audience that's passionate and engaged...
...charts. One site, TheUltimateTrophy.com just shipped an $800 prize to a fantasy-league commissioner. "Part of the jollies of fantasy sports is you get to stick it in the face of your buddies," says Tom Harkins, president of FantasySportsTrophies.com whose sales have risen 50% during the downturn. "That trophy says, I know more than you." It also says, I know how to spend money on stupid stuff...
...name has shown signs of turning a corner in the past. In early 2008, the rate of monthly home-price declines started dropping (that is, the housing situation looked to be moving from really bad to less bad). That momentum didn't stick, though, owing to the broader economic downturn. This time around, a first-time homebuyer tax credit is giving a huge boost to the market - nearly a third of buyers now fall into that camp. If the feds don't extend that tax credit when it sunsets at the end of November, will the current housing-recovery momentum...